Curated OER
Writing Exciting Paragraphs
In these paragraph writing worksheets, students study the definitions and example sentences for the topic sentence, the body, and the concluding sentence in a paragraph. Students then read a sample paragraph and answer several review...
Core Knowledge Foundation
First Grade Skills Unit 3
Four weeks, 19 lessons—this unit covers five new vowel spelling patterns, tricky words, spellings, verb tenses, reading fables and exploring the writing process. Lessons offer review, an introduction to the concept, skills practice,...
Curated OER
Fighting for Control
Engage your class in a class discussion examining and defend different sides of an argument about whether the Environmental Protection Agency should have the legal authority to regulate carbon dioxide emissions. They will have to...
Curated OER
Zoo's Clues!
Students determine the difference between major and minor details after researching animals and completing graphic organizers. They write descriptive paragraphs for classmates to guess what animal is being described.
Curated OER
Henry's Freedom Box
Third graders create a shipping box from a cardboard material. In this measuring lesson, 3rd graders read the book Henry's Freedom Box and discuss the main idea. In the story a slave ships himself to freedom and the students measure and...
Curated OER
To Sum it all Up...
Students observe and demonstrate the process of summarizing text. They read and discuss the steps to summarize text, then in small groups read and summarize an article about frogs from "National Geographic" online. Independently they...
Curated OER
Colonial Writing Project
Fourth graders write from the perspective of a child in the colonial period. In this writing lesson, 4th graders create a fictional character living in the colonial period and write about daily life from their perspective.
Curated OER
E chart
In this graphic organizer worksheet, students record the main idea on one line and the details to support it on three additional lines. These additional lines on the graph make an E.
Curated OER
Shared Writing (Whole Group)
Students participate in a whole class shared writing activity. They create an original text while examining the thought process of writers.
Curated OER
Paragraph Writing
Third graders write paragraphs. In this paragraph instructional activity, 3rd graders discover the parts of a paragraph as they are compared to the pieces of a sandwich. They write their own paragraph to a foreign pen-pal describing our...
Curated OER
Writing a Narrative
Sixth graders read the short story "Eleven". They write a narrative composition focusing on the use of voice. Students use a computer to create a pre-writing graphic organizer and type their final draft.
Curated OER
Descriptive Prompt: Precise Language
Incorporate sensory details into a piece of descriptive writing. First, elementary and middle schoolers improve a piece of writing by using precise, vivid language, as well as appropriate word choice. They then listen to a variety of...
Curated OER
Joyful Noise: Poems for Two Voices by Paul Fleischman
Do your young readers know that poems can be performed as a team? They listen to a few examples from Paul Fleischman's book Joyful Noise: Poems for Two Voices, paying attention to how the how readers work together....
Walters Art Museum
The Symbolism of Allegorical Art
Introduce learners to allegorical art with four bronze sculptures by Francesco Bertos. After modeling how to recognize bias and allegory in Bertos' Africa, class groups examine the other three sculptures in the series before creating...
Curated OER
SATP Informative Essay I
Students explore the basic steps of writing an informative five paragraph essay. Using a hamburger as an analogy, students discuss the five part method of writing and, given blank hamburger sheets, they fill in the main parts of the...
Curated OER
Taste Test - Combining Sentences
Students combine sentences to create compound sentences. They write about creating their own soda, then make their own soda, comparing and contrasting it with a national brand. They write a paragraph containing compound sentences.
Curated OER
Avoiding There Are Poster
Encourage precise writing and the use of detail by banning there are from student work. You can put up this simple poster, which includes an image of there are crossed out and an example of how to avoid using the forbidden words.
Alabama Learning Exchange
The Big Bang Theory: An Evidence-Based Argument
What evidence supports the big bang theory? Individuals analyze scholarly resources about the the theory and develop arguments backed by evidence. They brainstorm, share ideas, watch a video, and read articles to complete a graphic...
Channel Islands Film
Magic Isle: Lesson Plan 3
Middle schoolers complete a writing assessment task to demonstrate their ability to craft a narrative based on a variety of informational texts. They view West of the West's documentary Magic Isle, read three print resources about...
Scholastic
Myths, Folktales, & Fairy Tales for Grades 7-9
Here is a must-have resource for studying fairy tales, myths, and folktales with your class! It includes instructional ideas, activities, and materials to support a month-long review of these three unique genres of writing.
For the Teachers
Main Idea Outline
Find the main idea in an informational text with a versatile lesson. Three levels of differentiation help you implement the strategy in any age or class level, based on the ability and objectives of your learners.
Louisiana Department of Education
Essential Elements Cards
Use essential elements cards to help lesson plan! Each card contains an informational text common core standard for grade levels six through eight and suggestions for activities and supports. Cards address skills such as citing textual...
Scholastic
Lesson 1: What Are Barriers?
Scholars discuss the concept of a barrier with a short passage on Jackie Robinson. The writing process begins with a paragraph and several other sentences about Robinson's unique traits that made breaking a barrier...
EngageNY
End of Unit Assessment, Part 1: On-Demand Essay “What Makes A Hurricane A Natural Disaster?”
It's time to refine writing and word choice. Learners work on Part 1 of their end of unit assessment by creating an essay titled What Makes a Hurricane a Natural Disaster? They use glossaries and graphic organizers from previous...