Curated OER
Original Children's Books
Bring the fun and creativity of children's stories to your language arts class. Middle schoolers write, revise, and publish an original student book which incorporates the elements of a short story. They put their story in the form of a...
Turabian Teacher Collaborative
Parts of Argument II: Article Critique
Break down the parts of argumentative writing with a critical thinking activity. High schoolers read an article of your (or their choice), and use a graphic organizer to delineate the ways the author structures his or her arguments.
Student Handouts
Book Report Template
Help your youngsters frame their thoughts and begin to organize notes for their next book reports. This template includes space for a book citation, author background, synopsis, and critique
Scholastic
Persausive Writing
A unit on persuasive writing guides elementary learners through the writing process. The first part examines the elements of persuasive writing, including expressing an opinion, connecting ideas, using supporting facts, and writing...
Curated OER
East Asian Fiction and Non-Fiction Books
Readers explore East Asian culture and literature with a book folder project. Before beginning the project, learners record three beliefs they have about East Asian culture. They then select two books to read and create a display for the...
Curated OER
What Makes the Writer Write
Your 11th and 12th graders are ready to critique society! Channel that inclination by studying a novel that offers social criticism of other eras (book recommendations included). This resource presents a well-thought-out overview of such...
Curated OER
The Workshop
Kids take a critical look at each other's work in order to understand the editing process while providing constructive suggestions. This handout really sets learners up to successfully offer constructive critique to their peers. Helpful...
Curated OER
Coast-to-Coast Book Design-Part 1: What is a book?
In this first of four lessons on book design, students are introduced to the vocabulary of book design through the use of bookwalks and a non-linear PowerPoint presentation in game-show (Jeopardy!) format.
Curated OER
Write Your Own Screen Play
Middle schoolers critique the transition of "Holes" from a novel to screenplay and consider how the details in a book are brought to life in a movie. They then choose a scene in a book and transform it into an original script after...
EngageNY
Writing the Children’s Book: Day One
With a brief mini-instructional activity, scholars learn about using strong verbs, sensory details, and precise descriptions. Next, pupils continue working on their children's book storyboards before choosing their strongest pages for...
PBS
Writing a Historical Poem
Students conduct field research of a historical site in order to discover a more complete understanding of a time period. They choose one particular historical figure and write a short poem about the site from the historical person's...
Anchorage School District
Writing Effective Summaries
Drafting a strong first sentence for a summary is an important step. Writers can use the formula presented on this handout to get started. The resource lists three steps to put together a strong topic sentence, as well as tips and hints...
Curated OER
Writing Novelettes
Students practice their writing techniques by creating a novelette. In this creating writing lesson, students brainstorm and decide on a topic they would like to expand upon in order to create their own novelette. Students work in...
Curated OER
Book Box
Students create a bookmark, book cover and book review for a book they read. In this nutrition meets literacy lesson, students read a book about food and complete creative projects based upon the book. Some of the ideas included in this...
Curated OER
ESL Intermediate Reading: Book Review Record Sheet
In this ESL book review worksheet, students fill in the form to report on and critique a book that they read. They write the title of the book, how long it took to read the book, retell the story, and tell whether they found the story...
Curated OER
Book Party
Learners compile a list of titles and authors worthy of having their own festivals, then research and write proposals outlining the activities for a specific book festival. They write analytical letters from the perspective of the author...
Curated OER
Book Discussions via Web 2.0
Students discuss books they read via web 2.0. and create a wiki and podcast that will present the audience with their select a book by a popular teen author and write a short script about the book. Students and type the critic of the...
Orlando Shakes
West Side Story: Study Guide
Hey, enough frabbajabba about that stool pigeon, Daddy-O! Using the West Side Story study guide, scholars explore the language of the play and read about its historical associations and themes. Pupils also engage in a Spectrum of...
American Statistical Association
Tell it Like it is!
Scholars apply prior knowledge of statistics to write a conclusion. They summarize using correct academic language and tell the story of the data.
Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
Core Analysis Frame: Fiction
Dig into any piece of fiction with a series of analysis questions. There are two levels of questions provided: basic and in-depth. The basic questions can be copied double-sided onto a single piece of paper, while the in-depth questions...
Curated OER
Writing Traits Instruction
Students assess and critique a wide variety of writing samples for each of the traits of writing strands from literature, composition writing, reading and assessment tools. They create and design a descriptive definition piece of writing...
Curated OER
Learning Festival ~ Book Buddies Visit High School
Students work together to develop a festival for book lovers. High schoolers work with young children and practice their reading. Traveling between reading stations, they focus on different reading standards. They act as role-models...
Curated OER
Small Group Shared Writing
Pupils discuss elements of effective writing in small groups. They work together to critique individual and group writing focusing on including supporting details.
Curated OER
The Lightning Thief: During Reading Strategy
After reading up to page 371 of Percy Jackson and The Olympians: The Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan, get insight into how Percy felt making a major decision through active discussion strategies that enable both academic and thoughtful...