Who is the greatest US president? George Washington? Abraham Lincoln? FDR? Find out the opinions of your young historians with this cross-curricular writing prompt that engages them in researching the accomplishments of these influential...

A three-part writing assessment challenges scholars to think critically about schools of the past and present. Learners read informative texts, answer questions to prepare for a discussion, research in small groups, complete a Venn...

Stuck for a journal topic? Download CAHSEE’s 21 “Expository Journal Prompts” as a pdf handout for yourself or class. A great resource for your writing program, print it up and add it your curriculum library.

One worksheet, three projects. Learners explore Eastern Europe and mark Eastern European countries on a map. They then collect and record census data on thirteen different countries, and write a 3-5 page expository essay on one of the...

The world is full of possibilities for your ELLs. Help them explore their career options with a lesson that incorporates Internet research and expository writing. Not only will they learn more about their careers of choice, but both...

Class members practice their writing skills by completing a prompt about maturity. They develop a constructed response about something they once thought was important, but may not be as important now. 

Take your pick of 16 graphic organizers, all designed for persuasive writing. Some provide space to prepare an entire essay or speech, while others provide space for brainstorming and organizing ideas before settling on...

The Renaissance is the theme of a five-week unit designed to boost reading comprehension, spelling, vocabulary, and expository writing skills. Scholars listen to and discuss daily readings and engage in skills practice activities...

Explore expository writing and using precise language in this descriptive paragraph writing lesson. Learners brainstorm prior knowledge about the changing seasons in Ohio. They describe seasonal items, view seasonal pictures from...

Here is a resource intended for a social studies class, but great no matter the subject. It's a complete outline for an essay. It includes space to write ideas related to the thesis, supporting details, transition sentences and words,...

Pupils explore brochure writing. They work in groups to brainstorm and categorize important places in their community. In addition, they gather information from the Internet, take pictures using a digital camera, and create a community...

State reports can be a lot of fun, especially when the learners get to choose the state they study. This research and writing-focused social studies lesson engages learners in collecting information, essay structure, research, and...

Young scholars write a letter.  In this irrigation activity, students review how humans and the environment can interact with each other, learn new vocabulary words having to do with Mesopotamia, learn about irrigation and view maps...

Examine the impact of Imperialism in relation to power and industrialization. There are three short answer questions for critical thinkers to respond to in this handout. They'll describe the relationship between Imperialism and...

Time to revise! Using a writing evaluation rubric, scholars participate in a peer editing process to provide feedback on each others' informative essays. Next, pupils begin revising their drafts based on the feedback they receive. 

Young scholars read Arthur's Pet Business and  complete a pre-writing worksheet for expository writing.  For this paragraph writing lesson, students gather and organize material for a paragraph about pets.

Explore objective and subjective writing in this interdisciplinary lesson, which brings language arts and visual art together. Middle and high school students examine the sculpture Head with Horns by Paul Gauguin. They then analyze the...

First and last impressions are important. Using the helpful resource, scholars draft the introductory and concluding paragraphs of their literary analysis essays. Next, they use a writing evaluation rubric to self-assess their work. 

Three wonderful questions will help your middle schoolers better understand the Byzantine Empire. They construct short essay responses to each of the three prompts, discuss the schism between the Greek and Roman Catholic church, the...

Celebrate Black History Month with this lesson, in which middle schoolers create an essay about a famous African-American. Writers conduct research online, take notes to write an essay in proper format, and use ideas, text, and graphics...

Human prehistory is an exciting topic for many learners! Engage your social studies class in critical thinking by having them answer the three short essay questions on this worksheet. They need to know why prehistoric people migrate, how...

Use this worksheet to check for understanding after your class reads materials related to Europe in the Middle Ages. There are three questions that ask them to describe Charlemagne as a prominent historical figure, the feudal system, and...

Those studying the history of India and the legacy left by the Gupta Empire will have no problem answering these three short answer questions. Learners compose three short paragraphs describing the Gupta Empire, the historical population...

Three questions in need of well-written answers await your budding historians. They put their reading comprehension to the test when they describe how the Crusades impacted Italian city-states, why kings like Richard the Lion-Hearted...