Sometimes Teaching

In this lesson students will learn the characteristics of, and the differences between, myths and legends. Students will then work together to create their own mythical world by building a world map and brainstorm rules to govern their world. Next, students will write either a narrative myth or a legend that takes place within this world and either incorporates parts of it to teach a moral lesson (legend), or works to explain why something in that world exists (myth). Using both self and peer

A 5th grade Langauge Arts project in which students will learn to plan and write a memoir about an experience or event that affected them in some way.

This is a persuasive writing project I use for my 5th grade students. In this project students will be assigned a position either for or against one of six propositions. The lesson takes students through the entire process of researching and taking notes on their position, coming up with arguments supported by evidence, putting those arguments into a structures five paragraph persuasive essay, and finally using everything they've learned to participate in a structured, formal debate.

In this fun project students will learn how to make a mind map, view examples, and then embark on creating their own. I originally created this project as a follow up for an activity on managing money, but it can easily be adapted for virtually any topic.

This is a persuasive writing and speaking project that I use with my fifth grade class that can be adapted for a wide range of grade levels. In this project students will work together to prepare for a debate on whether or not the 13 colonies should rebel against England from the point of view of either a patriot or a loyalist. Next, students will work independently to plan and write a five paragraph persuasive essay based on their arguments.