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Writing Lesson Plans for Kindergarten & First Grade

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Writing lesson plans for the entire year! Complete writing units to help you teach writing in kindergarten and 1st grade.

Writing Lesson Plans

Teaching writing can feel quite overwhelming! Writing instruction should occur daily in the classroom. However, you may find yourself asking, “Well, what exactly do I teach for writing?” That is a question I often hear from kindergarten and first-grade teachers. Deedee Wills and I created the perfect solution for you! We spent countless hours creating a writing curriculum for kindergarten and 1st grade. We later added 2nd grade, too! (You can more information about 2nd grade at the end of this post.) Throughout our Writing Through the Year bundle, we’ve included daily writing lesson plans that are aligned to standards, anchor charts, rubrics, mentor text ideas, and more! The bundle is divided into 9 writing units to last you throughout the entire school year. 

Each writing unit consists of 20 writing lessons. Ideally, you would complete 1 unit per month. Obviously, months with limited school days may be different. Within each unit, you will find the scope and sequence for the unit. Here is an example of unit 1. This unit gets you and your students ready for writer’s workshop. 

Setting up your writing block is a process and takes time for specific procedures to be taught. Students will learn about their job, as well as, yours during writer’s workshop. 

You will complete and utilize anchor charts throughout the writing units. 

Once you set the routines and procedures, students are ready to begin writing. 

Students’ writing will develop with each new day of writing instruction and practice.

As you progress through the units, students will challenge themselves even more. 

Student Sharing

Having students share their writing with their peers is a big part of writer’s workshop. Each day, students will share what they worked on. This is also a time when you can bring attention to great pieces of writing or students who did a good job of practicing the specific lesson idea for that day. 

Rubrics are included with each writing unit. For our kindergarten and first grade units, you will find a rubric for emergent writers(kindergarten) and early writers(first grade). 

There are also fix it up checklists for students to use. After introducing and modeling the checklist, students can independently check their own writing for correct mechanics. 

Start feeling confident about teaching writing each and every day in kindergarten and 1st grade! We make it simple and stress-free. 

Check out our writing bundle for kindergarten and first-grade, here:

• Writing Through the Year Bundle

Plus, click on this link to get a FREE writer’s workshop helper for your students:

• Writer’s Workshop Helper FREE FILE

If you are interested in 2nd grade writing, here are a few blog posts on Deedee’s website:

• Fiction Writing in Second Grade
• Informational Writing in Second Grade

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Creative Writing Through Wordless Picture Books

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Wordless picture books offer a wonderful foundation for creative writing. Often, students struggle with ideas and topics for writing. This genre of books offers a platform for students to develop their writing skills. In this lesson, students are exposed to wordless picture books and begin developing story lines orally and in writing. Educators can easily incorporate various instructional strategies into students' writing, such as use of dialogue, setting development, character descriptions, sequencing of events, and story development. An online, interactive story map is used to assist students in developing story lines.

Featured Resources

Interactive Story Map : Students will love this interactive resource that helps them generate story ideas.

From Theory to Practice

• David Wiesner (author of Tuesday ) identifies one of the most valuable characteristics of wordless books-the endless possibilities for creative interpretations.  
• Wordless books enhance creativity, vocabulary, and language development for readers of all ages, at all stages of cognitive development, and in all content areas.  
• The creativity stimulated by wordless books encourages older students to look more closely at story details, to carefully consider all story elements, and to more clearly understand how text is organized so that a story develops.
• Through discussion and critical examination of the details of the illustrations, students wrote sentences that effectively complemented the pictures.  

Common Core Standards

This resource has been aligned to the Common Core State Standards for states in which they have been adopted. If a state does not appear in the drop-down, CCSS alignments are forthcoming.

State Standards

This lesson has been aligned to standards in the following states. If a state does not appear in the drop-down, standard alignments are not currently available for that state.

NCTE/IRA National Standards for the English Language Arts

• 1. Students read a wide range of print and nonprint texts to build an understanding of texts, of themselves, and of the cultures of the United States and the world; to acquire new information; to respond to the needs and demands of society and the workplace; and for personal fulfillment. Among these texts are fiction and nonfiction, classic and contemporary works.
• 3. Students apply a wide range of strategies to comprehend, interpret, evaluate, and appreciate texts. They draw on their prior experience, their interactions with other readers and writers, their knowledge of word meaning and of other texts, their word identification strategies, and their understanding of textual features (e.g., sound-letter correspondence, sentence structure, context, graphics).
• 6. Students apply knowledge of language structure, language conventions (e.g., spelling and punctuation), media techniques, figurative language, and genre to create, critique, and discuss print and nonprint texts.
• 11. Students participate as knowledgeable, reflective, creative, and critical members of a variety of literacy communities.

Materials and Technology

• You Can't Take a Balloon Into the National Gallery by Weitzmann and Glasser (Dial Books for Young Readers, 2000)
• Sticky notes (3 X 5 size, lined is preferred)
• Student response journals
• Various wordless picture books: Wordless Picture Books (Reading Rockets) and Wordless Picture Books (Book Riot)

Peer Critique Rubric

Preparation

Student Objectives

Students will

• Explore various wordless picture books  
• Develop oral story lines for wordless picture books  
• Develop written story lines for wordless picture books  
• Critique story lines developed by peers  

Opening activity

Read a wordless picture book to the class by developing a story line to go along with the pictures. After reading, ask students if they would have created a different story for the book. Reread the same book asking students to volunteer to develop a story line for each page. Explain how everyone can have a different interpretation of a book.

Paired reading

Group students in pairs to select and read a wordless picture book together. Students should have the opportunity to create their own story line for the book and tell the story to their partner.

Small-group activity

Gather three to four students in a small group to develop a story for the book You Can't Take a Balloon Into the National Gallery. Explain that the story line should be created as a group. Each group should read through the book first, discuss ideas, and then develop a story line to go along with the illustrations. The text for each page should be written on sticky notes and placed on the coordinating pages of the book.

Whole-class discussion

Invite each group to read aloud their original story for the book You Can't Take a Balloon Into the National Gallery. Discuss the similarities and differences between each group's interpretation of the story. During the discussion, help students identify the setting, main character, conflict, and resolution, and model how to use the interactive Story Map tool.

Response journal activity

Have students complete a journal entry in response to the whole-class discussion about story lines for You Can't Take a Balloon Into the National Gallery. Ask them the following questions:

• Which story line was your favorite?  
• Why was it your favorite?  
• What made it enjoyable?

Independent work

Students select a wordless picture book from the classroom library to read and develop an original story line. Using the interactive Story Map tool, students begin to write their story line by identifying the setting, main character, conflict, and resolution. Once students complete the online Story Map, each map should be printed and used as a guide to further develop their story. Stories should incorporate elements of writing that include, but are not limited to:

• Use of dialogue  
• Setting development  
• Character descriptions  
• Sequencing of events  
• Story development

Pair-and-share conference

Students share their story lines with another student for critique. Comments and suggestions are provided for further story development. Students use a Peer Critique Rubric to complete this task.

Independent revision

Any revisions that are necessary are made based on the pair-and-share conference.

Whole-class sharing

Students read their original story to the class.

How does the museum on the website differ from the museum presented in the book?   What does the author do well in portraying the museum?   What is the most realistic illustration or part in the book?

• Have students create Character Trading Cards for the characters in the stories they have written. These can have multiple applications - for example, students can exchange them and write their own original stories incorporating each other's characters or they can use them as a tool to help them revise their stories.

Student Assessment / Reflections

• Teacher observation of student participation in whole-class and small-group activities  
• Journal response entries  
• Calendar Activities
• Student Interactives

The Story Map interactive is designed to assist students in prewriting and postreading activities by focusing on the key elements of character, setting, conflict, and resolution.

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1st Grade ELA Lesson Plans

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1st Grade Writing Lesson Plans

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Writing Lessons for 1st Grade

Writing has always been one of my favorite subjects to teach. I always struggled to find writing lessons for 1st grade with a good scope and sequence, a curriculum I loved, and time to do it all. I wanted a curriculum that integrated children’s literature, gave step-by-step strategies, offered lots of modeling and practice, wasn’t rushed, and offered extensions into my literacy center. Since I couldn’t find what I wanted, and what my students needed, I decided to create my very own writing lessons for 1st grade.

The first 8 weeks of my writing curriculum focus on building the foundation of writing by writing words, sentences, and then paragraphs. I know how busy teachers are and how many subjects we teach. I wanted my lessons to be clear, precise, and easy to follow. So, each lesson has a digital component you can project on a projectable board to guide the lesson. In my room, we always meet up front by our SMART board to begin. You simply make your way through the interactive daily slides.

The lessons for the week are based on a topic and are bulleted for you as an easy reference.

I have also included posters you can print and display as they are introduced. You will just need to print the weekly activities for your students, open the PowerPoint or Google Slide and go.

Mentor Text

Each week students are exposed to a mentor text or two that models a writing strategy or inspires a topic for writing. The story guides our instruction for the week and is a great starting point. I have included a list of all the stories , but I have also included links to the story read on YouTube in the projectable lesson to save teachers money.

Lesson Set-Up

I spend about 20 minutes a day on the writing block. Each lesson has an “I Do”, “We Do”, and “You Do” section. Modeling is truly key to their success and working together for the “We Do” just reinforces the modeling you did in the ”I Do” section. When you get to the “You Do” section, don’t be afraid to pull a small group of students who still need more support and complete it together. I did that daily last year and it really paid off.

Writing Center

As each new piece of writing is introduced, I add it to my writing center. I have literacy centers in my room so I can work with a small group of children on reading. It is important to me that my children have already had exposure to what I put in the writing center. I want them to be familiar with it and be able to complete it independently.

Organization

I like to keep all my materials in a binder for each 8-week section of learning. I put the lesson plans in a clear sleeve and the printables and posters in a pocket folder behind the weekly sleeves. In the very back, I keep all the center activities.

Last year my students LOVED writing. I loved how it was already planned and easy to implement. It wasn’t rushed and all my students felt successful. You can get started with weeks 1-8 of these Writing Lessons for 1st grade or purchase writing lessons for the entire year with my First Grade Writing Curriculum Bundle .

Here are what some teachers had to say about Writing Weeks 1-8 Getting Started :

“Absolutely love this product! It is some well thought out and planned. It has made my writing block extremely easy and has helped my students grow their writing skills!” “This is my favorite purchase on TPT and I have spend hundreds! Excellent resource! Engaging and easy to use. I love this so much!!!!” “I have taught First Grade for 15 years. This is by far the BEST introduction to writing I have ever used! It’s so easy to follow, so well laid out and INCLUDES everything you could ever need! This is the most beneficial purchase I have made from TPT… probably ever! PLEASE create more like this! It’s amazing! Thank you!”

And if you’re looking for some other great literacy resources be sure to read my blog post all about my Grammar Lessons for First Grade .

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I’m Megan, a first grade teacher and a mother to 7 amazing children. I love to create and collaborate with teachers. When I’m not teaching, I love spending time with my family, baking and playing tennis.

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Eight Free Creative Writing Lessons

February 17, 2012 by Ami 17 Comments

I know I throw around the word favorite all the time. But this is the truth: teaching creative writing lessons is my favorite. 

I have taught creative writing enrichment for summer school students. I have taught creative writing in various homeschool settings and co-ops. I have taught big students and little students. And I love it. 

Since I love to share homeschool co-op class ideas , I have compiled the creative writing lessons from a co-op class that I taught. 

Creative Writing Lessons for a Homeschool Co-op Class

First, please remember that any teacher can use these creative writing lessons. You don’t need to be teaching homeschoolers. You can be a classroom teacher or a homeschool teacher at home with one student. You can even be a librarian who needs a fun program series.

Second, I used these creative writing lesson plans with upper elementary students (with maybe a few 7th graders thrown in). However, you can adapt and use them for older students or younger students!

Creative Writing Lesson Plans

Creative writing lesson one.

The first lesson focuses on cliché and metaphor. It prompts students to consider how words matter.

Grab lesson one here .

Creative Writing Lesson Two

The second lesson teaches students about sensory details: why they are important and how to include them in their writing. Students will begin using sensory details to evoke smells and sounds and sights.

Grab lesson two here.

Creative Writing Lesson Three

The third lesson introduces showing vs. telling. Students learn how to recognize authors who utilize showing, and students are able to articulate the difference between showing and telling.

Grab lesson three here.

Creative Writing Lesson Four

The fourth lesson teaches students how to capture images. We use examples of poetry and prose to discuss this important writing skill.

Grab lesson four here.

Creative Writing Lesson Five

The fifth lesson introduces the story elements of character and conflict.

Note: You may choose to split this lesson into two lessons since it covers two big elements. I only had nine weeks with my students, so I had to jam character and conflict together.

Grab lesson five here.

Creative Writing Lesson Six

The sixth lesson introduces the students to point of view and perspective. We have fun reading poems and using pictures to write descriptions from different points of view.

Grab lesson six here.

Creative Writing Lesson Seven

The seventh lesson puts everything we’ve learned together. I read the students some fractured fairy tales, and we watch some, too. Students then use the prewriting activities and their imaginations to begin drafting their own fractured fairy tales.

Grab lesson seven here.

Creative Writing Lesson Eight

The eighth lesson focuses on revision. After a mini-lesson, students partner up for peer editing.

Grab lesson eight here .

For our final class day, students bring revised work, and I host coffee shop readings. This is a memorable experience for students (and their teacher).

Creative Writing Lessons FAQ

Since posting these creative writing lessons, I have had lots of questions. I decided to compile them here in case you have the same question.

Q: What are copywork quotes? A: Copywork quotes are simply great quotes that students copy as part of their homework assignments. You can use any quotes about writing. I’ve included my favorites throughout the printable packs.

Q: Can I use this with a younger or older student? A: Absolutely! Just adapt it to meet the needs of your student.

Q: Can I use this for my library’s programming or my homeschool co-op class? A: Yes! I just ask that it not be used for profit.

Do you have any questions about teaching creative writing? What’s your biggest hang-up when it comes to teaching creative writing? I’d love to hear from you and help you solve the issue.

January 7, 2016 at 1:57 pm

Hi Theresa,

As long as you are not profitting from using them, they are yours to use! Enjoy! Wish I could be there to help facilitate all those young writers! 

[…] Creative Writing Class […]

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First Grade Writing Mini-Lessons

Teachers have to make tough decisions about how much time to spend on standards. They want to ensure students are ready for everything in life. Therefore, some standards receive more time, focus, and attention. One of these standards involves writing. Honestly, this is a challenging skill to learn because there are so many components. Thankfully, the first grade Writing Mini-Lessons are here to guide and support students as they build writing skills and stamina. 

Finding the Time 

Do you struggle to find time to teach first-grade writing lessons? It is so hard to fit everything in! Many times, the focus is more on reading and math. However, students must focus on writing each year. Before long, they will be writing essays with citations. Thus, they need plenty of time during elementary school to strengthen the foundational elements of writing. Luckily, this resource makes daily writing practice attainable! 

Writing is not just something that students will know how to do overnight. It takes time and practice to show growth. Therefore, this resource includes 20 writing mini-lessons for each month! This means there are 180 lessons to last the entire school year! Additionally, a printable 1st-grade writing journal accompanies the mini-lessons for each month. Students can even take their journals home and practice skills with their parents. 

Teachers also have a guide for daily lessons. This means that writing lessons are ready for the entire year! Now, teachers can take the guesswork out of planning and make teaching first-grade writing a breeze. Honestly, it will feel so good to have your entire year of writing instruction planned and ready to go! 

Parent Communication 

It is crucial to let parents know what is going on in the classroom. However, it can be hard to find the time to do this. Thankfully, the first grade Writing Mini-Lessons includes an exclusive set of parent letters that tell what the writing skills are for each month! Teachers can even staple the letters to the student writing journal before sending them home. Parents will love knowing what their children are learning and how to help them at home. 

Writing Styles

These first-grade writing mini-lessons will expose students to multiple writing styles. This includes narratives, persuasion, informative, opinion, descriptive, poetry, and letters. Additionally, students will learn about writing conventions. This resource will prepare students for writing throughout their entire lives!  

Implementation  of First Grade WRiting Mini-lessons

Teachers can implement the same resource in various ways. This is one of the best parts of teaching! Personally, I love to use mini-lessons for simple yet effective writing practice each day. By doing this, I walk students through the mini-lesson and then provide time to work on a writing activity. Depending on the skill, I utilize whole group instruction or small group instruction. No matter how teachers implement this resource, students will love seeing their writing growth! 

Grade Levels 

The Writing Mini-Lessons mainly focus on 1st grade. However, every student learns at a different pace! Therefore, it could also work in kindergarten or 2nd grade. 

Writing is a skill students will use throughout their entire lives. It is also incredibly complex and incorporates so many skills. Thus, students need consistent time and practice to build their writing knowledge. Thankfully, the first-grade Writing Mini-Lessons ensure students practice writing skills daily and create an unbreakable writing foundation. 

Want a FREE SAMPLE of my Writing Mini-Lessons? Sign up below to join my email list. You will also receive freebies for blog exclusive subscribers!  

TRY THIS WRITING MINI-LESSON FREEBIE

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H.C Andersen

All About Me

Emotions and Emojis

Indigenous Language Dictionary

Indigenous Language Dictionary Lesson Plan

Indigenous languages carry our ancestors’ wisdom, traditions, and knowledge, bridging our past, present, and future. This lesson plan introduces students to the importance of indigenous languages by creating their own ‘Indigenous Language Dictionary’ using WriteReader. The goal is to enhance students’ understanding and appreciation of indigenous cultures and foster their research, writing, and digital literacy skills.

This lesson is geared towards 1st and 2nd grades and could take 1-2 weeks, depending on how much time you have available in your daily plans. You can download the complete Indigenous Language Dictionary Lesson Plan .

Hans Christian Andersen Fairy Tale Lesson Plan

Based on three fairy tales from the world famous fairy tale writer Hans Christian Andersen, we have developed illustrations and a lesson plan with a number of varied writing prompts for different elementary school grade levels.

The three selected fairy tales are:

• The Ugly Duckling • The Nightingale • The Little Match Girl

If you would like your students to create their own fairy tales based on the tales mentioned above, you can download our Hans Christian Andersen Lesson Plan .

Diversity Lesson Plan

WriteReader is proud to be part of a global community, which stands for promoting and welcoming diversity. With this as our foundation, we humbly offer a  Diversity Lesson Plan  to add to the important conversations that so many leaders in the community have already started. The goals of this lesson plan are for children to:

• Recognize and accept similarities & differences in the places where they live, learn, and play
• Commit to being inclusive through their words and actions
• Use writing to communicate and acknowledge diversity as a strength

May this ring true for all of us so that we all can live together in harmony!

You can access or download our Diversity Lesson Plan .

Gratitude Lesson Plan

Expressing gratitude need not be limited to seasonal celebrations. We can show and feel gratitude every day. In fact, scientific research shows that people who are grateful are happier and healthier human beings. As parents and educators, that’s exactly what we want for children too. We can help them to take notice of all the wonderful things in life and teach them the language of a thankful heart. This lesson plan gives you ideas for accessing background knowledge, sparking heartfelt discussions, and inviting young writers to express their gratefulness in creative ways.

If you would like to create a culture of gratitude in your home or school, you can download our Gratitude Lesson Plan.

Fair Play Lesson Plan

Children can develop their social-emotional learning in the gym and on the playground, as well as in the classroom and at home. It’s equally important that they understand the elements of fair play, which requires respect, sportsmanship, and teamwork. WriteReader’s Fair Play lesson plan gives you ideas for pre-writing activities to activate prior knowledge or develop background knowledge. There are also several suggestions for writing topics and tips for young writers. Our custom fair play image bank provides the children with easy access to engaging photos to help stimulate their thinking and enhance their writing. The lesson is suitable for use at sports clubs, home, or school. As always, we provide fillable fields (once the plan is downloaded to a computer) so that you can customize it, according to your team or class. Ready, set … play!

You can download and access the Fair Play lesson plan here. 

“All About Me” Lesson Plan

We all have different inner and outer qualities that make us special, and it’s important for children to recognize this. Research regarding the social-emotional core competencies informs us that positive self-awareness promotes better choices and pro-social behaviors. So, it’s equally important for adults to affirm each child’s uniqueness. For this reason, we’ve created a lesson plan called “All About Me,” which is especially geared towards Pre-K to Grade 1 children. Our lesson plan gives ideas for fun activities while integrating social-emotional learning (SEL) with emergent literacy development. We hope that your young learners will enjoy these activities as they become more self-aware.

You can download or access the All About Me Lesson Plan.

Emotions and Emojis Lesson Plan

We all love using emojis in our texts and emails or adding them as stickers on photos. Educationally speaking, they can also be useful in helping children to interpret facial expressions and express their own feelings. The learning can be further extended by matching the expressions with the correct tone of voice. With this in mind, WriteReader has created a new lesson plan for teachers and parents about “Emotions and Emojis.” We’ve got you covered in all the essential aspects of helping your students grow in their social-emotional learning and the development of their literacy skills!

You can access or download the Emotions and Emojis Lesson Plan.

Ideas for daily or weekly activities (K-5)

The structure and support functionality of the learning tool WriteReader enables kindergarten to 5th-grade students to produce and share multimodal books with images, text and sound – regardless of their written capabilities. WriteReader can be used with almost any theme and genre, as the teaching frameworks are defined and created by the teacher and the content is created by the student.

Examples of suitable and relevant models for the target group can be describing daily events, for example.

• Write a book about  their school  and share it with fellow kindergarten children who might later be starting in the same school. The book can focus on key persons at the school (teachers, educators, the janitor, the cleaning personnel etc.) and central locations at the school (the playground, the library, the cafeteria, the gym, etc.).
• Write a book about their  favorite teddy bear  or  favorite toy , describing why this particular toy means so much to them. The teddy bear/toy can be the main character or object in a fictional text – for example, a fairytale.
• Write a book about their  favorite author  and  book . They can take pictures of the book and write about why they like the book.
• Write a  non-fiction book  about a topic of interest. For example, students can write about horses, dinosaurs, volcanoes, Minecraft, and more. Once finished, the book can be printed out and published at the school library.
• Write a book about a  good experience  they had at school or at home. It can be about a school visit to the zoo or when they went on a family vacation.
• Write a diary. Students can write a page or two about what they  experience at home or school  every day for a period of time. Remember that they should date the pages.
• Write a  guide  or  instruction book . It can be about how to play one of the games in an after school club or how to bake a cake.

Get more ideas from our blog post  Inspiraton for meaningful writing activities .

General ideas

Before writing.

• Find and read a mentor text from the school library which exemplifies the genre the students will write stories about. Talk with the students about the characteristics of the genre and about where and how the characters are presented in the text.
• Assess from the content and educational goals whether it is most relevant for the students to write alone or in pairs.
• Adjust the process so that the majority of the time is spent with students writing together with assistance from an adult.
• It is recommended to engage a middle or senior class at the school. The older students can help the younger ones with the adult writing field, types of genres, and in searching for images. NB: It’s important that the students understand that it is the younger child who is doing the writing.

Assess whether the students would benefit from taking pictures to be used in the book at home. In this way, time at school is spent solely on writing.

While writing

• If it’s difficult to provide writing in the adult field for the entire class, then the students with the most needs should be given the highest priority. The parents of the other children can be encouraged to do conventional writing with their children at home. NB: It is not necessary to add adult writing to gain the benefits of WriteReader, but the opportunity for students to reflect upon themselves and learn from conventional writing will strengthen their written language skills.
• Let the students read their books out loud for their classmates during the writing process in order to receive and provide constructive feedback.

After writing

• Let the students read their books aloud for peers or younger students at the school or a nearby kindergarten.
• The students should read their books aloud for their parents, grandparents, and sibligs at home as often as possible.
• It is recommended to share and publish the students’ books. For instance, print, email the links to family, or share them on the school’s intranet.
• NB: In regards to online publishing, it is important that all persons depicted in the books have given their consent and that the images being used are not subject to copyright restrictions.

Common Core Standards (K-5)

The following writing standards can be accommodated with WriteReader and the above themes/ideas:

Kindergarten

Text types and purposes:.

• Use a combination of drawing, dictating, and writing to compose opinion pieces in which they tell a reader the topic or the name of the book they are writing about and state an opinion or preference about the topic or book 
• Use a combination of drawing, dictating, and writing to compose informative/explanatory texts in which they name what they are writing about and supply some information about the topic
• Use a combination of drawing, dictating, and writing to narrate a single event or several loosely linked events, tell about the events in the order in which they occurred, and provide a reaction to what happened

Production and Distribution of Writing:

• With guidance and support from adults, respond to questions and suggestions from peers and add details to strengthen writing as needed 
• With guidance and support from adults, explore a variety of digital tools to produce and publish writing, including in collaboration with peers 

Research to Build and Present Knowledge:

• Participate in shared research and writing projects – e.g., explore a number of books by a favorite author and express opinions about them 
• With guidance and support from adults, recall information from experiences or gather information from provided sources to answer a question
• Write opinion pieces in which they introduce the topic or name the book they are writing about, state an opinion, supply a reason for the opinion, and provide some sense of closure
• Write informative/explanatory texts in which they name a topic, supply some facts about the topic, and provide some sense of closure 
• Write narratives in which they recount two or more appropriately sequenced events, include some details regarding what happened, use temporal words to signal event order, and provide some sense of closure Production and Distribution of Writing
• With guidance and support from adults, focus on a topic, respond to questions and suggestions from peers, and add details to strengthen writing as needed
• With guidance and support from adults, use a variety of digital tools to produce and publish writing, including in collaboration with peers
• Participate in shared research and writing projects – e.g., explore a number of “how-to” books on a given topic and use them to write a sequence of instructions
• Write informative/explanatory texts in which they introduce a topic, use facts and definitions to develop points, and provide a concluding statement or section 
• Write narratives in which they recount a well-elaborated event or short sequence of events, include details to describe actions, thoughts, and feelings, use temporal words to signal event order, and provide a sense of closure
• With guidance and support from adults and peers, focus on a topic and strengthen writing as needed by revising and editing
• With guidance and support from adults, use a variety of digital tools to produce and publish writing, including in collaboration with peers 
• Recall information from experiences or gather information from provided sources to answer a question
• Use linking words and phrases (e.g., because, therefore, since, for example) to connect opinion and reasons 
• Provide a concluding statement or section
• Introduce a topic and group related information together; include illustrations when useful to aiding comprehension
• Establish a situation and introduce a narrator and/or characters; organize an event sequence that unfolds naturally response of characters to situations
• Use temporal words and phrases to signal event order
• Provide a sense of closure
• With guidance and support from adults, produce writing in which the development and organization are appropriate to task and purpose 
• With guidance and support from peers and adults, develop and strengthen writing as needed by planning, revising, and editing 
• With guidance and support from adults, use technology to produce and publish writing (using keyboarding skills) as well as to interact and collaborate with others 
• Conduct short research projects that build knowledge about a topic
• Recall information from experiences or gather information from print and digital sources; take brief notes on sources and sort evidence into provided categories 

Range of Writing:

• Write routinely over extended time frames (time for research, reflection, and revision) and shorter time frames (a single sitting or a day or two) for a range of discipline-specific tasks, purposes, and audiences
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Week One Creative Writing Lesson Plans: Expert Guide

Looking for creative writing lesson plans? I am developing creative writing lesson ideas! 

I’ve written and revamped my creative writing lesson plans and learned that the first week is vital in establishing a community of writers, in outlining expectations, and in working with a new class.

What are some good creative writing exercises?

Some good creative writing exercises include writing prompts, free writing, character development exercises, and fun writing games.

The first week, though, we establish trust—and then we begin powerful creative writing exercises to engage young writers and our community.

How can add encouragement in creative writing lesson plans?

I’ve found students are shy about writing creatively, about sharing pieces of themselves. A large part of the first week of class is setting the atmosphere, of showing everyone they are free to create. And! These concepts will apply to most writing lesson plans for secondary students.

Feel free to give me feedback and borrow all that you need! Below, find my detailed my day-by-day progression for creative writing lesson plans  for week one.

Creative Writing Lesson Day One: Sharing my vision

Comfort matters for young writers. I’m not a huge “ice breaker” type of teacher—I build relationships slowly. Still, to get student writing, we must establish that everyone is safe to explore, to write, to error.

Here are some ideas.

Tone and attitude

For day one with any lesson plan for creative writing, I think it is important to set the tone, to immediately establish what I want from my creative writing students. And that is…

them not to write for me, but for them. I don’t want them writing what they think I want them to write.

Does that make sense? Limitations hurt young writers. My overall tone and attitude toward young writers is that we will work together, create and write together, provide feedback, and invest in ourselves. Older kiddos think that they must provide teachers with the “correct” writing. In such a course, restrictions and boundaries largely go out the window.

Plus, I specifically outline what I believe they can produce in a presentation to set people at ease.

The presentation covers expectations for the class. As the teacher, I am a sort of writing coach with ideas that will not work for everyone. Writers should explore different methods and realize what works for them. First, not everyone will appreciate every type of writing—which is fine. But as a writing community, we must accept that we may not be the target audience for every piece of work.

Therefore, respect is a large component of the class. Be sure to outline what interactions you find acceptable within your classroom community.

Next, as their writing coach, I plan to provide ideas and tools for use. Their job is to decide what tools work for their creative endeavors. My overall message is uplifting and encouraging.

Finally, when we finish, I share the presentation with students so they can consult it throughout the semester. The presentation works nicely for meet-the-teacher night, too!

After covering classroom procedures and rules, I show students a TED Talk. We watch The Danger of a Single Story by Chimamanda Adichie. My goal is to show students that I don’t have a predetermined idea concerning what they should write. This discussion takes the rest of the class period.

Establishing comfort and excitement precedents my other creative writing activities. Personalize your “vision” activities for your lessons in creative writing. Honestly, doing this pre-work builds relationships with students and creates a positive classroom atmosphere.

Creative Writing Lesson Day Two: Activating prior knowledge

Students possess prior knowledge concerning creative writing, but they might not consider that. Students should realize that they know what constitutes a great story. They might not realize that yet. An easy lesson plan for creative writing that will pay off later is to activate prior knowledge. Brainstorm creative, memorable, unforgettable stories with students. Share your thoughts too! You will start to build relationships with students who share the same tastes as you (and those that are completely different!).

Activation activity

During this activity, I want to see how students work together, and I want to build a rapport with students. Additionally, activating prior knowledge provides a smooth transition into other creative writing activities.

This creative writing activity is simple:

I ask students to tell me memorable stories—books, play, tv shows, movies—and I write them on the board. I add and veto as appropriate. Normally doing these classroom discussions, we dive deeper into comedies and creative nonfiction. Sometimes as we work, I ask students to research certain stories and definitions. I normally take a picture of our work so that I can build creative writing lessons from students’ interests.

This takes longer than you might think, but I like that aspect. This information can help me shape my future lessons.

With about twenty minutes left in class, I ask students to form small groups. I want them to derive what makes these stories memorable. Since students complete group and partner activities in this class, I also watch and see how they interact.

Students often draw conclusions about what makes a story memorable:

• Realistic or true-to-life characters.
• Meaningful themes.
• Funny or sad events.

All of this information will be used later as students work on their own writing. Many times, my creative writing lessons overlap, especially concerning the feedback from young writers.

Creative Writing Lesson Day Three: Brainstorming and a graphic organizer

From building creative writing activities and implementing them, I now realize that students think they will sit and write. Ta-da!  After all, this isn’t academic writing. Coaching creative writing students is part of the process.

Young writers must accept that a first draft is simply that, a first draft. Building a project requires thought and mistakes. (Any writing endeavor does, really.) Students hear ‘creative writing’ and they think… easy. Therefore, a first week lesson plan for creative writing should touch on what creativity is.

Really, creativity is everywhere. We complete a graphic organizer titled, “Where is Creativity?” Students brainstorm familiar areas that they may not realize have such pieces.

The ideas they compile stir all sorts of conversations:

• Restaurants
• Movie theaters
• Amusement parks

By completing this graphic organizer, we discuss how creativity surrounds us, how we can incorporate different pieces in our writing, and how different areas influence our processes.

Creative Writing Lesson, Days Four and Five: Creative Nonfiction

Students need practice writing, and they need to understand that they will not use every word they write. Cutting out lines is painful for them! Often, a lesson plan for creative writing involves providing time for meaningful writing.

For two days, we study and discuss creative nonfiction. Students start by reading an overview of creative nonfiction . (If you need mentor texts, that website has some as well.) When I have books available, I show the class examples of creative nonfiction.

We then continue through elements of a narrative . Classes are sometimes surprised that a narrative can be nonfiction.

The narrative writing is our first large project. As we continue, students are responsible for smaller projects as well. This keeps them writing most days.

Overall, my students and I work together during the first week of any creative writing class. I encourage them to write, and I cheer on their progress. My message to classes is that their writing has value, and an audience exists for their creations.

And that is my week one! The quick recap:

Week One Creative Writing Lesson Plans

Monday: Rules, procedures, TED Talk, discussion.

Tuesday: Prior knowledge—brainstorm the modeling of memorable stories. Draw conclusions about storytelling with anchor charts. Build community through common knowledge.

Wednesday: Graphic organizer.

Thursday and Friday: Creative nonfiction. Start narrative writing.

Students do well with this small assignment for the second week, and then we move to longer creative writing assignments . When classesexperience success with their first assignment, you can start constructive editing and revising with them as the class continues.

These creative writing activities should be easy implement and personalize for your students.

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Are you interested in more creative writing lesson ideas? My Facebook page has interactive educators who love to discuss creative writing for middle school and high school creative writing lesson plans. Join us!

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