Curated OER
Two Truths and a Lie: Internet Research Skills
It's tough for high schoolers to assess what is a credible resource and what is not. A helpful resource prompts class members to research a particular topic and record two facts—and create one lie—while documenting the sources. They then...
University of North Carolina
Dissertations
Bring on the coffee—it's dissertation time! As a handout on dissertations explains, over 50 percent of PhD candidates never finish their dissertations. The handout, part of a larger series on specific writing styles, helps motivate...
EngageNY
Performance Task Preparation: Peer Critique and Mini-Lesson Addressing Common Errors: Revising Draft Essay to Inform
Time to revise! Using a writing evaluation rubric, scholars participate in a peer editing process to provide feedback on each others' informative essays. Next, pupils begin revising their drafts based on the feedback they receive.
Curated OER
The Writing Process
Learners engage in the various steps involved in the writing process. The lesson plan is written as a guide for the teacher to write more in depth lesson plans for specific activities. This is a good model plan to follow.
Building Evidence-Based Arguments: Grade 9
New ReviewHigh schoolers investigate the dilemma of a proportional response with a lesson about the history of terrorism and militant extremists in the United States. As they examine memos from the FBI and speeches from President Bush and Obama,...
EngageNY
Grade 9 ELA Module 3, Unit 3, Lesson 1
The opening exercise in this instructional unit introduces class members to the writing process they will follow to craft an informative, expository research paper that addresses their research question. To begin, writers are asked to...
Crabtree Publishing
State Your Case Series
Four lessons make up a unit focused on writing persuasive essays. Each unit builds on the last, ultimately taking pupils through the writing process. Scholars make a claim, create an argument, debate both sides, then state their opinion....
Dream of a Nation
Read, Watch, Write for Pathos, Logos and Ethos
Encourage your young citizens to make a difference. Using Tyson Miller's Dream of a Nation: Inspiring Ideas for a Better America as a starting point, class members watch documentaries, investigate issues, and then write letters to...
Curated OER
Due Process - Search and Seizure
Help your 11th and 12th graders gain a deeper understanding of Supreme Court decisions and law. The activities include role-play, research, and script writing that all focus on search and seizure laws pertaining to one particular case...
EngageNY
Grade 9 ELA Module 3, Unit 3, Lesson 7
As the unit on research writing draws to a close, class members continue to revise and edit their papers, this time focusing on grammar, spelling, and punctuation (colon and semicolon).
University of North Carolina
Application Essays
There's a lot riding on good writing! Often, an application essay is the difference between acceptance and rejection. As part of a series on specific writing assignments and contexts, a handout helps scholars craft the perfect personal...
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...
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
Standard 4--Research Saguaros
This research writing PowerPoint addresses the research writing process, focusing specifically on Saguaros. This PowerPoint exhibits each step of the research writing process and gives examples by focusing on researching Saguaros. The...
Curated OER
Descriptive Writing Using Landscape Scenes
Students use the descriptive writing process through the use of landscape scenes, the Paragraph Writing Strategy from the University of Kansas Institute for Research in Learning, and the 4MAT Instructional Model.
Curated OER
How to Write a Biography
Looking for a great lesson on how to write a biography? Here, middle schoolers draw from magazine articles, novels, historical figures, and current events to choose a person, or character to write about in a biography. They follow a...
Syracuse University
Ancient World Writing System
Most twenty-first century pupils don't know how to interpret cuneiform. Examining images of cuneiform and papyrus writing and using a chart and Venn diagram, young historians extrapolate what life may have been like for people who lived...
EngageNY
Mid-Unit Assessment: Research Simulation
As part of a mid-unit assessment, scholars complete a research simulation about food deserts to mimic the research process. Afterward, they engage in a think-pair-share to discuss what they've learned throughout the unit.
Lakeshorelearning
Read and Write about It
Reading informational text is a skill that transcends subjects and grade levels. Practice reading about different topics in various formats with a language arts lesson that includes opportunities for writing and research as well.
State University of New York
Going Back in Time Using “George Washington’s Socks”
After reading Elvira Woodruff's George Washington's Socks, young readers and writers embark upon writing their own historically based story, with a focus on developing ideas and details throughout the piece. In small groups, class...
Curated OER
Writing the Final Copy and Presenting a Research Paper
Students finalize and polish a research paper. In this research writing activity, students revise and double-check the corrected version of their first draft. Students peer edit and create a final draft. Students create a presentation...
Curated OER
Creating a Title Page, Organizing, and Writing the Research Paper
Students create a title page, organize information, and write the introductory paragraph to a research paper. In this research writing lesson, students discuss the elements of the title page and outline, then write one of their own. ...
Curated OER
Drafting
Students engage in the writing process. In this drafting instructional activity, students research different types of genres to find which they enjoy reading and writing. They review the drama in a story and discuss different story...
Curated OER
The Writing Process
Show your young researchers how to find information, brainstorm a topic, map or outline their own stories, and create rough drafts. This lesson plan also shows learners how to peer edit, conference with the teacher, and write their final...