Curated OER
Historical Figures
Student research a "Historical Individual" using the Internet. They print a minimum of five articles and organize them. They create a visual biography of their historical figure.
Curated OER
Why Explore?
Students participate in a class discussion on why people explore. In groups, they create a list of the goods they can acquire and how they can survive if they find food while exploring. Using the Internet, they research famous explorers...
Curated OER
The Water Cycle: Transpiration
Young scholars identify and describe the stages in the water cycle. Using plants, they determine if they play a role in the cycle and measure the water the plants give off. They complete an experiment to determine if deciduous or...
Harvard University
Harvard University: Strategies for Essay Writing
This website provides a series of links to detailed information about each segment of how to write an academic essay from how to read the assignment to the final edits. Use the links to the right. W.9-10.1a claims/intro/org, W.9-10.2a...
Other
Mo Dept. Of Ed.: Writing Essays (Expository) (Lesson)
Lesson plan designed for seventh graders. Young scholars write expository essays that include details, facts, and examples. Includes prewriting handouts, some example paragraphs, some example prompts, and a scoring guide.
Joe Landsberger
Study Guides and Strategies: Expository Essays
This page has eight basic steps for writing expository essays: select topic, write the thesis, choose a method of development, organize, write topic sentences for body paragraph, write the body paragraphs, write an introduction, and...
Capital Community College Foundation
Guide to Grammar and Writing: Principles of Composition
If you are a teacher OR a student looking for a well-informed website on elements of the writing process, you are in luck! This site from the Capital Community College is very comprehensive and easy-to-navigate. From grammar basics to...
Daily Teaching Tools
Daily Teaching Tools: Free Graphic Organizers for Planning and Writing
This Daily Teaching Tools resource provides graphic organizers that students can use to plan their written pieces. Graphic organizers for all modes of writing are provided.
Alabama Learning Exchange
Alex: Expository Writing and the Civil War
This instructional activity is designed to help students strengthen their research and writing skills, while learning more about the Civil War, as they produce an expository paragraph. Students will glean information from an article...
Daily Teaching Tools
Daily Teaching Tools: Graphic Organizers for Teaching Writing
This Daily Teaching Tools collection provides graphic organizers for writing. Elaborate graphic organizers for the following areas are provided: persuasive essays, expository essays, paragraph writing, fiction pieces, narrative writing,...
Alabama Learning Exchange
Alex: Let's Eat: An Expository Slideshow Presentation
Students will write a three-paragraph essay explaining the steps necessary to follow a recipe and then present and serve the recipe to their classmates.
Writing Fix
Writing Fix: Teaching Students to Compose a Power Essay [Pdf]
The Power Essay, like the power paragraph, focuses on helping students understand the structure of a piece of expository writing. The "power" concept teaches students to organize their ideas according to levels of specificity and to...
Alabama Learning Exchange
Alex: How to Cite Online Resources
After research in the Alabama Virtual Library, young scholars will write a paragraph essay and use an online citation utility to create bibliographic citations for an online encyclopedia, an online magazine, and a print resource. Copying...
ABCya
Ab Cya: Make a Robot
Kids will enjoy engaging in this interactive to build a virtual robot. Extend the activity by printing out the creation and incorporating language arts as students write a descriptive story about their new robotic friend or an expository...
Sophia Learning
Sophia: Paper Writing: Transitions and Topic Sentences
This tutorial focuses on transitions including transitional devices, lists of common transition words and phrases, transitions between paragraphs with examples, and separate lists of transition words for descriptive, narrative, and...
University of Victoria (Canada)
The U Vic Writer's Guide: Sample Expository Essay
This site is an example of a well-written expository essay from the University of Victoria. Gives excellent tips for students, such as organization, paragraph development, and support. W.9-10.2a Intro/org/graphics
Alabama Learning Exchange
Alex: Expository Essay: State Trip
After researching a place/event of interest in Alabama, students write a five-paragraph essay. Students include maps and written directions to the location, describe activities and/or events associated with this location, include in this...
Joe Landsberger
Study Guides & Strategies: Writing Persuasive Essays
This site focuses on the student learning how to write strong persuasive essays. Strategies are provided to help the student complete a persuasive writing assignment.
Polk Brothers Foundation Center for Urban Education at DePaul University
De Paul University: Center for Urban Education: Changing the Ecosystem: Q & a [Pdf]
"Changing the Ecosystem: Q & A" is a one page, nonfiction, reading passage about how the loss of the prairie to farming and population growth impacts the ecosystem. It is followed by questions which require students to provide...
ClassFlow
Class Flow: Expository vs Narrative Intros
[Free Registration/Login Required] This flipchart gives examples of expository and narrative introductions. CCSS.ELA-Literacy.WHST.6-8.2.a
ClassFlow
Class Flow: Writing Review
[Free Registration/Login Required] In this flipchart students will interactively review the following areas of writing: parts of a paragraph; unity, coherence, and elaboration; and the 4 types of writing.
CPALMS
Cpalms: Compare/contrast Life Cycle Texts
[Free Registration/Login Required] Students will learn to compare and contrast texts about life cycles using a Venn diagram. Then, using the Venn diagram, students will write an expository paragraph including an introductory sentence,...
Other
English 100: Persuasive Essay
This tutorial provides writing instructions and ideas to help the student in preparing a persuasive essay.
Polk Brothers Foundation Center for Urban Education at DePaul University
De Paul University: Center for Urban Education: Prairie Ecology Questions and Activities [Pdf]
"Prairie Ecology Questions and Activities" is a one page, nonfiction, reading passage about prairie ecology the interdependence of its plants and animals. It is followed by questions which require students to provide evidence from the...