Lesson Library

Use this writing prompt as a pre-reading activity for any story involving family traditions, holidays, or cultural diversity. Or use it as an activity prior to any Holiday and allow students to share with each other. This is a great activity for discussing diversity as each student will most likely write about something different.

Print a class set of these or give this handout to students to use as a reference all year especially when they are writing stories! It contains the rules and examples for punctuating dialogue. Enjoy!

This handout includes a definition of suspense, hints for building suspense in your writing, and 13 suspense story starters. Use this activity around Halloween, as a journal or writer's notebook entry, as a creative writing assignment, or an enrichment activity! Enjoy!

After reading the short story "Seventh Grade" by Gary Soto, use this prompt to allow students to reflect on their first day of seventh grade and make predictions about what the school year will be like. The response is a good way to assess students' writing skills at the beginning of the year and introduce journaling or responding to literature. At the end of the year, ask students to re-read their predictions and then write a reflection on their seventh grade year.

This two-sided handout can be used to introduce students to Robert Frost and includes two of his poems, Stopping By Woods on a Snowy Evening and The Road Not Taken. Use the information and first poem for class discussion, and then allow students to work with a partner or independently to annotate and answer questions on The Road Not taken. Then follow-up with a class discussion on the meaning of the poem. Enjoy!

After reading the famous narrative poem, "Casey at the Bat," students will choose one of these 5 creative writing activities to complete based on the poem. Enjoy!

Use these 6 questions to check for understanding of the different types of conflict: internal or external and character vs. character, self, nature, or society. Cut one page in 1/2 for each student!

This handout contains information on the author, Rudyard Kipling. Use this before reading the story Rikki Tikki Tavi to help students understand the historical context and setting of the story. Enjoy!