Assess your new learners' writing abilities and knowledge of literary terms with these diagnostic activities. Part of a back-to-school unit, this is meant to provide the teacher with information about the ability levels of their class....

Every good novel needs a solid beginning! Setting the stage can have your budding authors stumped, so use this lesson to get them thinking. After examining the plot rollercoaster image (included) they consider the four places...

Two is company. Scholars pair up to continue their mini essay writing from the previous lesson. They work on their introduction and conclusion paragraphs and then trade partners for peer feedback and a fresh set of eyes on their work....

Young environmentalists learn how to craft a persuasive essay about an environmental issue they consider important. After studying the components of a persuasive essay and examining a student model, writers brainstorm possible topics and...

Learn to write right. Scholars analyze the model essay Adversity Faced by Townspeople in the Middle Ages. They discuss the essay and make annotations working with an elbow partner. Learners then take another look at the essay using a...

The final lesson in this narrative writing unit asks class members to craft a multi-paragraph essay reflecting on the structural elements Leslie Marmon Silko employs in her "Yellow Woman and a Beauty of the Spirit."

Scholars read and discuss an essay by 12-year-old actor Lonnie Chaves about racism, paying close attention to how racism presents itself in interpersonal and institutional ways. Learners reflect on how they experience or witness racism...

As a mid-unit assessment, individuals craft an in-class, formal essay response to a prompt that asks them to use textual evidence to identify Haley's purpose, as well as analyze how the structure, style, and content contribute to the...

When your class members have completed the novel Esperanza Rising, they will be ready to write an expository essay on how Esperanza responds to events and what this says about her character. Set your pupils up for success by...

Young analysts write a comparative essay, but about what? They compose a paper based on several critical discussion about reality and illusion, and how both are blurred in art. They analyze several theatre pieces that exemplify Brechtian...

Step up! Using the resource, scholars discover the six steps to writing an effective position paper. Next, they work on a graphic organizer to begin planning their argument-based essays.

Today's discussion of The Autobiography of Malcolm X focuses on the precise words, the telling phrases, and the sensory details Haley uses to enliven his story. Writers then work to incorporate these same techniques in the draft of their...

Class members dig into the expectations for the end-of-unit assessment for A Mighty Long Way by studying the rubric. The Rubric Criteria strips help pairs of readers look more closely at specific rubric points. They share ideas with the...

What's one way to make a good essay great? Revise! Scholars revise their drafts from a previous lesson plan to help write their final polished analytical essays about the universal refugee experience. They also practice properly citing...

Take the last step in writing a literary argument essay using Bud, Not Buddy by Christopher Paul Curtis in an activity focused on feedback. Using the stars and steps revision method, pupils consider teacher and peer feedback to revise...

To write an essay or not to write an essay—that is the question! Scholars complete a mid-unit assessment based on their study of Hamlet. They write essays analyzing how Shakespeare develops Hamlet's character about other characters.

Pupils prepare to write argumentative essays based on Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream. They begin weighing evidence and crafting claims for their writing about control.

An informative resource instructs pupils on how to write their essay drafts about the theme of control in Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream. Next, scholars complete an Exit Ticket, listing their three favorite characters from the...

Preparation is the key to success! Using the guiding resource, scholars plan their end-of-unit analytical essays' introductory and concluding paragraphs based on their reading of Inside Out & Back Again. To prepare, they complete a...

Scholars review the previous nine lessons of analysis of King's "Letter from Birmingham Jail" and use their work to create a formal essay responding to a writing prompt about the purpose of the work. This mid-unit assessment is a quick...

The Witches, Lady Macbeth, or Macbeth himself: who is the culprit? Using the resource, pupils craft multi-paragraph essays to present arguments about which character is responsible for the tragedy in Shakespeare's Macbeth. Additionally,...

Shakespeare's Macbeth has something for everyone. Scholars complete a mid-unit assessment. They craft multi-paragraph essays to analyze how the author's structural choices create tension and suspense in the play's first two acts.

Revenge, mortality, madness—what are the central ideas from Shakespeare's Hamlet? Scholars answer the question by writing multi-paragraph responses. They also identify and discuss literary devices from the play.

What's the difference between a position speech and a position paper? Scholars use a rubric to analyze a model essay about Michael Pollan's food chains to understand what makes them unique. Additionally, pupils create anchor charts...