Curated OER
Text Structure: Organizational Patterns
Explore plot structure by analyzing text samples with writers. They define terms such as problem and solution, cause and effect, and story arc. They also identify the sequences used in modern stories by reading samples and determining...
Curated OER
Information Shuffle
Gather some information, print it onto sentence strips, and then have your class physically shuffle the cards to better understand the importance of organizational patterns in writing. Middle school learners examine information for a...
Curated OER
Understanding Cause and Effect
Identify the author's organizational pattern for expressing ideas. After reading an article on the California Gold Rush, middle schoolers determine the author's purpose for writing a passage of informational text. A full list of...
Core Knowledge Foundation
Second Grade Skills Unit 6: The War of 1812
An English language arts unit closely examines spelling, grammar, reading, and writing skills. Scholars practice spelling patterns and tricky words. A read-aloud details the War of 1812 and introduces adverbs, and a close reading looks...
Curated OER
Organizing One’s Thoughts
Students take a closer look at the organization of written pieces. In this writing skills instructional activity, students examine transitions, repetition, parallelism, and other organizational patterns in writing.
Curated OER
Exposing Expository Text Structure in a Rainforest Setting
Students create a thematic booklet containing examples of different types of expository text structures. They explore a variety of expository text structures.
Curated OER
Sequencing
Are you looking for a way to teach sequence of events in your narrative writing unit? Bring this lesson to your middle school class, as it prompts young writers to create a narrative sequence map of events that have happened at school...
Curated OER
A High-Interest Novel Helps Struggling Readers Confront Bullying in Schools
Bully, bullied, or bystander? Paul Langan's The Bully is the anchor text in a unit that examines bullying and violence. After a close reading of the text, readers imagine themselves as the characters and consider how they would react in...
Curated OER
Creating Ideas and Organizing Thinking
Students examine the concept of developing ideas and organizing their thinking. They create concept maps and graphic organizers using Inspiration software, and develop a concept map for their own subject area.
Curated OER
Writing Process-- Revision and Editing
As guided practice, class members work together to revise a model persuasive paragraph. Then they practice independently with their own writing. The included rubric looks at prewriting, drafting, revising, editing, nonfiction text...
Curated OER
STORY MAPPING: THE HUNDRED DRESSES
Learners illustrate and paraphrase each chapter of The Hundred Dresses, creating a graphic organizer through the use of story mapping. After students have completed their story maps, ask for a few volunteers to present theirs to the class.
Pennsylvania Department of Education
6 Traits: Sentence Fluency
Students practice writing with sentence fluency in order to make the story more enjoyable for the reader. In this sentence fluency lesson plan, students focus on rhythm and flow.
Curated OER
Summarizing Details in Sequence
Seventh graders write a few sentences explaining the most important events of their lives during the past year. As a class, they discuss why they chose the elements they did for their sentences. To end the lesson, they read a variety of...
Curated OER
The Important Thing About Technology
Students assess the advantages of modern technology tools by creating a page in a class book utilizing pattern writing as well as the writing process. They organize and develop a composition on a selected topic after going through the...
Curated OER
Where In the World Are We?
Fifth graders read postcards and find their locations on maps. They use the pictures and text on the postcards to write about imaginary vacations. They compute the mileage and compare it to TripMaker data.
Curated OER
Writing with Style: Six Traits of Good Writers
Fourth graders listen as the teacher reads a picture book that emphasized word choice. They discuss words and how word choice impacts a piece of writing. Students view various passages on the overhead, and highlight adjectives and verbs...
Curated OER
Dogs vs. Cats: Pet Ownership Essay
Students analyze patterns of organization used in writing to determine how and when comparisons and contrasts can be effectively utilized to identify similarities and differences or pros and cons.
Curated OER
Write Like David Shannon
Students listen to several of David Shannon's books and identify patterns in the text. They write and illustrate a story of their own in the style of David Shannon, and share their books with classmates.
Curated OER
What's So Good About Popcorn?
First graders use a thinking map to organize a paragraph. They write and edit their paragraph about popcorn and type the final copy on the computer.
Curated OER
The Marshall Plan And The Reconstruction Of Europe
Third graders investigate various aspects that are associated with the history of Maryland. They look at the establishment of America as becoming a superpower. They conduct research using the text provided. The students gather the...
Mary Pope Osborne, Classroom Adventures Program
Mummies in the Morning Egyptian pyramids, hieroglyphics
Visit the Magic Treehouse and take your class on a trip through time with a reading of the children's book Mummies in the Morning. Using the story to spark an investigation into Egyptian culture, this literature unit engages...
Museum of Tolerance
The Role of Citizens in a Participatory Democracy
Groups research participatory democracies and compare the role and rights of citizens in ancient history with those in recent U.S. history. Guided by a series of questions, individuals compose a persuasive essay in which they discuss the...
Curated OER
The Solar System
Looking for a cross-curricular project for language arts and science? Use this lesson to reinforce knowledge of the Solar System, as well as expository writing skills. Elementary and middle schoolers choose one aspect of the Solar System...
Curated OER
Teacher of the Year
Now is the time to identify the great teachers in your school! Discuss the characteristics of persuasive writing and analyze an example. Then, each pupil chooses a teacher who they feel should be named teacher of the year. They plan and...