Curated OER
Lesson Plan: Before and After a Moment in Time
Think about a moment, frozen in time. Now take a critical look at the painting, Better, Homes, Better Gardens. This painting works to provide learners the opportunity to analyze art, critique artist's choices, and write a story inspired...
Curated OER
Writing to Persuade
Middle schoolers discover effective writing techniques to create persuasive essays. In this writing instructional activity, students investigate ways to express facts and points of view through persuasive essays. Finally, the middle...
Curated OER
Borrowing Narrative Skills from Mr. Fletcher: Using a "Prompts in Reverse" Technique to Inspire Your Writers
Help your class find their writing voices with this lesson which uses the work of Ralph Fletcher to guide a "Prompt in Reverse" activity. Using the chapter "First Pen" from Fletcher's Marshfield Dreams, learners decipher what they...
Knox Education
Opinion Argument Writing Packet
You won't need much persuading to use an argumentative writing packet in your language arts class! With helpful reference pages, guided practice through the writing process, examples of opinion and argument writing, and a thorough...
Curated OER
Writing Pattern Books
Have your older students assist young children with writing in this community service and literacy lesson. Middle schoolers become partners with a local elementary school. They assist the grade school children in writing a pattern book...
EngageNY
Planning for Writing: Revisiting “Key Elements of Mythology” and Determining a Theme in the Myth of Cronus
Refresh my memory please. Scholars quickly read over the Myth of Cronus to refresh their memories of the story. They then get in groups and write parts of the myth on sticky notes that relate to the elements of mythology, sticking their...
Curated OER
Writing a Screenplay
It's time to make a movie! Kids follow 15 steps to take their movie ideas from concept to script, following clear examples. The resource includes creative ways to guide learners into developing a few words and concepts into fully...
Curated OER
Abbreviations
Test your middle schoolers on their knowledge of common abbreviations. Abbreviations such as PS, RSVP, PM, and AM are discussed. I suppose you could use this as a bell-ringer or a time-filler. There are 12 questions listed.
Curated OER
Persuasive Writing -- Commercial Style
Students create persuasive TV commercials for common products. They develop a list of products, write the script for a commercial, and act-out and videotape the commercial to present to the class.
Automattic
365 Days of Writing Prompts
"If you could un-invent something what would it be?" "What are you more comfortable with—routine or spontaneity?" Here's a packet of one-a-day writing prompts. Although designed for fifth graders, the topics are appropriate for any grade...
Curated OER
Telling Our Stories of Giving - Writing to Persuade
After identifying the parts of a persuasive piece of writing, young writers explore different prewriting activities for the persuasive essay. They have the option to write a news article, personal narrative, or persuasive essay to...
Curated OER
Showdown in the New Wild West
What is the root of the conflict between ranchers and environmentalists? Middle schoolers write their impressions of what an environmentalist is and does. They read the New York Times article "In New Wild West, It's Cowboys vs. Radical...
Curated OER
Views on Downloading: Developing Persuasive Writing Techniques
Students write persuasively by convincing others of their point of view about music downloading.
East Side Union High School District
Biographical Narrative: Journal Prompts
The opportunities are endless with a worksheet containing 24 biographical narrative writing prompts. Although there are no directions or specifications for the writing process, the prompts promote the use of narrative writing techniques...
Curated OER
Beginning With Writing; Convey Ideas in Writing
Walk young writers through the process of creating an initial writing sample for their portfolio. They determine their purpose, organize their ideas, and then create a draft. The lesson includes worksheets and online resources to aid in...
Curated OER
Writing Interesting Sentences
Help your class build their own 20-word sentences with this step-by-step guide designed to enhance sentence depth, interest, and variety in the work of young writers. They complete five basic SVO sentences using a given word bank. Then...
Curated OER
Lesson Plan 10: Writing Really Good Dialogue
Boring dialogue can run a great story into the ground; get your novelists using dialogue as a tool to move their story into deeper and more developed territory. As part of a larger writing series, this lesson has a worksheet that can...
Curated OER
Facing the Ghosts of Our Past
A reading of a New York Times review of the movie Beloved launches research into how the Civil War affected the lives of people living during this period. Creative thinkers select a person from an included list of historical figures and...
Curated OER
Determining Author's Point of View: The Sneeches
Determine the author's point of view in a text. Young readers read Dr. Seuss' The Sneeches and identify the author's purpose in the story. They identify persuasive techniques in writing, asking and answering questions to better...
Curated OER
Rave Reviews
A fun lesson that utilizes toys and persuasion! After reading the article, which was written in 2005, pull some advertisements for toys currently being sold. These will be more relevant to your middle and high schoolers. What toy is a...
Novelinks
Words by Heart: Guided Imagery
Sad, depressed, miserable, inconsolable, forlorn: so many synonyms have a lot of variety with their connotations. Through the guided imagery activity, writers explore the use of connotation and its influence on imagery and description by...
Curated OER
Journal Writing Idea - Pets
Carve out some time for your youngsters to write in their journal. Today, they write a story about pets. They learn the value of a journal and how to keep up with it, and they enhance story development by planning their story before...
Bright Hub Education
How to Outline, Plan & Write a Memoir
Get to know each individual through a memoir project. The lesson outlined here is a bit vague, but has some promising ideas for graphic organizers to help writers prepare their work. In order to succeed with the lesson, you will need to...
Curated OER
Use Digital Photos of Scary Things to Inspire Poetry Writing
There's nothing like a provocative image to inspire a creative writing session. In the language arts instructional activity presented here, middle schoolers bring in digital photos of scary objects, such as a big spider, or a hornet's...