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.
Vista Murrieta High School
English II Research Paper Packet
If your school requires a senior research paper or if you are considering one for your class, then this resource is for you. The 43-page packet includes everything from a sample letter to parents to requirements, from topic suggestions...
Curated OER
Writing about Art:Comparing Portraits
Students compare and contrast an academic and Impressionist portrait. For 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...
Wordpress
The Inn of Lost Time
Test understanding of "The Inn of Lost Time" by Lensey Namoika with an assessment that includes true/false, multiple choice, vocabulary, short answer, and essay questions. The test is not entirely traditional since, for the first 10...
Curated OER
Self Biography
Get to know your students with this project. Each individual writes an autobiography that is at least seven pages long with major facts, visual facts, focal stories, and chronology. The lesson plan includes a point breakdown for the...
Curated OER
Tall Tales and Urban Legends
In this creative writing worksheet, learners sort through old pictures and discuss the characterization in each. Students create characters, a setting, and their own tall tale or urban legend based on the pictures.
Curated OER
Sentence Fragments Exercise 3
In this sentence fragment activity, students are asked to edit and correct a paragraph for errors in capitalization and punctuation. Students must focus on making sure there are no sentence fragments.
Curated OER
Songs that Bring Us Together - Lesson 5
Students compose song as a classroom effort. They write a one-paragraph essay about "message" songs in 100 years and include three ideas for topics along with the style of music (such as folk, rock, blues, rap, etc.) that would match.
Curated OER
Persuade Me
Students develop their writing skills. For this writing strategies lesson, students examine persuasive writing techniques on order to write persuasive mailers.
Curated OER
Information Reports
Students practice essay skills. In this essay skills lesson, students select an essay subject and take notes for their topic. Students create a web for their essays. Students organize, write, revise, and publish their essays.
Curated OER
Writing a press release
Learners scan through a selection of newspapers or online stories from the Newsround website and chose one story each. They use the top TWO paragraphs of the story to complete the grid of the four W's.
Curated OER
Pair-Share: Constructing Paragraph Order
Young scholars write with controlled and/or subtle organization. They identify the main idea and explicit details. Students analyze paragraph and essay structure. They utilize context clues to identify organization.
Curated OER
Student Loans
In this grammar worksheet, students read three paragraphs and choose the word that shouldn't be in each one and write that word on the lines provided. Students place a tick on the lines with no mistakes.
Curated OER
Oreo Cookie Writing
Students explore the concept of response writing. In this writing activity, Oreo cookies are used as motivational tool and writing prompt. Students develop a summary of the events that took place when the Oreos were given out.
Curated OER
Keeping verb tense consistent (Middle, Reading/Writing)
Middle schoolers improve their personal and academic writing by use of one consistent verb tense.
Curated OER
Autobiographical Writing About Memories
Students reflect on fall memories in preparation for creating an autobiographical composition. In this composition lesson, students explore how many writers use the changing seasons, fall in particular, to describe a character's life...
Curated OER
Birthday Buddy
Students explore an Internet web site and/or the Groliers Encyclopedia to investigate a famous person who shares their birthday. They write a five paragraph comparison and contrast essay on their findings and utilize ClarisWorks to publish.
Curated OER
Writing A Summary - Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
Middle schoolers explore short stories by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. In this literature lesson, students read one of his short stories listed and then summarize the story in a written piece.
Curriculum Corner
8th Grade ELA Common Core Checklists
How close are your eighth graders to mastering the ELA Common Core standards? Keep an eye on progress with these charts, which include every eighth grade identifier and full standard text. As you move through the year and teach, reteach,...
Curated OER
What's the Scoop on Slang?
Learners examine examples of sports jargon by reading sports articles from a newspaper. They write a news article about a fictional sports event using examples of sports jargon.
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.
Virginia Department of Education
Adding Specific Vocabulary
An exercise and activity tackle the struggles young writers have in expressing and adding details and specific vocabulary to their writing. The instructor guides the class with an example paragraph, where the learners discuss what the...
Virginia Department of Education
Elaborating with Showing, Not Telling
This engaging activity is a great change of pace for the classroom. The activity starts with a simple message on the board “The teacher is angry.” The instructor is to stomp around, drop books and glare—anything to show anger. The...
Curated OER
I, Robot: Chapter One
Students discuss literature about technology in the 20th century. For this book study lesson, students read I, Robot by Isaac Asimov and compare the fiction to technology in the 20th century.