Students will learn about building conflict and tension in a story, using Murphy’s Law.
Imagine this: It’s Monday morning, and you have to present a big project that you spent all weekend working on in front of the whole class. Before you leave for school, your dog gets loose in the yard, and you slip in a mud puddle trying to drag her back inside. Then, you miss the bus because you were changing into clean clothes. When you finally get to school, the cereal you wanted to eat for breakfast isn’t a choice, so you decide not to eat any breakfast! Finally, you accidentally drop your project, which messes up the corners. What a terrible morning! you think to yourself. I really hope my day gets better. In this lesson, students will write a story, like this one, full of escalating conflicts for their character to figure out.
by Jessica Barbaria, 826NYC
In this lesson, students dive into the many forms bullying can take, create scripts and role-play bullying scenarios, and reflect on their own experiences with bullying.
by Miriam Nash, Ministry of Stories and BBC History
In this lesson, students will emulate Dylan Thomas’ famous drama, Under Milk Wood. Students will create imaginative works of fiction that examine their neighborhood in order to bring it to life.
by Ashlyn Anstee, 826LA
Using the classic battle between superheroes and villains as inspiration, students will create their own twist on a superhero comic, featuring believable characters and Marvel-worthy dialogue.
by Nicolien Buholzer, 826LA
In this lesson, students consider the perspective of a villain they love to hate. They will create a compelling backstory for the character and write short stories from the villain’s point of view.
by Kim Adelman, 826LA
In this lesson, students imagine trading lives with a fictional character for a day and write about the fantastic possibilities that would ensue.
by Rebecca Escoto and Cynthia Aguilar, 826LA
Students will identify the characteristics of a hero, familiarize themselves with heroes in their own community, and write an explanatory piece identifying a hero in their community.
by Abigail Jacobs & Taylor Jacobson, 826 Valencia & 826LA
This lesson teaches students to write proposals so convincing no parent can resist them.
by Emily Lam, 826 Valencia
In this lesson, students will go through the steps in the writing process (pre-writing, drafting, revising, editing, publishing) to produce a zine that highlights what makes them special.
by Kathy Seipp, 826 Digital Educator Leader
In this lesson, students will illustrate the literal and figurative meaning of idioms and write using idioms.
by Jayne Kennedy, 826LA
Gather students around the metaphorical campfire to craft a brochure for a Nature Preserve on another planet, complete with wild critters, plant life, unique geological formations, and park history
by Tony Weaver, Jr., educator and author of the graphic novel Weirdo
What makes a hero? In this lesson, students will develop a complex character that defies traditional archetypes and then write a superhero story featuring that character.
by Daniel José Older, author of Flood City.
Students will work together to produce a newspaper for the fictional Flood City. In the process, they will take on the roles of editor and journalist to source, draft, and present their newspaper.
by Nathalie Lagerfeld & Jill Carey, 826CHI
Borrowing inspiration from out-of-this-world illustrations, students will create an amazing sci-fi story with a fantastical setting, realistic characters, and page-turning plot.
by Klariza Alvaran, 826CHI
In this lesson, students explore the graphic novel genre with a focus on plot and character development, scripting dialogue, and visual composition.
by Nicolien Buholzer, 826LA
Why does kindness count? In this lesson, students will consider acts of kindness they’ve experienced or witnessed and reflect on the difference that kindness makes in the world.
by 826 National, in partnership with Paramount Pictures
Imaginary friends come in all shapes and sizes! Inspired by the Paramount Pictures movie, IF, students will create their own imaginary friend to take with them on their next adventure.
by 826 National and Cartoon Network
Students write two stories focused on the power of inclusion with this downloadable, printable, DIY publishing kit.
by Nicolien Buholzer, 826LA
In this lesson, students write letters to someone special and reflect on the impact of being kind towards others.
by Bryan Wilson, Educator Leader, The Bureau of Fearless Ideas
What do you get when you mix foraging with metaphors? Metaphoraging, of course! In this interactive lesson, students will forage their learning space for metaphors.
by Ellen Fee, 826 MSP
Students will learn about endangered species, how animals become endangered, and then write either a poem or a story about a day-in-the-life about an endangered animal of their choosing.
by Rebecca Glaser, 826 Digital Educator Leader
Students craft campaigns to take on an issue in their community, using formal and informal writing to convince others to take action.
by Tony Weaver, Jr., educator and author of the graphic novel Weirdo.
When was the last time you felt like a superhero? In this lesson, students will reflect on that moment and write a poem that shows off their inner strengths.
by Emilia Rivera and Ashley Smith, 826 Valencia
Students will report about their favorite neighborhood places and write a review about the most special one.
by AT Bianchi & Kati Shanks, 826michigan
In this lesson, students imagine a fictional sport for fantastic beings, create a statistic for that sport, and write a newspaper article about the championship game.
by Lindsay Ringwald, 826LA
In this lesson, students will imagine a narrative in the form of a craigslist advertisement to showcase a typically scary monster as a down to earth creature.
by Kyley Pulphus, 826 New Orleans
In this Spark, students will create a “pourquoi tale,” or origin story, of how a local delicacy came to be.
by Kendra Lappin, 826 Valencia
Students will become naturalists for the day by performing field observations and recording their thoughts in a field journal.
by Rebecca Darugar, 826NYC
Students investigate the plant life that grows within their community and then select a specific species to learn about in-depth and consider how that species interacts with the overall ecosystem.
by Dr. Bunny McFadden, 826 Valencia
Imagination opens doors to new possibilities. This lesson allows students to exercise their creativity by describing an imaginary door to the future and picturing what is beyond it.
by Jillian Wasick, 826 Valencia
Ekphrastic poems vividly describe a piece of art. In this lesson, students will write ekphrastic poems, while exploring and creating connections between text and image.
by Ashley Smith, 826 Valencia
In this lesson, students will explore different holidays people celebrate around the world and then create a new holiday of their own.
by Brandan Pierce, 826michigan
Fee-fi-foe-fum, writing with adjectives can be lots of fun! In this lesson, students will grow their understanding of descriptive language while retelling a classic fairy tale.
By Jillian Wasick, 826 Valencia
In this lesson, students write vegetable-inspired superhero stories.
by Gem Carmella, Ministry of Stories and BBC History
In this lesson, students will learn how to write comedy sketches inspired by "Monty Python’s Flying Circus."
by Nicolien Buholzer, 826LA
Students team up to write collaborative short stories about a character who stands up to a bully and discover how they can help end bullying.
by Neil Gordon, 826LA
Adventure unfolds in this lesson, where students design a treasure hunt using precise, clear instructions to help any landlubber to discover the secret location of buried treasure!
by Jory John, 826 Valencia
Students will explore the essentials of an effective “how-to” piece, while considering their own areas of interest and expertise to share with their peers and the world at large.
by Paris Hyun, 826LA
Students play the role of benevolent inventor. They identify and think critically about real world problems, and create an ingredients list and usage instructions for an elixir that fixes the problem.
by Nesley Rojo, 826 Valencia
Students will practice identifying personification and then use sensory detail and figurative language to express it in their writing.
by Mariama J. Lockington & Peter Calhoun Hall, 826NYC
In this superlesson, students isolate DNA, design planes, build lairs, and engineer safe transport to help a hero save the day. Students will also take technical notes and explore new forms of poetry.
by Cristeta Boarini, 826MSP, and Skylar Burkhardt, 826 National
Few expressions of gratitude are more meaningful than a personalized letter. In this lesson, students reach out to essential workers and return their acts of service and kindness by giving thanks.
by Ashley Smith, 826 Valencia
Students will find gratitude all around as they thank ordinary objects in their lives in the form of an ode.
by 826 New Orleans
Students will imagine what they would do if they were someone or something else.
by Mindy Misener, 826michigan
Students learn how poetry can “break the rules” then practice breaking the “rules” in their own poems by challenging the expectations, assumptions, and principles their work set up.
by Jane Roschen, 826LA
This lesson prompts students to explore the exciting range of things they can do when they grow up and highlights the importance of education, curiosity, and role models.
by 826 National and Cartoon Network
This lesson encourages students to consider and write about the myriad ways to include someone, stop bullying before it starts, and make a difference.
by Brandan Pierce, 826michigan
In this Lesson, students will identify a problem in their community and publish a zine for a target audience to advocate for change.
by Catherine Calabro Cavin, 826michigan
In this lesson, students will learn where writers find words, listen to "The Word Collector" by Peter H. Reynolds, and start to collect words they like and want to share with others.
by Ellen Lathrop and Malia Urbina, 826 Valencia
In this lesson, students will use descriptive language to write a poem about a favorite animal.

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