EngageNY
Mid-Unit Assessment: Analyzing an Author’s Argument and Text Structure
William Shakespeare: a writer, a poet, a fake? For their mid-unit assessments, scholars read an excerpt from the article "The Top Ten Reasons Shakespeare Did Not Write Shakespeare" by Keir Cutler. Next, they analyze the author's argument...
Curated OER
Research/Technical Writing: Paraphrasing
Students work in groups to paraphrase an article. In this paraphrasing lesson plan, each group is assigned a paragraph to paraphrase in one sentence. Other groups critique the sentences to make sure each is effective. When the...
Curated OER
Classroom Critters Developing Our Writing Skills
Students investigate animals and how it adapts to its environment. They write notes and gather information on a chosen animal. After research is completed, students create a report about the animal's characteristics, appearance, food,...
Scholastic
Descriptive Writing Fortunes
What does your fortune say? Engage class members in writing complete sentences by first handing out fortune cookies and reading the messages. Pupils will practice writing complete sentences by composing fortunes to put in die cut fortune...
Academy of American Poets
Teach This Poem: "Alice Paul" by Katharine Rolston Fisher
Powerful women need not look like Wonder Woman. After writing a paragraph about a strong woman they know, young scholars examine images of Alice Paul and then do a close reading of Katharine Rolston Fisher's poem "Alice Paul." Finally,...
Curated OER
Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass an American Slave, Written by Himself
The narrative works of Frederick Douglass engage learners in the topic of slavery. They will experience American history in a new way, a Douglass expresses his thoughts in his own words. Pupils then interpret this literary work.
Curated OER
The Story of an Old Piano
Students read excerpts from The Story of an Old Piano. They choose a personal object and write paragraphs from the object's point of view. Their stories can be bound for the class library.
Curated OER
Organizational Patterns: Comparison and Contrast Writing
Students write an essay comparing and contrasting their school experiences. Through guided practice, they create an outline of their elementary school experience and middle school experience. Using their outlines, students synthesize...
Curated OER
The Outsiders
Are you working on an Outsiders unit? Use this list of activities to deepen your middle schoolers' understanding of the novel. After reading S.E. Hinton's novel, young readers work on three required activities, including participating in...
Curated OER
Paraphrasing and Summarizing
Read an article about the migration of our ancestors and write a paragraph. Pupils paraphrase and summarize to restate the information found in a nonfiction text. They write a shortened version of the reading to demonstrate the...
Curated OER
Applying KWL Guides to Sources with Elementary Students
What is a KWL chart? Here is a well thought-out activity that has learners use KWL charts to gain historical perspective. Your class examines primary sources about historical events and identifies what they know, want to know, and,...
University of Kansas
Newspaper in the Classroom
Newspapers aren't only for reading—they're for learning skills, too! A journalism unit provides three lessons each for primary, intermediate, and secondary grades. Lessons include objectives, materials, vocabulary, and procedure, and...
Curated OER
Writing and Responding to a Prompt
Eighth graders explore the writing process. They respond to the prompt "if I had a million dollars I would..." Students brainstorm ideas they could write about and they use the writing check list as they write.
Curated OER
Writing a Descriptive Paragraph
Middle schoolers discuss the definition of a descriptive paragraph with the class. They read an example of a descriptive paragraph and then write one of their own using one of the included ideas.
Curated OER
A Little Mystery and Intrigue in Writing Short Detective Stories
Students read and analyze the twelve short stories in the novel "The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes." They create their own detective that has to solve a new kind of crime, and write and edit a short story with their original detective as...
Curated OER
Texas in the Mirror
Students research their own and others' perceptions about Texas and become familiar with various symbols from other cultures. In this Texas in the Mirror lesson plan, students write a web page with a picture of a Texan symbol. Students...
Curated OER
I Believe
This activity is designed to teach students the definition of persuasive writing, and to have them use the elements of persuasive writing to complete a writing assignment. The Web site will be used to introduce persuasive writing and the...
Curated OER
Write to Music
Students improve their creative writing skills. In this writing skills lesson, students learn about picture captions, story writing, critiques, poems, reports, letter writing, creative writing, and a rap poem.
EngageNY
Further Research: Local Sustainable Food Chain
Researchers review how to create citations, find reliable sources, and paraphrase. Next, using guided task cards and their researcher's notebooks, they investigate the question they developed in instructional activity eight about the...
Santa Ana Unified School District
The Power of Point of View
Sometimes a whole story can change based on the perspective of the person telling it. Practice identifying and analyzing point of view in various reading passages and writing assignments with a language arts packet, complete with Common...
Curated OER
Hamburger Paragraphs
Fourth graders discuss who likes hamburgers. Students listen as the teacher compares the hamburger to a paragraph, and the hamburger patty to the topic sentence. The class works together to write a paragraph. The teacher provides gummy...
Curated OER
Writing about Art:Comparing Portraits
Students compare and contrast an academic and Impressionist portrait. In this art history lesson, students look at two different styles of painting and write a paragraph as if they are the subject in the painting. They compare and...
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 possible.
Curated OER
“THE LORAX” by Dr. Seuss
Few children's books convey the message of conservation as well as Dr. Seuss' The Lorax. Read the story aloud, emphasizing the interconnectedness of plants and animals in an ecosystem and discussing different ways people can help the...