This interactive applet may be used by students to assist them with the process of letter writing. The generator requires students to fill in the specific components of a letter before it generates a correctly formatted letter. The generator may be used as a letter writing aid or in conjunction with other activities wherein students are tasked with writing a letter. Click the arrow to proceed throught letter.

In this lesson,students work to transform narrative-style letters into poetic format and they are forced to think carefully about where to end each line. Students begin by discussing letters they have written and working with an online tool as an introduction to letter poems. As a group, students look at a letter form of “This is Just to Say” by William Carlos Williams and add line breaks to turn it into a poem. They then compare the poem they created with the original, discussing why the poet made the line break choices he did. Next, students
work in small groups to rewrite another letter as a poem and then compare the various groups’ results with the original poem. Students then use a Venn diagram to compare letters and poems. Finally, they compose their own letter poems.

This lesson combines a lesson on genre with an opportunity for students to write and experience how genre changes a situation. Students first share what they know about letters and discuss books that feature letters. They then compare and contrast letters written for different purposes and situations. Then, by examining letters in selected picture books, students see how genres have flexibility and can be used in different situations. Next, they practice this flexibility with genres by writing a story using a series of letters to tell the story—using a book they have recently read, rather than creating one of their own, so that they can see the effect of genre choice. Finally, students make final revisions to their letter-stories and share them with the class.

In this lesson, students research Old West figures using both electronic and print sources. They then use an online tool to compile and organize reading notes, research, and related ideas. The information that is gathered is then presented in a student-constructed driver’s license that includes who, what, when, where, and why they are important in United States history. This activity offers an alternative to the traditional research paper, as well as an opportunity for students to share their projects with their classmates.

After students have read a book about the Holocaust, such as The Diary of Anne Frank or Night by Elie Wiesel, students will view Life is Beautiful and complete discussion questions that challenge their ability to analyze literature using film. When the film is complete, students will write a letter to the director conveying their opinion of the film.

For this lesson, students closely examine the different characters in a novel by keeping journal entries, meeting for group discussions, and using an online graphic organizer. This extensive character examination helps them prepare for a final project that involves creating an interview-style television show in which students write the script and assume the roles of the television host and the characters on the show. Questions can be about events from the novel as well as other topics that were not explicitly covered in the novel. Answers are based on students’ knowledge of the characters and their personalities.

In this lesson, students will brainstorm "crimes" committed by characters from that text. Groups of students will work together to act as the prosecution or defense for the selected characters, while also acting as the jury for other groups. Students will use several sources to research for their case, including the novel and internet resources. All the while, students will be writing a persuasive piece to complement their trial work.

In this lesson, students choose their own reading material, respond to reading in a journal, and talk about their books daily in small groups. The teacher guides the work through structured prompts and by rotating participation with the groups. Students read at their individual levels, while heterogeneous grouping provides peer support. This lesson is a structured guideline for helping students learn to think about the books they read, and to ask questions about books shared by other students.

This unit is a five step guide for setting up a framework for ongoing written literature response with primary students, especially kindergarten. Designed to help teachers "set the stage" for ongoing literature response, the procedure begins with drawing/labeling and moves through increasingly complex writing requirements that address higher-ordering thinking skills and foster student creativity.

In this lesson, students count the days between Martin Luther King Jr. Day and Valentine’s Day and are challenged to complete 100 acts of kindness during that time. They brainstorm examples of kind acts they could do and discuss how to report acts of kindness they witness. They also select a service project to plan and complete together as a class. For the project’s duration, acts of kindness are tracked on a classroom chart. Students are encouraged to acknowledge kind acts by others through thank you notes, and families are encouraged to help report acts of kindness. The project culminates with a Valentine’s Day celebration.

In this lesson, students recognize loaded words when reading and purposefully use them in persuasive writing.

This lesson is designed to provide students with the opporunity to enhance their understanding of allusion by examining artwork by Kehinde Wiley and comparing it to various works by the Old Masters. Students will use graphic organizers to identify qualities in two works to attempt to identify allusions that are made. As a culminating activity, students will use their skills to make a comparison of Pieter Bruegel's "Landscape with the Fall of Icarus," W.H. Auden's "Musée des Beaux Arts" and the myth of Icarus. Students will focus on the work's differences in tone and emphasis of human suffering.

In this lesson, students identify similes in poetry and gain experience in using similes as a poetic device in their own work.

In this lesson using Ben’s Dream, a picture book by Chris Van Allsburg, students highlight ten major landmarks of the world: the Statue of Liberty, Big Ben, the Eiffel Tower, the Leaning Tower of Pisa, the Parthenon, the Sphinx, St. Basil’s Cathedral, the Taj Mahal, the Great Wall of China, and Mount Rushmore. After reading and discussing Ben’s Dream, students identify the landmarks shown in the book and examine photographs of them. Working in small groups, students select one landmark to research. Using their research skills, students locate these famous landmarks, conduct further research on them, publish their findings using an online tool, and share that information with the class.

In this lesson, students access their own knowledge of characters from a variety of texts to make comparisons between the familiar concepts of hero and villain and the new concept of the Byronic hero. They first list heroes and villains with which they are familiar and discuss any examples that may blur the lines between the two. Using Stephenie Meyer's Twilight and the character Edward Cullen, students identify the characteristics of the Byronic hero in a Venn diagram and diagram other characters with these traits. Students then choose a project—an expository essay, photo collage, or book cover—to extend their understanding of this complex and compelling character type.

In this unit, students explore the relationship between love and war by examining texts on camaraderie among soldiers. After viewing a video on the topic and reading the short story "How to Tell a True War Story" by Tim O'Brien, students use freewriting as a means to develop a thesis statement stating their belief on the relationship between love and war. They then compose a visual collage depicting those beliefs.

In this lesson, students will reflect and share insights about their impressions and experiences after reading both a print and an online magazine. Students will compare and contrast the structure and format of a print magazine versus an online magazine and delineate some of the factors that contribute to their similarities and differences, as well as compare their approach to reading an online magazine versus a print magazine.

In this lesson, students write to friends and family asking them to send postcards. This activity provides motivation for writing and reading and provides a wonderful opportunity to learn about maps as students discover where their family members and friends live.

This lesson pairs a magazine article about the Edmund Fitzgerald shipwreck in 1975 with the Gordon Lightfoot song, "The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald." After comparing and contrasting the elements of each text, students will choose a historical event and, using the song as a model, create a narrative poem about their chosen event. In addition, more contemporary songs and current events will also work for this activity.

Students will strengthen their writing skills through image and text correlation. Students use their prior knowledge to reflect upon the school year. They create a story of their memories using digital images, clip art, and PowerPoint. Images are placed in sequential order and enhanced using descriptive text captions. After the digital scrapbook is complete, classmates edit one another’s work using a checklist. Students present their digital scrapbooks to an audience to reflect on what they have learned and to share their knowledge with the school community.