Curated OER
Effective Writing is More Than a Five Paragraph Essay
Groups become experts in one aspect of the six traits of writing, prepare a PowerPoint presentation, jigsaw, and teach others about their trait. Writers then focus on these traits as they compose a persuasive essay about a person they...
Curated OER
Nonfiction Genre Mini-Unit: Persuasive Writing
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.
Curated OER
Narrative Writing
Are you the oldest in your family? The youngest? The middlest? How do you feel about your place in your family? After reading such stories as My Rotten, Redheaded Older Brother by Patricia Polacco and Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing by...
Curated OER
Creating a Persuasive Travel Brochure
Learners create a county and develop an illustrated travel brochure to persuade elementary students to visit their county. In this persuasive writing lesson, learners use descriptive language effectively in a travel brochure. Students...
Curated OER
Do Heroes Have to Wear a Cape?
Young writers choose a person from American history, their community, or their family to use as the subject of a persuasive essay. The process begins with a discussion of the characteristics of a hero, the completion of a prewriting web,...
Pennsylvania Department of Education
6 Traits: Word Choice
Pupils explore language arts by participating in a vocabulary usage activity. In this word choice lesson, students read examples of great word usage in literature and discuss with the class why some words appear stronger than others....
Curated OER
Nominate a Classmate
Learners study what it means to be good citizens. In this government instructional activity, students nominate a classmate for being a good citizen and write a persuasive letter to the principal persuading the principal to make that...
Curated OER
Decision Making and Assertiveness
Fourth graders identify a problem and write a persuasive essay to the appropriate audience, to correct the problem. They demonstrate effective decision making based on positive self-worth. Students need to write a paragraph about their...
Curated OER
Transformations
Students identify the types of transformations in their lives. As a class, they determine the ones they have control over and which ones they do not. They practice solving problems in math and oral communication that they are faced with...
Curated OER
What Makes a Cat a Cat?
Students investigate the lives of pets by videotaping them. In this animal life lesson, students videotape a cat and other pets using school cameras in a computer lab. Students review the footage from the cat and other animals and...
Curated OER
Posters -- What's the Main Idea?
Students discuss the basics of poster productions. In groups, they follow written directions to make a poster about asthma, allergies, AIDS, or personal safety. They present their poster to the class and reflect on the process in a journal.