This resource gives a diversity of ideas for students to share their writing.

This is available in website and app versions. This is a very user friendly way to make podcasts.  There are a variety of sound effects, clips etc to be used to make a polished more professional sounding podcast.  Students - make sure you have your school's and parent's permission before using this! 

This lesson has students creating a self portrait using image and text.

This lesson can be completed in Art & ELA.
Morphology of the word micrography – micro – small; graphy -writing – students use small writing to create portraits!

Students will need to have a good understanding of self to create their portrait. Ideas could include words to describe the student, phrases, quotes, song lyrics, family members, poetry, or random thoughts. Some students may need guidance as to what information to include (or a model).

Sun West - Contact your school’s technology coach if require help with the technology piece of this lesson.

Extension – this lesson could be extended further into Social Studies or ELA by having students complete micrography portraits of historical figures, indigenous leaders, scientists or characters from novels or stories they are studying.

Multiage - Grade 4 students could complete this activity for prairie landscapes & Grade 5 students could complete this on pop art.

Through the activities within this toolkit, students will gain an understanding of the importance of nature and how all living things are connected. These resources are geared towards students in grades 6-8.

Book Creator is a simple tool for creating awesome digital books. This site is a great way to bring creativity to your classroom or home. Students create, read and publish using a set of tools that is simple to use. Features include:
- 50 hand-picked fonts to choose from
- Add images or take your own photos
- Drop in video or music, or even record your voice
- Use the pen tool to draw or annotate
- Use shapes, arrows and emojis to express your ideas
- Portrait, square, or landscape book layouts

Students combine text, images, audio and video to create:
Interactive stories
Digital portfolios
Research journals
Poetry books
Science reports
Instruction manuals
‘About me’ books
Comic adventures

This resource examines the biodiversity and the complexity of the various life forms that make up Canadian forests. The emphasis is on helping students appreciate the relationships and interdependence of all species in this ecosystem. Students learn how they can affect forests and understand ways to preserve and maintain their diversity. Themes include biotechnology, natural and introduced pests, species at risk, habitat loss and fragmentation, protected areas, climate change and traditional indigenous knowledge. Lessons can be summarized as follows:

Lesson One- It's What Inside That Counts ( 1x90min)

Students learn the basics of biodiversity by studying the arrangements of fauna and flora in a field investigation of the schoolyard. Teams will visit three assigned "habitat" sites and record living and non-living components. After discussing results, students are asked to create a poem or story about living in one of the habitat sites.

Lesson Two- Too Hot, Too Cold,...Just Right ( 2x45min)

This lesson focuses on how climate change impacts population numbers. After a discussion on how climate changes are driven by human activity, students are guided through a role play simulating the effects of rising temperatures on Arctic, Mid-latitude and Tropical biomes. After a wrap-up with discussion questions, students are asked to write a short story on an assigned topic.

Lesson Three- What Our Elders Say (1x60min, 1x90min)

After looking at how a Canadian Aboriginal legend relates to biodiversity, the students read and perform a play based on the "Legend of The Sky Sisters". Students then write their own legend incorporating an environmental message.

Lesson Four- Barrier To Biodiversity (2x60min)

After reviewing as a class how human activity can lead to habitat loss and fragmentation, students have to write and present stories in the form of a power point presentation, poster, public service announcement or skit describing how individual plants or animals are subject to, and respond to, stress in their habitat.

Lesson Five- Off Limits (4x45min)

Students investigate officially protected areas and create a class newspaper that contains articles which focus on the role of protected areas in helping maintain diversity. In this exercise they explore the social, economic, and environmental impacts of protected areas.

Lesson Six- To Be Or Not To Be (2x60min)

Students work in groups to produce a "species at risk" game board which focuses on the habitat impacts of: change/modification, over-exploitation of resources, poorly regulated commercial harvest, disruption of migration routes/breeding behaviors, contamination, and the introduction of exotic species.

Lesson Seven- Unwelcome Guests (2 x 60min)

Students develop a "Futures Wheel"(a graphic description of the inter-relationships and impacts of a single decision or event) focusing on exotic and invasive species in Canada.

Lesson Eight- Timberland ( 1x90min)

A role playing activity is used to show how biotechnology can be used as a tool to help maintain forest biodiversity. Using a timber-theft crime story students will complete a report (including a CSI sheet and victim profile) to assist them in understanding techniques used in biotechnology.

This resource can easily be adapted to include no technology.

"CommonLit delivers high-quality, free instructional materials to support literacy development for students in grades 3-12. Our resources are:
Flexible;
Research-Based;
Aligned to the Common Core State Standards;
Created by teachers, for teachers.
They believe in the transformative power of a great text, and a great question. That’s why we are committed to keeping CommonLit completely free, forever." (CommonLit site)

"CommonLit delivers high-quality, free instructional materials to support literacy development for students in grades 3-12. Our resources are:
Flexible;
Research-Based;
Created by teachers, for teachers.
They believe in the transformative power of a great text, and a great question. That’s why we are committed to keeping CommonLit completely free, forever." (CommonLit site)

Teachers can search for content by grade, theme, content type, genres, literary devices, and more. Alternative options are offered for students that may require adaptations for reading an easier level.

Parent guides are also provided.

Benchmark and ongoing assessments are available.

360 Curriculum provides full integrated units E.g., Unit 1 Characters Who Change and Grow which includes a baseline assessment, vocabulary activities, reading lessons, writing lessons, quiz, grammar activities, media exploration, discussion, and a culminating task.

Students in grades 4-6 engage in a series of activities (both inside and outside the classroom) designed to inspire a sense of environmental stewardship. Each of the activities is intended to have children explore their profound connection to nature and experience the power of individual and collective action.

Students explore the daily choices, they, their families, their school and their communities make; the impact of those choices on nature; and the role they and others may take in protecting nature.

The activities are fun, hands-on, and thought provoking. Students have opportunities to share what they are learning with their fellow students, family, and community and to create their own “class foundation” to collectively act on their concerns and passions.

The resource consists of 16 cross-curricular lessons on a range of issues from which teachers may select according to the dictates of their time and curriculum.

The goal of this project is for students to create their own iSpy Writing submission, whilst learning about theme, poetry, rhyme scheme, grammar and the editing process. This guide takes students through the writing process step-by-step and create a comprehensive and student inspired project! This will take about 3-4 hours of classroom time.

The purpose of this video lesson to review the steps in writing a Tanka poem, and to draft, revise and publish a Tanka poem.

The purpose of the video lesson is to review the components of a friendly letter. The accompanying handout includes a letter that students are asked to respond to in friendly letter format.

The purpose of the video lesson is to outline how to write a metaphor. The accompanying handout has students look at metaphors in their readings and then write some of their own.

The purpose of the video lesson is to outline how to write compare and contrast paragraphs. The accompanying handout provides a compare and contrast paragraph graphic organizer that students can use to complete a paragraph in which they compare and contrast the topic given or ones of their choice.

The purpose of the video lesson is practice writing a personification poem using a frame. The accompanying handout outlines the structure of the poem and asks students to brainstorm ideas and write a poem of their own.

The purpose of the video lesson is review what a tanka poem is, look at examples of tanka poems and have students write tanka poems of their own.

The resource offers multiple video lessons for each of the writing traits at the grade 6 level, using the resource "Write Traits Student Traitbook" Grade 6, by V. Spandel and J. Hicks.
The traits include:
- ideas
- organization
- word choice
- sentence fluency
- voice
- conventions and presentation are embedded throughout the unit lessons

If your student/child is not sure what they can write, use this handy chart from Scholastic to get them started. There are so many choices!

These 4 point rubric exemplars were developed to provide a consistent and common resource that aligns with the Saskatchewan curriculum and provide opportunities for transfer of responsibility between educator and student. These rubrics are designed to be edited by educator and student.