+
Activity
Poetry4kids

Five Ways to Overcome Writer’s Block

For Students 3rd - 8th Standards
Every writer knows how terrible writer's block can feel. Use these five writer's block-busting techniques to help young writers get out of their rut and into a better state of mind.
+
Unit Plan
Curated OER

Nonfiction Genre Mini-Unit: Persuasive Writing

For Teachers 1st - 4th
Should primary graders have their own computers? Should animals be kept in captivity? Young writers learn how to develop and support a claim in this short unit on persuasive writing.
+
Handout
Oregon Department of Education

Habits of Mind

For Teachers 6th - Higher Ed
There is more than one way to approach a problem. Explore the habits of mind as they relate to the methods of approaching learning, and to how young writers can develop success once they learn to foster each skill.
+
Lesson Plan
1
1
MENSA Education & Research Foundation

The Writer’s Toolbox: What You Need to Master the Craft

For Teachers 3rd - 12th Standards
Strengthen your high schoolers' writing with a series of steps for writing successfully. With sections on organizing an essay, choosing a topic, crafting a thesis statement, and revising a draft, the lesson encourages your class to...
+
Writing
abcteach

Story Starter: Stop Sign

For Students K - 2nd Standards
If you're looking for simple writing prompts for young children then stop right there, because we have what you need. Including a picture of a stop sign and four sets of handwriting lines, this exercise asks young writers to produce...
+
Lesson Plan
EngageNY

Publishing Historical Fiction Narratives

For Teachers 4th Standards
Class members discover what it means to publish their works. Working on a computer, young writers use an online dictionary to edit their spellings and conventions based on the information added to the rubric. From here, and most of the...
+
Worksheet
2
2
Freeology

Upper and Lowercase Rr

For Students Pre-K - 3rd Standards
Give young writers a boost in tracing and writing upper and lowercase letters with a worksheet featuring the letter R. 
+
Worksheet
K12 Reader

Writing with Interjections

For Students 4th - 6th Standards
Challenge young writers to craft original sentences using interjections from a list provided on a colorful worksheet.
+
Activity
Poetry4kids

How to Write a “Favorite Things” List Poem

For Students 3rd - 8th Standards
If your students made a list of their favorite things, would writing poetry be on it? After this poetry writing lesson, it might! Young writers make a list of what they like—or what they don't like—before crafting the list into a rhyming...
+
Activity
Poetry4kids

Writing Riddles

For Students 3rd - 8th Standards
What's got 60 eyes, 150 fingers, and an endless number of ideas? Your language arts class! Challenge young writers to come up with clever riddles with an online poetry lesson.
+
Lesson Plan
K20 LEARN

Introduction to Expository Writing

For Teachers 6th - 9th Standards
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...
+
Lesson Plan
EngageNY

Peer Critique: Historical Accuracy of Ideas and Vocabulary

For Teachers 4th Standards
Promote collaboration in the classroom with a historical fiction instructional activity. Fourth graders partner up and read the other's narrative to give feedback on vocabulary choice and the accuracy of historical information. After...
+
Worksheet
1
1
E Reading Worksheets

Persuasive Writing - Introductory Paragraph Review

For Students 4th - 8th Standards
Master a well-organized thesis statement with a short activity for a persuasive writing unit. Young writers read five different introductory paragraphs about various topics, find the main ideas addressed in each thesis statement, and jot...
+
Lesson Plan
Roald Dahl

Charlie and the Chocolate Factory

For Teachers 3rd - 5th Standards
You can't read Roald Dahl's Charlie and the Chocolate Factory without craving the rich treats described in Dahl's vivid prose. Young writers try their hands at sensory language with a lesson plan that prompts them to write about their...
+
Handout
1
1
J. Hines, Ed Prgms Intern

Comma Usage

For Students 4th - 10th Standards
Sometimes it feels like young writers just place commas as they please! Ensure that your pupils uses these important punctuation marks properly by requiring them to study the information here and complete the grammar exercise....
+
Worksheet
2
2
K12 Reader

What Is a Simile?

For Students 3rd - 6th Standards
As fun as a barrel of monkeys, this figurative language activity will engage your students in learning to write similes. Asking them to first think of adjectives describing the six nouns listed on the page, this exercise has young...
+
Worksheet
1
1
K12 Reader

Using Similes

For Students 4th - 6th Standards
Your class will find using similes as easy as pie after completing this figurative language exercise. Provided with a list of incomplete similes, young writers must use their creativity to fill in the blanks with nouns that accurately...
+
Handout
2
2
San Diego Unified School District

On-Demand Persuasive Writing Samples

For Students 6th - 7th Standards
Young writers complete a timed persuasive writing assignment in which they argue for a club they would like to see established at school, and are then provided with real student samples of responses. 
+
Activity
Novelinks

Walk Two Moons: Biopoem

For Teachers 6th - 8th
Middle schoolers describe the characters of Walk Two Moons as they write biopoems. Following the pattern provided, young writers depict their chosen characters' traits and experiences to make their poems unique.
+
Handout
1
1
All About Reading

Pirate Dictionary

For Teachers 2nd - 6th Standards
Shiver me timbers, this here resource is a great way to teach young landlubbers to speak the language of the briny deep. Including over 30 different words and phrases, complete with definitions and guide words, this dictionary will have...
+
Lesson Plan
EngageNY

Revising for Organization and Style: Bold Beginnings

For Teachers 4th Standards
Get young writers thinking about how to write a great beginning for their narratives. After examining examples of solid beginnings in literary text, young writers discuss the criteria for a compelling introduction. Then, independently,...
+
Lesson Plan
1
1
Scholastic

Quick as a Cricket Lesson Plan

For Teachers Pre-K - 2nd Standards
Teaching young learners about similes is easy as pie with this primary grade language arts lesson plan. Following a class reading of the children's book, Quick as a Cricket by Audrey Wood, young readers learn the definition of a simile...
+
Unit Plan
1
1
Scholastic

Persausive Writing

For Students 3rd - 6th Standards
A unit on persuasive writing guides elementary learners through the writing process. The first part examines the elements of persuasive writing, including expressing an opinion, connecting ideas, using supporting facts, and writing...
+
Lesson Plan
K20 LEARN

It's All About Balance! Parallel Structure

For Teachers 9th Standards
I came, I saw, I conquered! Parallel structure, employed by writers even before Julius Caesar, is the focus of a lesson that teaches young writers the power of this rhetorical device. Class members analyze speeches by Dr. Martin Luther...