Valhalla Free Union School District
End of the Year Writing Portfolio Project
Ask class members to reflect on their year-long writing experience by creating a portfolio of their work. Here's a resource that details what should be included in such a portfolio, and provides a rubric that can be used to assess...
Curated OER
Magazine Production
Analyze magazines as a class, looking carefully for the target audience, advertisements, and topics presented. Small groups then work as a publication team and receive a magazine that they have to "sell." Each individual has a different...
Curated OER
Introducing the Essay: Twain, Douglass, and American Non-Fiction
Students analyze American essayists Mark Twain and Frederick Douglass in an introduction to American literary non-fiction writing. For this essay history lesson, students identify methods for writing essays. Students read and analyze...
Curated OER
Research, Writing, and the 'Isms'
Students research an art style. They create an original short story, poem, or personal essay and illustrate the written work with the style of art they researched.
Curated OER
It’s Your Birthday! – Conventions: Revision and Proofreading
Happy birthday! Celebrate everyone's birthday with this writing activity, which prompts seventh graders to research historical events in a country at the time of their birth to create an essay. Working in pairs, they proofread each...
Curated OER
Making the Personal Political
Students identify controversial topics on which they have strong opinions and model their own persuasive opinion pieces after the featured article. They compose persuasive essays on controversial issues that "hit home" for them.
California Department of Education
Telling My Story
Entrance essays are the ultimate sales pitch! Show your seniors how to market themselves in the first of six college and career readiness lesson plans. Pupils discover the do's and don'ts of writing personal statements through research,...
Curated OER
Improving Students' Writing Skills
Are your writers making the same mistakes over and over again? Instead of editing their papers, consider encouraging learners to use this sheet to classify their errors. This helps them identify and address common problem areas they...
University of North Carolina
Audience
Challenging pupils' perspectives by having them walk in the shoes of the reader. An informative resource discusses how to identify an audience and anticipate their needs before writing an upcoming argumentative essay.
New York State Education Department
Comprehensive English Examination: June 2015
Heroes rise from adversity. That theme forms the focus of the critical lens essay in a sample comprehensive English examination. The exam, which is part of a larger series of sample standardized tests, also includes two short response...
Curated OER
Persuasive Writing
Use a quick bell-ringer to interest your class in the art of persuasion. They brainstorm where they find examples of persuasion in their lives and identify who is trying to persuade them. Then they either fish through magazines or look...
Curated OER
Writing and Scholarship Planning For College-Bound Students: Brainstorming Time
Students examine the process of scholarship and college essay writing. They develop a list of key words and concepts, complete handouts, and complete an outline of an essay.
Curated OER
Writing and Scholarship Planning For College-Bound Students: Overcome Writer's Block
Students examine methods for overcoming writer's block. They complete a worksheet, write personal statements, and participate in a class discussion.
Ereading Worksheets
Persuasive Essay Examples
Your young writers will practice identifying the hook, position statement, and main points of two examples of persuasive writing.
Curated OER
Outlining Essays (Grades 3-6)
Students brainstorm story idea in preparation of writing an expressive essay. They study how to outline essays to assist them in writing an expressive essay. Each students conclusion should summarize their main idea and restate their...
Curated OER
Writing From Experience (Grades 7-12)
Students brainstorm in preparation for writing an expressive essay. They review their responses to 'Writing from Experience' and write notes and brainstorm other ideas or details for their essays. They take turns illustrating their life...
Curated OER
Writing First Drafts (Grades 3-6)
Students examine, experience and practice strategies that assist students in writing an expressive essay. They outline and then write a first draft of an essay to be edited and proofed and then corrected. Each student adds a visual prop...
University of North Carolina
Oral History
There's no better way to learn something than to hear it straight from the horse's mouth. A handout on oral history, part of a larger series on specific writing assignments, explains how to conduct interviews and use the information...
Oklahoma State Department of Education
Narrative Prompt
Reading about history is nothing like experiencing it firsthand. Encourage your eighth graders to do the next best thing with a historical narrative prompt, in which they describe the experience of a first-time traveler on the...
The New York Times
Making Do: Learning and Growing Through Adversity
What is it that makes people keep going when they face challenges in life? Ask your class to consider this question in relation to their own experiences and as they read material from The New York Times. Using personal experiences...
Homeschool Encouragement
Travel Printable for Kids
Help make children's vacations a little more meaningful with this collection of writing materials. Offering numerous writing paper templates, writing prompts, and coloring pages, this resource engages children in creating a written...
Maryland Department of Education
The Concept of Identity Lesson 7: Logical Fallacies
What are the effects of competition in an academic environment? The competition between the main characters in A Separate Peace motivates a series of activities that asks readers to take a stance on competition, and then to develop a...
EngageNY
Analyzing Evidence: Writing about Theme
Class members prepare for the end-of-unit assessment by analyzing a writing prompt. They complete a Being Made Invisible anchor chart and write their thoughts about captives and invisibility on sticky notes. In addition, they discuss...
Curated OER
Pioneer America: Legendary Westerners - Can One Person Really Make a Difference?
Fourth graders research famous Americans from the Westward Movement and complete an interview. In this Westward Movement lesson, 4th graders work in pairs to research someone who was important during this time period. They prepare and...