Curated OER
Mechanics Mania
As part of test prep, or a way to cement writing skills, this presentation would be superb. Students often have trouble with capitalization rules and commas. Coverage of mechanics uses well-thought-out examples.
Curated OER
Misplaced Modifiers
Misplaced modifiers can alter the meaning of a sentence, and take away from a writer's intended message. Use the reference sheet and activity to show middle schoolers how to edit confusing sentences with misplaced modifiers. A great...
Curated OER
Connectives
Using connectives and conjunctions is an easy way to vary sentence structure. Third graders review the given connectives, then use them to combine two simple sentences. The second section allows learners to use more words and phrases as...
Dorling Kindersley
Punctuation Practice
Need some punctuation practice? Challenge your third or fourth graders' editing skills with a helpful instructional activity on punctuation. After naming different types of punctuation marks, they rewrite a paragraph that has multiple...
Curated OER
Question Marks
Context clues are important when understanding the intent of a sentence. Kindergartners read eight sentences, and decide if each should end in a period or in a question mark. The last two questions prompt kids to draw a mouse and a cat,...
Curated OER
Malapropisms
What's the difference between an allegory and an alligator? Fifth graders work with malapropisms to determine the meanings of words that sound alike. Five sentences challenge them to find the malapropism and change it to the correct...
Curated OER
Active and Passive Sentences
Work with active and passive voice in several different sentences. Fifth graders learn the difference between active and passive voice, and change nine sentences from passive to active and vice versa. Great practice in your writing unit!
Curated OER
Punctuating a Paragraph
Do your fourth graders need a little help with punctuation? Use this run-on paragraph to demonstrate proofreading for capitalization, punctuation, and separating ideas into separate paragraphs. At the end of the activity, learners...
Curated OER
Editing
Take young authors through the writing process with a worksheet on editing. Given three sentences with unnecessary words, pupils cross out the extra words and write the rest of the sentence in the space provided. An excellent way to...
Curated OER
What is Proofreading?
Is your essay coherent? Does it make sense? Is it formatted correctly? Does it adhere to standard English conventions? This helpful and informative slide-show walks learners step by step through the editing and proofreading process. Each...
Curated OER
Proofreading: Lesson 2
Identify and develop strategies for proofreading with your class. They read and identify the grammar rules for capitalization, end punctuation, and commas, correct errors as a class, and complete three worksheets. This resource includes...
Education World
Every-Day Edit: President Gerald R. Ford
For this proofreading activity, learners identify spelling, capitalization, punctuation and grammar mistakes in a descriptive paragraph and use editing marks to correct them.
Curated OER
Our Wonderful Stories: Lesson Plan 5
The fifth installment in a writing unit that culminates with a Hyperstudio illustrated group story project, this plan is ripe with ideas for ways to design group writing projects for elementary writers. Use the whole unit as a base from...
Curated OER
Spellcheck Outlaws
These outlaws are hard to catch! Spellcheckers do not notice certain grammatical mistakes when they are technically correctly spelled words. For instance, one does not want to say that the colors compliment each other on the slide since...
Curated OER
The Argument
After brainstorming, middle schoolers write an expository essay for a writing project. They focus on supporting points, organization, and writing conventions to develop a well-integrated paper. In addition, they revise, proofread and...
Curated OER
The Writing Process Continues
Middle schoolers write a nonfiction animal book. They research an animal to write about and use the templates provided to gather all sorts of information on their animal. Consider making a model book so your class has an idea of what it...
Education World
Every-Day Edit - Harriet Tubman
Young editors use this half-sheet paragraph about Harriet Tubman to practice proofreading skills. Errors needing correction include spelling, quotation marks, commas, there/their usage, and capitalization.
Curated OER
Be Your Own Chief Editor
The value of this punctuation and grammar instructional activity is in the SMART board presentation, which takes pupils through the proofreading process. It would be a good way to introduce the idea of proofreading in your class before...
Curated OER
Sentence Auction
Students read sentences and try to identify which ones are grammatically correct and which contain grammatical errors.
Curated OER
Preparing for the WPE
Prepare your soon-to-be graduates to take the Writing Proficiency Examination given at Cal Poly. These slides cover everything from the various types of questions to writing thesis statements. This is more like an overview than a...
Curated OER
Concise Writing Exercises
Are your pupils' essays full of long, wordy sentences? Help them to write more concise sentences with this practice worksheet, which provides twenty long sentences for your young editors to proofread. Use the activity as a homework...
Curated OER
Proofreading--Spelling
Develop proofreading skills in writing with spelling. Elementary and middle schoolers begin to make their own corrections in writing. They then complete a worksheet example of proofreading. Afterwards, they share techniques for proper...
Curated OER
Proofreading: Lesson 4
Examine the key strategies to proofreading a piece of writing for errors in sentence structure, usage, mechanics and spelling. Eighth graders practice putting into correct passage commonly confused words (too, two, to) when writing to a...
Curated OER
Apostrophe Usage
Helpful as a review activity and a reference sheet for your middle schoolers' binders, this learning exercise clarifies the proper ways to use apostrophes. Indicating that they should be used in three cases ("weird" plurals,...