These methods of outlining will help you create a novel outline that makes writing your first draft a breeze, whether it's your 1st or 10th time writing a book.
Storytelling activities not only build imagination and creativity, but they can be a beneficial learning tool too! Great for the classroom.
Sometimes deleting a scene can be the best thing you can do for your project
PRIMARY WRITING - UNIT 3 I am so excited to teach this narrative writing unit! This writing curriculum is geared for kindergarten, first grade and can even be used in second grade classrooms. In Unit 3 , we are learning how to write a personal narrative . We practice writing about what we l
These all about me, back to school art activities for kids are engaging icebreakers. Encourage creativity and build community during the first week back
I asked my Instagram followers,“What are some signs of amateurish writing, in your opinion?” Here are the results!
Is your child ready for Kindergarten? This post will help you decide plus free worksheets focused on kindergarten readiness skills like...
If you're writing a book for the first time and you're not sure what the steps to do it are, you can follow these simple tips to start writing your novel.
Here you'll find out how to outline a novel step by step and you will be able to download a novel outline worksheet so you can outline your story.
105 creative writing exercises to get you writing again. Try these short, 10-minute creative writing exercises to beat writer's block.
These FREE Printables and Unit Studies for Eric Carle's Books will help you expand on what your kids are learning through these beloved books.
Use these free printable Parts of a Book Poster & Worksheet to teach your pre-readers about book awareness and concepts of print.
Haven't tried a book tasting with your students yet? This fun reading activity is an awesome way to introduce genres in your elementary classroom or library!
No more boring book reports! Check out 26+ FUN, creative and unique book report ideas and free printable projects too!
Need a simple way to visualise your character arc? Print this worksheet + learn about Kurt Vonnegut's hilarious story shapes.
Generally, when we think of book reports, we think of fiction reading response. However, nonfiction book report templates serve equally as important of a purpose for digging deep into nonfiction texts. Book reports are such
Want to write a story that works? Learn how to plot your novel using the Save the Cat! Beat Sheet in this post! (Free worksheet included!) #writingtips
A literary agent shares a 7 step process she uses with clients to help them write a book that sells so they can make a living from their writing!
When reading the work of literary heroes like Jane Austen, or modern-day masters like Sally Rooney, it can be hard to imagine that they began with an empty page (or screen). It's strange to think that Victor Hugo turned a pen and parchment into the beautiful tale of The Hunback of Notre Dame. Or
Wild Thing Book Activities! This unit is fantastic for Maurice Sendak's book Where the Wild Things Are. Writing worksheet and craft included. Perfect for kindergarten or first grade!
ALL ABOUT FRIENDSHIP Friendship and conflict solving skills are so important to teach our kiddos. Our job is to teach them important social skills. They need these tools to ensure successful relationships with their peers and adults. It is tricky, but it can be done! I am sharing some
Here's how to decide if the Handwriting without Tears preschool program is right for your child. The most important thing to keep in mind is...
This FREE handout is a great activity for warm-ups or even early finishers. This handout was inspired by the book Beautiful Oops! by Barney Saltzberg. Here is the BLANK version. This is a good opti…
Have you ever had the vibes of your story figured out but no plot? This post gives you an easy process to find out what actually happens in yor novel
Do you teach your first and second-grade students to learn how to write a paragraph? In this post, I share ideas, lessons, and activities for students to learn how to write their own paragraphs in a structured way. Before I dive in, I wanted to let you know you can watch or listen to all […]
I love using interactive lapbooks in the classroom. They are fun to create, engaging and can be used throughout the year to review skills taught. I finally completely my Lapbook Bundle and I am happy to share the lapbooks included with you. Whether you think your learners will enjoy creating all of the lapbooks, if you
Today I'm sharing one of my favourite tasks for building community in the classroom. Students are able to share an important aspect of themselves (the story of their name) with the class and with me, their teacher. Through this task we are also working on important skills, like reading comprehension, writing, and reflection. Day 1 To begin, I asked my students to write any name they wish they had on a sticky note. They then placed it in a mason jar. I read my class the story "The Name Jar" by Yansook Choi. We stopped at several points in the story to predict, make connections, infer, and ask questions. At one point, we paused in the story so that students could journal about the name they wrote down on the sticky note earlier: - Did they choose their own name? Or another? - Why? - If you chose another name, where did you hear that name before? Day 2 At the end of Day 1, students were given homework. (Stick around to the bottom of this post for a chance to get your own copy of this sheet.) I make it very clear, that while names all have meanings, your family may not have chosen your name for that reason. They might not know the meaning, and you can choose to look it up with your family if you wish. I also focus a lot on nicknames and your own feelings about your name. While I've never taught a student in foster care, or one who was adopted, I do think it's important to mention that this could be a touchy task in those situations, so be sure to know your students first, and modify as needed. Students use the homework task, and the journal write from the previous day, to write "The Story of their Name". Some possible options to include are: - who you are named after - the meaning of your name - a name you'd rather have - your feelings toward your name - nicknames you may have - the person (or people) who chose your name - how your name was chosen This piece of writing is then self, peer, and teacher edited, and a "good" copy is made. Day 3 I found this excellent step-by-step self-portrait from "Art Projects for Kids". I modified the task so that instead of drawing the left or right side of their face, they would draw the top half. Students find that folding their page into quadrants as she suggests is very helpful. Under the document camera I demonstrate each step, and students copy, adapting to their own facial features. Each student gets a mirror to look in to help them personalize. The final pieces are put on a bulletin board for display. Students also coloured in a bubble letter version of their names to complete the display. (I used the font KG Red Hands Outline for this.) Day 4 Once we've completed the task, the last job is to reflect on our work. I pulled some elements from our Arts Education curriculum (very relevant regardless of where you teach) for students to self-assess on. I've used the proficiency scale language our school has moved to for all reporting. A few students found it helpful to complete their reflection while looking at the finished product on their bulletin board, but most didn't need this. Want a copy of both my homework and reflection pages? Follow the image or button below to grab your copy. Take Me to the Free Download Pin this post.
If you are looking for some high-interest activities, try using animated shorts to teach inference. Free handouts focus on student learning.
Reinforce text connections using picture books and oral questioning (questions
Integrate art and literacy with no prep or background knowledge with step by step tutorials for art history and art around the world!
A blank novel outline template for use with Google Docs, Google Keep, and Scrivener. The One Page Novel is a simple, memorable structure for novelists.
Struggling to get creative with your writing? Having off days is completely normal. These 5 writing exercises will help give your creativity a boost.
Switching up your book report writing allows you to keep book report writing fresh while reaching all of your learners from the beginning to the end of the school year. Book report tab books are a fun, hands-on twist on a classic book review that can be used with any fiction book. Each tab focuses on a different skill required for book report writing. Take a look at the product preview for a closer look! WHAT’S INCLUDED: Full Page Book & Half Page Mini Book Tabs Included: Front Cover Book Basics Story Map Character Analysis Compare & Contrast Characters Key Events Theme Author’s Craft Rate Review Reflect More Reading & Writing Resources: Fiction Reading Crafts Fiction Reading Graphic Organizers Writing Graphic Organizers Reading Word Walls
Before you write your idea for a kid's book, you need to understand these 3 things. This free children's book template outlines everything you need to get started.
We love connecting projects to books, and we're always inspired by the amazing group of bloggers who participate in the Virtual Book Club for Kids (you can also check the club out on Facebook) as the group comes up with some great extension activities each month. This month's author was Leo Lionni. We chose to read and do a project using a book we've really been enjoying lately, A Color of His Own. This is the sweet tale of a little chameleon who is looking for one color to stay all the time, but keeps running into that challenge that chameleons change color. In the end, he winds up finding a friend to always be with so they can at least always be the same color together. I've used this book in the past as a primary teacher. It's a great way to talk about friendship and also about what makes us each unique. My boys have been loving the simple tale and the colorful illustrations this spring. For our activity extension we decided to use cray-pas and watercolors. I love how colorful this art technique can be. I sketched several chameleon outlines onto white drawing paper using permanent marker. (I'm including a printable copy here in case you just want to print one out, or use the printable to trace onto thicker paper.) Afterwards the boys and I each colored in a chameleon using the cray-pas. Big Brother and I thought about ways to create different patterns. Little Brother focused on just coloring his in, using mostly one color. After we were done coloring, we watercolored on top of the cray-pas. The watercolor doesn't stick to the cray-pas, and fills all the white spaces around it. We all had different strategies for painting. When they were done I cut the three chameleons out and we hung them in our play room. I love how they are a set but each one unique. That's part of what can also make this project a great classroom activity, especially for the start of a school year. Or turn it into a fun family project, with each family member creating a chameleon to represent themselves. What Leo Lionni books does your family enjoy? Have you read this one yet? This post may also have been shared at some of these terrific link parties.
Learn about the benefits of monthly writing prompts for kids. This article gives examples for each month as well as a free writing calendar.
Here's how to decide if the Handwriting without Tears preschool program is right for your child. The most important thing to keep in mind is...
