Curated OER
Solving the Writing Time-Squeeze
Expand your writing program across the curriculum to facilitate much-needed practice.
Curated OER
Following Instructions
Get scholars thinking about the scientific process with this fun experiment they can do at home. Learners practice reading directions as they underline each instruction in a procedural paragraph. They create a flow chart and record what...
Film English
Mixtape
A short film about music is the inspiration for a well-sequenced lesson that includes discussion, group work, and writing. After the whole class converses about music, small groups write narratives about a still from the film. Pupils...
NASA
Revising an Investigation
Write, edit, and then revise! The fourth lesson in a five-part series asks peers to provide feedback on research. Individuals then use the research to edit and revise conclusions and develop their presentations.
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
So Much Depends Upon...Sixteen-Word Imagery Poems Inspired by Love that Dog by Sharon Creech
After reading Love That Dog by Sharon Creech (and possibly shedding a few tears), middle schoolers work on their own sixteen-word poems with a Six Trait writing activity. They focus on word choice in this activity to capture an...
Curated OER
The Presidential Quotation Report
Famous quotations by American Presidents are the focus of this Six Trait writing activity, which could be used in a U.S. History class or in language arts. After reading the picture book Theodore by Frank Keating, have your 7th graders...
Nancy Fetzer's Literacy Connections
Expository Paragraph
Upper elementary and middle school writers learn how to craft an expository paragraph by following the six steps detailed in a 48-page instructional guide. Learners learn how to write six different types of informational paragraphs: to...
Curated OER
Topic Sentence
Students write a topic sentence to a paragraph and explain that it introduces the main idea. After a whole-class demonstration, students write a complete paragraph with their topic sentence and supporting sentences. There are some...
Curated OER
Let's Put You in a Louisiana University
Considering a college search project? After picking a possible career choice, and determining if that career needs a technical college or university education, individuals examine a wide variety of sources and select three schools that...
Curated OER
The Tom Cruise Wedding
Scholars read a newspaper article about Tom Cruise's wedding to Katie Holmes in 2006. They define vocabulary words, complete comprehension worksheets, and analyze use of the present perfect and passive in the article. Individuals write...
Tools for Schools
Book Creator
Build beautiful books in whatever style you'd like with an intuitive and adaptable app for constructing books. Kids can add images, drawings, text, and audio to make books about any subject. When complete, learners can wrap up the...
Curated OER
The Beginning, The Middle, & The End
Cut magazine pictures into three sections, having your youngsters piece the pictures back together. With this fun activity, they discover the importance of sequencing a story. Then they use a fun template (shaped like a burger) to write...
Curated OER
The Cuneiform Writing System in Ancient Mesopotamia: Emergence and Evolution
Students research the parallel development and complexity of writing and civilization in ancient Mesopotamia. In this ancient Mesopotamia lesson, students analyze the Cuneiform writing system in ancient Mesopotamia and how the...
Curated OER
Editorial Writing as a Catalyst for Discussion of Important Issues
Students decide which issues are most important to their student body and work in cooperative learning groups to write editorials. In this editorial writing lesson, students brainstorm a list of the most important issues and bring in an...
Curated OER
The Personal a-Explanation and Practice
What is the personal a? It's a tricky concept to Spanish language learners, but this worksheet makes it simple. Examples and an explanation precede a short practice exercise. A great way to introduce your learners to the topic, but...
Curated OER
Similes
Similes are a great way to get your writers thinking about descriptive details. They read a brief explanation which covers clichés and the general wording of a simile. Then, learners try a few on their own. First, they complete nine...
Curated OER
Writing Equations of Lines Using The Point-Slope Form
In this writing equations worksheet, students find the equation of a line containing specified points. They determine the slope of a line from given points. This two-page worksheet contains 20 problems. Examples and explanations are...
Curated OER
Make a Van Gogh-Style Self-Portrait
Learn by doing! Young artists try their hand at creating their own self-portraits in the style of Vincent van Gogh. This learning exercise contains a brief explanation of the essential qualities of van Gogh's art: complementary colors...
Curated OER
Personal Narrative Paragraphs: Class Quilt
Begin this activity by asking third graders to bring from home pieces of cloth that represent something important to them. (Have extras for learners who need them.) They reflect on important events in their lives, compose narrative...
Anchorage School District
“Dressing Up” an Introduction
Are your pupils ready to move beyond a thesis statement by adding additional detail to their introductory paragraphs? Provide this handout to give your class some ideas for spiffing up their work. The page includes a sample paragraph...
Curated OER
Language Arts: Revision and Peer Editing
High schoolers are able to evaluate their peers' essays to determine clarity, completeness, and persuasiveness. They are able to revise their own essays for greater clarity and fluency, adding explanation where needed and cutting...
Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
Customary Units of Capacity and Weight
Six straightforward word problems require learners to use customary units of capacity (pints, quarts, cups, gallons) on this assignment. In order to answer each question, they must write an explanation in the form of a mathematical...
Scholastic
Making Judgments Practice
Encourage young learners to identify persuasive writing techniques in a text with this resource, which includes two multiple-choice worksheets with advertisements for learners to analyze.