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TEKS ELA Standard: 3.11.A

plan a first draft by selecting a genre for a particular topic, purpose, and audience using a range of strategies such as brainstorming, freewriting, and mapping

Chaos Can Be Positive or Negative
Chaos Can Be Positive or Negative
Sometimes we want order, but sometimes we need chaos!
Introducing Order and Chaos
Introducing Order and Chaos
Introduce Order by exploring “written” vs “unwritten” rules.
Maze Generator
Maze Generator
Create and print mazes for your students – with bonus side quests!
Power Can Be Fast, Slow, Loud, or Quiet
Power Can Be Fast, Slow, Loud, or Quiet
Power may seem loud and fast, but it can also be slow and quiet.
Two Animals Switch Biomes
Two Animals Switch Biomes
What if a capybara and a kangaroo rat switched homes? Would their adaptations be helpful at all?
Characters’ Faults Can Also Be Strengths
Characters’ Faults Can Also Be Strengths
Strength and weakness are often two sides of the same coin. Students will explore how a character’s flaw can be a benefit.
Holiday Shuffle – Day vs Date
Holiday Shuffle – Day vs Date
Wouldn’t some holidays be better on a certain day of the week? Should Thanksgiving have a set date?
Halloween Problems and Solutions
Halloween Problems and Solutions
When we try to solve a problem, sometimes we end up creating new problems. Which lead to new solutions. Which lead to new problems.
Change A Story’s Genre
Change A Story’s Genre
What if we rewrote a story’s climax into a totally different genre?
New Uses For A Cardboard Tube
New Uses For A Cardboard Tube
So, what can a cardboard tube be used for other than holding wrapping paper?
Order, Chaos, and the Holiday Season
Order, Chaos, and the Holiday Season
Let’s write a holiday song about order and chaos!
Holiday Emoji Story ⛷️
Holiday Emoji Story ⛷️
Students will create a story about ⛷️🌨️🌲🐻🤝
Holiday Emoji Story ☃️
Holiday Emoji Story ☃️
Students will create a story about ☃️👑🏔️🔭✨
Holiday Emoji Story 🎅
Holiday Emoji Story 🎅
Students will create a story about 🎅🛷🌀🚀🌍
Holiday Emoji Story 🚚
Holiday Emoji Story 🚚
Students will create a story about 🚚🎁🤔🐶🫣
Halloween Emoji Story 🎃
Halloween Emoji Story 🎃
Students will create a story about 🎃🕯️📖💥👻.
Halloween Emoji Story 🌕
Halloween Emoji Story 🌕
Students will create a story about 🌕🌲👣😱💨.
Halloween Emoji Story 🕷️
Halloween Emoji Story 🕷️
Students will create a story about 🕷️🕸️📩🔑🚪.
Emoji Stories 🚚
Emoji Stories 🚚
Students will create a story about 🚚🤖📻🛸🌌
Emoji Stories 🏟️
Emoji Stories 🏟️
Students will create a story about 🏟️🏹🍞🐦🔥
Emoji Stories 🕰️
Emoji Stories 🕰️
Students will create a story about 🕰️🎩🐀💎🕺
Emoji Stories 👁️
Emoji Stories 👁️
Students will create a story about 👁️🔮🌩️🚷🌲
Emoji Stories 🚗
Emoji Stories 🚗
Students will write a story about 🚗🗺️🌋🐉🌉
Emoji Stories 🤖
Emoji Stories 🤖
Students will create a story about 🤖💃🎵🕺🐔.
Mother’s Day Cards
Mother’s Day Cards
Let’s write the cleverest Mother’s Day cards you’ve ever seen!
Bobbing for Apples
Bobbing for Apples
What is bobbing for apples like… for an apple?
A Halloween Costume Gone Wrong
A Halloween Costume Gone Wrong
Let’s go roller skating in a Halloween costume! What could possibly go wrong?
Squiggles Collection 1
Squiggles Collection 1
Students start with the same squiggle and then draw on it, turning it into whatever they think it might be.
What If… Unreliable Water?
What If… Unreliable Water?
What would the consequences be if a town’s tap water became… unreliable?
What If… Long Life?
What If… Long Life?
What would the consequences be if all people lived much, much longer?
What If… No Sleep?
What If… No Sleep?
What would the consequences be if no one had to sleep anymore?
New Uses For A Chair
New Uses For A Chair
So, what can a chair be used for other than, you know, sitting in?
New Uses For A Pencil
New Uses For A Pencil
So, what can a pencil be used for other than writing and drawing?
New Uses For An Aluminum Can
New Uses For An Aluminum Can
So, what CAN a CAN be used for other than storing liquids?
Random Emoji Prompt Generator
Random Emoji Prompt Generator
Click up an interesting, visual writing prompt suitable for any grade or purpose.
Categorize and Re-Categorize Countries
Categorize and Re-Categorize Countries
Put these countries into groups. Then do it again. Then… do it one more time. How does re-re-grouping the same places reveal new patterns and give new insights?
Looking Closely at Holiday Photos
Looking Closely at Holiday Photos
Let’s write from multiple perspectives using an old timey holiday photo!
Thanksgiving Photo Writing
Thanksgiving Photo Writing
Starting with an old-timey photo, students will write from a particular item’s point of view.
Stories with the Same Problems and Solutions
Stories with the Same Problems and Solutions
Have you ever noticed that some stories have awfully similar problems? What if we looked for the most unusual way of solving a repeating problem?
Introducing Universal Theme of Conflict
Introducing Universal Theme of Conflict
So what could you do with a Universal Theme of Conflict? Well, here’s an introduction that will get your students’ brains sweating.
Introducing Universal Theme of Change
Introducing Universal Theme of Change
So what could you do with a Universal Theme of Change? Well, here’s an introduction that will get your students’ brains sweating.
Introducing Universal Theme of Systems
Introducing Universal Theme of Systems
So what could you do with a Universal Theme of Systems? Well, here’s an introduction that will get your students’ brains sweating.
Introducing Universal Theme of Power
Introducing Universal Theme of Power
So what could you do with a Universal Theme of Power? Well, here’s an introduction that will get your students’ brains sweating.
A Lunar Survival Mission
A Lunar Survival Mission
A favorite of mine! This task is delightfully complex and ambiguous, forcing students to make choices without enough information and with no right answer. How will they survive on the moon for three days?
Cram
Cram
Try this a simple (but surprisingly strategic) grid-filling game!
The Pros and Cons of Producers and Consumers
The Pros and Cons of Producers and Consumers
Sure, students might know the difference between a producer and a consumer… but have they considered how they feel about each other? What, in a producer’s opinion, are the pros and cons of a consumer?
Writing Technique: Opposite Adjectives
Writing Technique: Opposite Adjectives
A specific technique to help students add some spice to their writing. We’ll be using antonyms to describe the same topic!
SCAMPER: Scaffolding Creativity
SCAMPER: Scaffolding Creativity
Asking students to “think creatively” won’t get you far. They won’t know how to start, they’ll get stuck with simple ideas, or they’ll just go completely wild. SCAMPER is a tool for scaffolding the process of creativity.
The Personalities of Rocks
The Personalities of Rocks
What would an igneous rock be like? Would it get along with a sedimentary rock? Could they handle the hot personality of a metamorphic rock?
Student Introductions With Depth and Frames
Student Introductions With Depth and Frames
Want to introduce the tools of Depth and Complexity and learn more about your students and introduce the Frame graphic organizer? Have I got the activity for you!
More Specific than “Smart”
More Specific than “Smart”
When students are told that they’re “smart”, what does this word actually mean to them? (Psst. It isn’t what we intended.)
Building Creative Analogies
Building Creative Analogies
We’ll take two seemingly unrelated pieces of content (say volcanoes and the human body) and then build analogies to connect the two ideas. In the end, students can create a skit, comic, or story relating the two concepts.
Improving Presentations 2: Planning The Outline
Improving Presentations 2: Planning The Outline
After watching some great presenters, let’s outline your presentation!
Using Creativity Tools To Develop A Learning Exploration: Step One
Using Creativity Tools To Develop A Learning Exploration: Step One
Kathryn Haydon begins a series on how to design an independent learning exploration.
Create A Civilization Introduction
Create A Civilization Introduction
Combine social studies, science, and language arts in this year-long creative project!
Elements of The Fantasy Genre
Elements of The Fantasy Genre
Dig into the common elements of the fantasy genre.
Create A Creature
Create A Creature
Create a new creature based on the adaptations of existing creatures from the same biome.
Greekymon
Greekymon
Rather than just memorizing word parts, students will use those word parts to create four possible products.
Creating A Classroom Motto
Creating A Classroom Motto
Starting with specific examples of fantastic classroom behavior, your class will end up with one sentence summing up their expectations. It’s a classroom motto!