To conclude their study of Ethan Canin’s short story “The Palace Thief,” class members use their notes and annotations to craft an expository essay response to the prompt, "Analyze how the interactions between Hundert and the Bells...

With the help of a prewriting activity, scholars reserach a topic and compose an expository essay to show what they know about a topic of their choice. 

Move beyond the five-paragraph essay with a lesson introducing young writers to various forms of expository writing. Class members examine description, cause and effect, problem solution, sequence, and comparison forms. They create an...

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...

Scratching your head when it comes to engaging writing prompts? Check out a list of prompts designed for middle school classes, which includes topics for persuasive writing, expository writing, how-to essays, personal narratives, and...

Step into a scientist's shoes to go online and discover the Florida Springs Expedition, and participate in two activities focusing on how humans impact the environment. The first activity asks scholars to summarize the six...

Twenty prompts reinforce scholars' writing skills of essays and poems. Prompts cover topics such as superpowers, holidays, the weather, and more!

Learning how to craft a cogent argument based on a solid claim, supported with evidence and solid reasoning, is an important life skill. Teach middle schoolers about argumentative writing with a lesson asking them to analyze the claims,...

Ready, set, write! Every great film begins with a script, and every presentation starts with a plan. Directors use their research and experience to compose an essay explaining the rationale behind their film's musical and visual choices...

A three-part assessment promotes reading comprehension skills. Class members read literary texts and take notes to discuss their findings, answer comprehension questions, write summaries, and complete charts. 

Animal classification is the theme of a three-week read-aloud anthology. Scholars listen to and discuss a reading and complete extension activities throughout nine lessons. Writing opportunities delve deep into the process of writing an...

Take young scientists on an exploration of the cosmos with this cross-curricular writing exercise. Tasked with producing an expository composition describing a planet of their choosing, students perform research and...

A final assessment marks the end of a unit that takes a close look at a variety of informational texts all about frogs. A graphic organizer aides scholars in planning an accordion paragraph using their recorder forms from previous...

Explore identity and community through an expository essay based on The House on Mango Street by Sandra Cisneros. This two-week unit on writing an essay provides a brief description of each day and all of the worksheets and...

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...

Winter, spring, summer, and fall! Every season is covered in a 14-page list of writing prompts. Included are story starters, reflection questions, poetry topics, and more.

Class members look again at the end-of-unit essay prompt for A Mighty Long Way. After reviewing the requirements of the essay, they use their Gathering Evidence note-catchers and color-code the evidence that matches the two questions in...

To complete a study of The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, readers select a well-known quotation or symbol from the novel to use in an essay that analyzes how the quotation or symbol relates to the novel's themes.

Light and sound are the running themes of a read-aloud anthology. Over three weeks, third graders listen to discuss readings in preparation for completing extension activities. Pupils work through the writing process to compose an...

How do writers use evidence from literary texts to support analysis and reflection? With instructional activity 17 of 20 from the Grade 8 ELA Module 1, Unit 2 series, learners gather resources to prepare for an end-of-unit assessment....

After rereading the full text of Walter Mosley's essay "True Crime," groups complete an evidence collection tool worksheet, and then class members independently draft a multi-paragraph, evidence-based response that identifies how Mosley...

Feeling the pressure to confirm is something any adolescent can relate to. Explore an essential theme with a response to literature assessment that prompts learners to identify main ideas with evidence and supporting details.

Monitor your third graders' progress with the Common Core ELA standards with this practice assessment. Provided with collection of three narrative reading passages, children must answer a series of evidence-based multiple...

The final session in this 20-lesson plan unit asks individuals to use their Quick Writes, discussion notes, worksheets, and annotated text to craft and support a claim about how Shakespeare develops either Romeo or Juliet as tragic heroes.