University of North Carolina
Conciseness
Twitter has helped people learn to express their ideas in as few words as possible, but away from the 280-character limit, writers still struggle with keeping their writing short and to the point. Conciseness is the focus of a writing...
University of North Carolina
Clichés
When it comes to writing, cliches are as old as dirt. A handout on tired phrases provides examples of cliches, as well as a description of the negative effects they have on a paper. Writers discover specific words and phrases to avoid,...
California Federation of Chaparral Poets, Inc
Poetic Devices
Have everything you need to know about the elements of poetry with a nine-page handout. Split into four categories—word sounds, meanings, arrangement, and imagery—budding poets may reference terms, read definitions, descriptions, and...
Nosapo
Family Titles, Pronouns, Writing about a Person
How is your grandmother related to you? How is your cousin related to your grandmother? Learn about family relationships and pronouns with an activity that guides pupils to write two short narratives about members of their families.
Nosapo
Writing about a Meal
You don't need to be a food critic to describe your meal accurately! A series of activities introduce learners to vivid adjectives when writing about the taste, smell, and feel of food. After working with word choice, parts of a...
Nosapo
Reading, Vocabulary, Comprehension
Whether you teach mainstream elementary classes or older English learners, a set of reading comprehension resources is a great addition to your language arts curriculum. Ten activities each include a reading passage and set of...
Prestwick House
New (March 2016) SAT Writing and Language Test Practice
Prepare class members for the SAT Writing and Language exam with a practice test that prepares students for the types of questions and the kind of language used in the exam. Test takers must select the best way to fix poorly constructed...
Nosapo
Pronouns: Personal Pronouns, Demonstrative Pronouns
Which do you use: that or this? Which or where? Me or I? Practice pronoun use with a series of activities that focus on personal and demonstrative pronouns.
Nosapo
Reading Activity: Circle the Right
Fables can teach us about life's morals, but they are also helpful for reviewing verb tense, spelling, and word choice. Three reading passages feature well-known fables, each with several opportunities for students to circle the correct...
Prestwick House
Introducing Symbols–The Beach
Looking for a way to introduce class members to the concept of symbolism and multiple levels of meaning? Readers examine two different passages about the beach and consider how the writers use concrete objects, and places to represent...
EngageNY
Grade 9 ELA Module 4, Unit 1, Lesson 28
As writers continue to revise their argument essays, the focus shifts to editing grammatical conventions, parallel structure, and varying syntax to add interest. After examining model sentences that demonstrate sentence variety, writers...
EngageNY
Grade 9 ELA Module 4, Unit 1, Lesson 26
The focus of the day's instructional activity is methods for creating a formal style and objective tone in an argument essay. After examining models, pairs engage in peer review of their essay drafts and continue to revise while...
EngageNY
Grade 9 ELA Module 4, Unit 1, Lesson 25
After analyzing the strengths and weaknesses of the evidence they have recorded on their argument outline tool, writers draft their essay's first body paragraphs, ensuring they have properly cited their source material.
EngageNY
Grade 9 ELA Module 4, Unit 1, Lesson 21
Class members read the chapter, "Serfs and Sweetness" from Sugar Changed the World, and identify the central idea that the development of beet sugar and modern farming technology changed the reliance on the plantation system and made...
EngageNY
Grade 9 ELA Module 4, Unit 1, Lesson 19
Building on the previous discussion of the supplemental reading article "Where Sweatshops Are a Dream," class members use the provided Evaluating Argument and Evidence Tool to identify the claims and evidence Nicholas Kristof uses to...
EngageNY
Grade 9 ELA Module 4, Unit 1, Lesson 18
As first-year students continue to investigate how sugar changed the world, the focus shifts to a consideration of why people with limited job options take on dangerous or subjugating work. Class members read an opinion piece by Nicholas...
EngageNY
Grade 9 ELA Module 4, Unit 1, Lesson 17
How did the Demerara Rebellion of 1823, the death of Reverend John Smith, and the Emancipation Bill of 1833 that abolished slavery throughout the British Empire change the sugar industry? Class members examine how the authors of Sugar...
EngageNY
Grade 9 ELA Module 4, Unit 1, Lesson 16
The Sugar Changed the World chapter, "The Sound of Liberty," highlights how the differing attitudes toward the slave trade shifted the issue from an economic concern to a concern for human rights. The passage contrasts Thomas Jefferson's...
EngageNY
Grade 9 ELA Module 4, Unit 1, Lesson 15
The Haitian Revolution takes center stage as class members analyze a passage from Sugar Changed the World and consider how the authors select, present, and organize events to show how the tensions between the concerns for freedom and...
EngageNY
Grade 9 ELA Module 4, Unit 1, Lesson 11
As part of a study of how writers structure their text so that readers understand events, class members do a close reading of "Is It Lawful to Make Slaves of Others Against Their Will?" a chapter in Aronson and Budhos' Sugar Changed the...
EngageNY
Grade 9 ELA Module 4, Unit 1, Lesson 4
Class members continue examining how writers develop and support their ideas by comparing two texts about globalization. Alongside chapters from Sugar Changed the World, young scholars read an article by the World Bank entitled...
EngageNY
Grade 9 ELA Module 4, Unit 1, Lesson 3
What is the connection between the spread of ideas and the expansion of the sugar trade? Class members continue their reading of Sugar Changed the World and use an analysis tool to identify how critical ideas in the chapters are...
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).
EngageNY
Grade 9 ELA Module 3, Unit 3, Lesson 5
Class members examine examples that model how to develop and maintain a formal style and an objective tone in informative/explanatory writing. They also engage in a peer review activity and revise their work based on the feedback.