Curated OER
Information Shuffle
Gather some information, print it onto sentence strips, and then have your class physically shuffle the cards to better understand the importance of organizational patterns in writing. Middle school learners examine information for a...
Curated OER
Persuasion and Parallel Structure
Discuss the definition of parallel structure with your high school class. In small groups, they read a section of "The Declaration of Independence" to identify examples of parallel structure. Each learner writes an essay explaining the...
Curated OER
Paragraph Review
Use a worksheet to help learners identify the topic sentence and transitional words. They eliminate sentences that do not belong in the paragraph and name the pattern of organization used. Great for homework or extra credit.
Scholastic
Scholastic: Writing With Writers: Descriptive Writing
Need help with doing a descriptive paper or personal narrative? Need a writing lesson plan? Meet Virginia Hamilton and follow her step-by-step guide to writing. When done, you are eligible for a certificate signed by this author.
ReadWriteThink
Read Write Think: Creative Writing Through Wordless Picture Books
Need help planning ways to creatively teach your students chronological order? Here's a great place to start. While the site is specifically geared toward the middle school student, it is a teaching idea which could easily be adapted for...
ReadWriteThink
Read Write Think: Expository Escapade: Detective's Handbook
Working on higher-level thinking skills with your readers is made easier with this lesson. You will have your students connect with and analyze a mystery story at their grade-appropriate level. Lesson plan, printable worksheets, and...
Other
Reading Quest: Strategies for Reading Comp.: History Frames: Story Maps
This activity will help you teach students chronological order as well as identifying key people and events. Printable worksheets.
ReadWriteThink
Read Write Think: Draw a Story: Stepping From Pictures to Writing
Help young learners move from drawing pictures into writing simple stories. Good plan for having students put pictures in sequential order and teaching them about sequential order.
Other
Reading Quest: Strategies for Reading Comprehension: Problem Solution
Working with students on identifying problem and solution in their reading? Here is a simple concept, with a printable chart, for teaching and reinforcing this concept. Applicable for any subject area, could be used (modified) at any level.
Texas Education Agency
Texas Gateway: Literary Nonfiction
[Accessible by TX Educators. Free Registration/Login Required] In this lesson, you will learn how to analyze literary nonfiction, especially speeches, by making inferences and drawing conclusions based on evidence in the text. The...
Scholastic
Scholastic: So That's the Reason! [Pdf]
Simple, one-page printable worksheet to introduce your students to cause and effect. Gives one set example, and has space at the bottom to apply to any story you read.
Cambridge Rindge & Latin School
Cambridge Rindge & Latin School: Making an Outline
A tip sheet on how to create and outline for a research paper.
Other
Interacting Texts Directed Activities Related to Texts (Darts)
Want to improve your students' reading skills? This is a good place to find the types of directed activities, using a definition text, reconstruction/analysis activities, and advantages of using DARTs.
Other
Reading Quest: Strategies for Reading Comprehension: Power Thinking
Looking for an alternative to formal outline instruction? Power Thinking teaches the concept of outlining but on a somewhat simplified level. The site is good for basic note-taking from a text.
ReadWriteThink
Read Write Think: Introducing the Venn Diagram in the Kindergarten Classroom
Contains plans for short lessons that introduce the use of Venn Diagrams to kindergarten students. Uses interactive Venn Diagram exercises to make the concept easy to understand. In addition to objectives and standards, this...
Capital Community College Foundation
Guide to Grammar and Writing: Developing a Definition
Not sure what a definition paper is? This is a great site from the Capital Community College to help you with developing a definition. Includes a sample essay and guiding questions.
Tom Richey
Slide Share: Text Structures: Analyze Organizational Methods
This slideshow focuses on text structures for informational texts including how the author's purpose helps determine the organizational pattern to use and how the reader can use clues to identify the text structure used. Five...
Capital Community College Foundation
Guide to Grammar and Writing: Principles of Organization
In writing and reading organization is the key to a reader's understanding. A great site for those of you who are looking for some further explanation of organization in writing. There is instruction, an example text, and specific...
Capital Community College Foundation
Guide to Grammar and Writing: Principles of a Composition
Writing a Paper? Here at the Capital Community College is everything you could ever ask for while preparing your essay. This site includes the writing process, structure, thesis statement, transitions, the computer as a writing...
Teachers.net
Teachers.net: Cause and Effect
Simple and effective method for introducing primary students to the concept of cause and effect in literature.
Scholastic
Scholastic: A Not So Glorious Victory
After reading "A Not-So-Glorious," Victory, which is included on this page, have your students practice identifying cause and effect using the printable worksheet.
Teachers.net
Teachers.net: Flip Books and Story Boards
While this lesson is designed to aid in communications technology, the concept and procedure of the lesson can be readily used in any class. The main concept taught is organization and developing chronological order.
Capital Community College Foundation
Guide to Grammar and Writing: The Narrative Essay
Need help picking out the elements of a narrative? Check this site out from Capital Community College, and you'll see some background information, a sample essay, and directed questions to ask yourself about a text. W.9-10.3 Narrative,...
ACT360 Media
Writing Den: Classification Paragraphs
These tips and phrases can help you create a classification paragraph.