Unit 1 – Week 1 – Day 1

Describe how you felt the first time you

tried a new activity, such as bike riding
or cooking.

Unit 1 – Week 1 – Day 2

Write about a new activity that you’d

like to try. Explain why you’d like to try
this activity.

Unit 1 – Week 1 – Day 3

Paint a picture of your classroom in

words. For example, describe its size,
shape, and furniture.

Unit 1 – Week 1 – Day 4

Imagine that you are Mr. Hartwell. Write

what you would say to persuade Sarah
to go to school.
Unit 1 – Week 1 – Day 5

Pretend that you’re a reporter for the

school newspaper. Write a short article
about Ricardo’s mistake.

Unit 1 – Week 2 – Day 1

Do you keep in touch with friends or

relatives by e-mail, letters, or
telephone? Explain which method you
prefer and why.

Unit 1 – Week 2 – Day 2

Write a note asking your parents for

permission to visit a friend after school.
Explain why you want to visit this friend.
Unit 1 – Week 2 – Day 3

Write a paragraph describing a movie,

TV show, or sports event that you have
recently seen.

Unit 1 – Week 2 – Day 4

Imagine that you are Juno’s

grandmother. Describe how you felt
when you received his letter.

Unit 1 – Week 2 – Day 5

Write a paragraph telling what you

would like to do if a friend or relative
visited from far away.

Unit 1 – Week 3 – Day 1

You are moving to a country where no

one speaks your language. List ten
words you need to learn in the new
language to communicate.

Unit 1 – Week 3 – Day 2

Imagine that you wanted to take a

month off in the middle of the school
year. Write what your family would say.

Unit 1 – Week 3 – Day 3

If you were a wild animal captured by a

family to be a pet, how would you feel?
Describe your feelings in your journal.

Unit 1 – Week 3 – Day 4

You work for a newspaper. Write one

positive headline and one negative
headline about how urban sprawl can
change a community.
Unit 1 – Week 3 – Day 5

You want to play basketball, but a friend

has a broken arm. How would you
change the rules so that everyone could
play?

Unit 1 – Week 4 – Day 1

Write an advertisement persuading

people to travel to Antarctica.

Unit 1 – Week 4 – Day 2

Imagine you had a chance to interview a

scientist who has just returned from
Antarctica. What three questions would
you ask and why?

Unit 1 – Week 4 – Day 3

Describe a place you’ve visited that you

think is interesting or special.
Unit 1 – Week 4 – Day 4

Write a paragraph describing an animal

you’ve seen in a zoo, on television, or
somewhere else.

Unit 1 – Week 4 – Day 5

Write a letter to a friend about a place

you’d like to visit and tell why you want
to go there.

Unit 1 – Week 5 – Day 1

Describe a pet you want to own. Tell

where you will keep it and how you will
take care of it.

Unit 1 – Week 5 – Day 2

Imagine you own a pet store. Describe
your responsibilities and what you like
about your job.

Unit 1 – Week 5 – Day 3

Imagine you are Doug the bug. Describe

how you would feel about being
Elizabeth’s new pet.

Unit 1 – Week 5 – Day 4

Write a list of some reasons that a

person might not want to own a pet.

Unit 1 – Week 5 – Day 5

Imagine you are a family pet. Write

about what type of pet you are and what
your owners are like.
Unit 2 – Week 1 – Day 1

Write a description of one performance

you have seen in school, such as a
concert or play.

Unit 2 – Week 1 – Day 2

Write a brief review of a performance

you have seen, telling whether you liked
it or not and why.

Unit 2 – Week 1 – Day 3

Write a short poem about putting on a

performance.

Unit 2 – Week 1 – Day 4

Imagine that you are acting as an ant in
the play. Write about what you might
say.

Unit 2 – Week 1 – Day 5

Write a couple of sentences that tell

your opinion of the play The Strongest
One. Explain why you feel that way.

Unit 2 – Week 2 – Day 1

Write a paragraph describing how it

feels to stand face to face with a wolf.

Unit 2 – Week 2 – Day 2

If you could talk with a wolf, what would

you say? Write a short dialogue between
the two of you.
Unit 2 – Week 2 – Day 3

Write a description of wolves for a

children’s encyclopedia.

Unit 2 – Week 2 – Day 4

Write a paragraph describing a wild

animal.

Unit 2 – Week 2 – Day 5

Imagine you are a teacher with a wolf in

your class. Write about the kind of
student the wolf is.

Unit 2 – Week 3 – Day 1

Write what you would do on the

weekends if there was no electricity.
Unit 2 – Week 3 – Day 2

Write a letter to a third grader living 100

years ago that describes one invention
you use today.
Unit 2 – Week 3 – Day 3

You are interviewing the inventor of the

radio. Write three questions you would
ask.

Unit 2 – Week 3 – Day 4

How has your world changed since you

were in the first grade? Have you
learned new things?

Unit 2 – Week 3 – Day 5

Write a journal entry describing what

you would like to be doing 20 years from
now.
Unit 2 – Week 4 – Day 1

Write a short poem about the night sky.

Share it with classmates.

Unit 2 – Week 4 – Day 2

Write a paragraph comparing and

contrasting three things in the night sky
and the day sky.

Unit 2 – Week 4 – Day 3

Write a paragraph with the following

topic sentence: “The night sky is filled
with wonder.” Use supporting details.

Unit 2 – Week 4 – Day 4

Write a letter to a friend telling the most

interesting facts you learned from
reading The Planets in Our Solar System.
Unit 2 – Week 4 – Day 5

Imagine that you lived on another

planet. Write about what life is like on
that planet.

Unit 2 – Week 5 – Day 1

Write a paragraph describing what you

think a day in the life of a writer is like.

Unit 2 – Week 5 – Day 2

Write a paragraph telling what your

favorite kind of writing is and why you
like it.

Unit 2 – Week 5 – Day 3

Write a paragraph with the topic
sentence: “When I grow up I would like
to be a writer.”

Unit 2 – Week 5 – Day 4

Write a few questions that you would

like to ask Helen Lester. Imagine what
she might say, and write her answers.

Unit 2 – Week 5 – Day 5

Imagine that you were an award-winning

author. Write what you would say, or
your speech, when you accept your
award.

Unit 3 – Week 1 – Day 1

Write a description of your favorite food,

but do not name it. Exchange
descriptions with a partner and try to
guess each other’s food.

Unit 3 – Week 1 – Day 2

Write about a tradition your family has

where you always eat a special meal.

Unit 3 – Week 1 – Day 3

Write an invitation to a friend to come to

a feast of foods at your house. Tell them
what foods you will serve.

Unit 3 – Week 1 – Day 4

What is the worst kind of lunch for you?

Write about a lunch that really
disappointed you.

Unit 3 – Week 1 – Day 5

Pretend that you are at a banquet.
Describe one dish that is on the table.

Unit 3 – Week 2 – Day 1

Write a riddle you already know or try to

make one up. Exchange your writing
with a partner and try to solve each
other’s riddle.

Unit 3 – Week 2 – Day 2

Write a paragraph describing the setting

for a modern-day fairy tale. Use
descriptive details.

Unit 3 – Week 2 – Day 3

Use your description of a setting to write

a modern-day fairy tale.

Unit 3 – Week 2 – Day 4

Write a haiku using words that help give

a feeling for the subject of your poem.
Unit 3 – Week 2 – Day 5

Read Aziza’s number riddle again. Try

writing a riddle for another number.

Unit 3 – Week 3 – Day 1

Write a letter to the mayor of your city

explaining why it’s important to
preserve your neighborhood’s
environment.

Unit 3 – Week 3 – Day 2

Use the desert as the setting for an

action story you are writing. Describe
the desert’s sounds, smells, and
temperatures.

Unit 3 – Week 3 – Day 3

What would you change about the
weather? Explain how this might affect
people and the environment.

Unit 3 – Week 3 – Day 4

Write an advertisement asking for

people’s old Christmas trees for the
sand dunes.

Unit 3 – Week 3 – Day 5

At night, a frog jumps onto your bed and

wakes you up. In your journal write
about telling your friends and family and
what they had to say.

Unit 3 – Week 4 – Day 1

What is your favorite way to travel on a

journey? Bus? Train? Car? Write a
paragraph telling why.
Unit 3 – Week 4 – Day 2

Write a paragraph describing a journey

you went on. Tell why, what, where, and
when you went on it.

Unit 3 – Week 4 – Day 3

Write a short poem about a journey on a

bus, a car, a train, or a plane. Use
rhyming and sensory words.

Unit 3 – Week 4 – Day 4

Write about a field trip you have taken

with your class. Tell where you went, and
what you did.

Unit 3 – Week 4 – Day 5

If you could take a trip anywhere, where

would you go? What would you do there?
Write about the trip you imagine.
Unit 3 – Week 5 – Day 1

Write a paragraph about your favorite

illustration, explaining why you like it
and where you saw it.

Unit 3 – Week 5 – Day 2

Write a paragraph telling how an

illustration and photograph are alike and
how they are different.

Unit 3 – Week 5 – Day 3

Write a letter to your principal,

describing a mural, or illustration, you
would like to see on a wall at school.

Unit 3 – Week 5 – Day 4

Explain what you like and don’t like

about animated movies and TV shows.
Unit 3 – Week 5 – Day 5

Choose a folk tale or fairy tale that you

know well. Write one scene from the
story in your own words and then
illustrate the scene.

Unit 4 – Week 1 – Day 1

Write a step-by-step recipe for a food

you know how to cook or make.

Unit 4 – Week 1 – Day 2

Write a menu for a dinner you would like

a chef to cook for you. Include your
favorite foods.

Unit 4 – Week 1 – Day 3

Write a description of the best meal you
ever tasted. Explain why it was so good.

Unit 4 – Week 1 – Day 4

Imagine you are one of Rooster’s friends

who shared the strawberry shortcake.
Describe how it tasted and how you felt
while eating it.

Unit 4 – Week 1 – Day 5

Who is your favorite character in Cock-a-

Doodle-Doo!? Write about what makes
this character your favorite.

Unit 4 – Week 2 – Day 1

Write about someone you get along with

well. Explain why you get along so well.
Unit 4 – Week 2 – Day 2

Write a paragraph to convince readers

why two people who are on the same
team must get along.

Unit 4 – Week 2 – Day 3

Write a list of rules you think are

important to follow to get along with
others. Share and compare rules.

Unit 4 – Week 2 – Day 4

Imagine you were one of the seven

brothers. Write what you would have
suggested doing with the spools of
thread.

Unit 4 – Week 2 – Day 5

What rules could the seven brothers

follow to prevent any more quarreling?
Write a list of rules for the brothers to
follow.

Unit 4 – Week 3 – Day 1

Imagine you are an archeologist on a dig

in Egypt. What do you find? Would you
bring your findings to the United States?
Why?

Unit 4 – Week 3 – Day 2

If all the streets were rivers, how would

this change what your school looks like?
How would you get to school?

Unit 4 – Week 3 – Day 3

Your neighborhood has a bug problem.

Write a journal entry describing what
you would do.
Unit 4 – Week 3 – Day 4

Write a short newspaper article

informing people on the West Coast
about the problems spartina causes.

Unit 4 – Week 3 – Day 5

You are a photographer and have taken

a picture of a polluted river. Write three
different captions for your photo.

Unit 4 – Week 4 – Day 1

Write about a time when you helped

someone. How did you feel? How do you
think the other person felt?

Unit 4 – Week 4 – Day 2

Imagine your class is volunteering at an

animal shelter. Write a paragraph
describing what your classmates can do
and why.

Unit 4 – Week 4 – Day 3

Write about a person who helped you in

some way.

Unit 4 – Week 4 – Day 4

Imagine that you are Angel and you are

on a TV talk show. Write what you would
tell the audience.

Unit 4 – Week 4 – Day 5

Write about volunteer work that you

would enjoy. Explain why you would
enjoy it.

Unit 4 – Week 5 – Day 1

Write a description of the ideal place of
your own.

Unit 4 – Week 5 – Day 2

Write a paragraph about a place where

you spend a lot of time and what you do
there.

Unit 4 – Week 5 – Day 3

Write a paragraph about how you would

build a place of your own. What
materials would you use? Who would
help you?

Unit 4 – Week 5 – Day 4

Imagine Frank Lloyd Wright was

designing a room for you in your house.
Describe what it would look like.
Unit 4 – Week 5 – Day 5

Imagine you are one of the brothers in

the story My Very Own Room. Write how
you feel about your sister getting a room
of her own.

Unit 5 – Week 1 – Day 1

Write about how you can make money

now. Then tell how it is different than
how adults earn money.

Unit 5 – Week 1 – Day 2

Write a paragraph telling how a parent

or adult you know earns money.

Unit 5 – Week 1 – Day 3

Write about two new businesses that
Amanda describes. Who started them
and what did they offer?

Unit 5 – Week 1 – Day 4

Write a letter to your favorite store near

where you live. Explain why you like
them and how they meet your needs.

Unit 5 – Week 1 – Day 5

Amanda’s father sings songs about

being a miner and about Amanda’s
bakery business. Write a song about
someone’s business that you know.

Unit 5 – Week 2 – Day 1

Write a paragraph about how you can

make a difference in your neighborhood.

Unit 5 – Week 2 – Day 2

Imagine you are on the beach in the
photograph on pages 184-185. Write a
paragraph about how you would make a
difference there.

Unit 5 – Week 2 – Day 3

Write a thank you letter to someone who

treated you in a kindhearted and caring
way.

Unit 5 – Week 2 – Day 4

Write a letter to the editor asking

readers to help a non-profit organization
like the one that helped Beatrice.

Unit 5 – Week 2 – Day 5

Imagine that your family moved to

Kisinga and that you lived like Beatrice’s
family. Compare your new life with the
life you had before.

Unit 5 – Week 3 – Day 1

Walking on the moon, Neil Armstrong

said, “One small step for man, one giant
leap for mankind.” What would you have
said instead?

Unit 5 – Week 3 – Day 2

Write a radio or print advertisement for

a new amusement park. Be sure to
include descriptions of the most exciting
rides and attractions.

Unit 5 – Week 3 – Day 3

Write a poem about what you see and

hear on your way to school on a busy
morning.
Unit 5 – Week 3 – Day 4

Write an invitation asking friends to ride

your new carousel. Be sure to include
when and where the event will take
place.

Unit 5 – Week 3 – Day 5

Write a journal entry describing where in

the universe you would like to be. How
would you get to that place?

Unit 5 – Week 4 – Day 1

Write about a hero you know of and why

you think he or she is a hero. Explain
what the person did to be heroic.

Unit 5 – Week 4 – Day 2

Write a description of the firefighter on
pages 230-231. Tell what you think the
firefighter did to win a heroism award.

Unit 5 – Week 4 – Day 3

Pretend you are a firefighter and did

something heroic. Write an entry in your
journal telling what you did and how you
felt.
Unit 5 – Week 4 – Day 4

Imagine that you are a smokejumper.

Write a diary entry for a day on the job.
Describe what you see, hear, smell,
touch, and do.

Unit 5 – Week 4 – Day 5

Write a persuasive paragraph explaining

why sign language should or should not
be taught to everyone at school.
Unit 5 – Week 5 – Day 1

Pretend you are a web spinner that you

have learned about. Write a classified ad
to sell your home.

Unit 5 – Week 5 – Day 2

Pretend you could be any size. Write a

paragraph describing your home and tell
why you would want to live there.

Unit 5 – Week 5 – Day 3

Describe an animal home that you would

like to build for a pet. List the materials
you will use and write steps to build the
home.

Unit 5 – Week 5 – Day 4

Write a limerick about an animal’s home.
Remember to follow the pattern of
rhythm and rhyme of limericks.

Unit 5 – Week 5 – Day 5

Imagine you are an animal. Write a

description of your home from the
animal’s point of view.

Unit 6 – Week 1 – Day 1

Write about how a person in the

community has helped your family.

Unit 6 – Week 1 – Day 2

Describe something you could do to help

your neighbors.

Unit 6 – Week 1 – Day 3

Write a thank you note to a neighbor or
other person in the community who
helped you or your family.

Unit 6 – Week 1 – Day 4

Imagine that you are a parent in A

Castle on Viola Street. Write about why
you want a house.

Unit 6 – Week 1 – Day 5

Imagine you are Andy. Write a letter to a

friend telling about the new home and
the work your family did to get it.

Unit 6 – Week 2 – Day 1

Write a make-believe description of the

most unusual animal in the world.
Unit 6 – Week 2 – Day 2

If you could make one animal out of two

different animals, what would you make?
Write a description of your new unusual
animal.

Unit 6 – Week 2 – Day 3

Imagine that you are Fern. Write a

journal entry from Fern’s point of view
about Wilbur’s attempt to spin a web.

Unit 6 – Week 2 – Day 4

Write a short skit featuring two unusual

animals. Each animal should explain how
it is more unusual than the other.

Unit 6 – Week 2 – Day 5

Imagine you are a spider. Write step-by-

step directions for spinning a web.
Unit 6 – Week 3 – Day 1

Suppose that you and a friend are

stranded on a deserted island. List the
laws that you and your friends would
follow.

Unit 6 – Week 3 – Day 2

You promised to feed your friend’s dog

and you forgot. What would you say to
your friend? Write a dialogue.

Unit 6 – Week 3 – Day 3

List the things you need to remember

when you teach someone a new job or
skill.

Unit 6 – Week 3 – Day 4

Suppose you are making a movie about
your hero. Write down some ideas for
the story.

Unit 6 – Week 3 – Day 5

Think of the places you have seen the

United States’ flag. Write a poem about
the flag.

Unit 6 – Week 4 – Day 1

Write a short paragraph about a time

you worked together with someone.
What did you do? How did you feel?

Unit 6 – Week 4 – Day 2

What stories, books, or shows do you

know that have characters working
together? Write a brief summary of one
of them.
Unit 6 – Week 4 – Day 3

Tell how students and teachers at your

school could work together on a special
cause.

Unit 6 – Week 4 – Day 4

Imagine that you meet Helen Martini.

Write the questions you would like to
ask her. Then write how you think she
might have answered.

Unit 6 – Week 4 – Day 5

Would you like to work at a zoo

someday? Write about why you would or
would not like to work at a zoo.

Unit 6 – Week 5 – Day 1

Using words that appeal to the reader’s
sense of touch and sight, write a
description of a butterfly.

Unit 6 – Week 5 – Day 2

Write a paragraph telling why or why not

butterflies are important to our
environment.

Unit 6 – Week 5 – Day 3

Write a list of all the facts you have

learned about raising butterflies.

Unit 6 – Week 5 – Day 4

Write about a project your class could do

to raise money and help nature.

Unit 6 – Week 5 – Day 5

Imagine that you visited a butterfly
farm. Write a postcard telling about your
visit.