Curated OER
Writing Organizers
Eight graphic organizers to choose from? That's right! Each of these organizers relates to writing or reading. From narrowing a writing topic, to responding to literature, to planning a writing project, you'll find many purposes for...
Curated OER
Writing Structure and Paragraph Lesson
Students review the correct form for writing paragraphs. In this paragraph writing lesson, students rewrite a poorly written opening sentence. Students make changes to a closing paragraph. Students write a plan for an essay of five...
Curriculum
Expository Writing
The beauty of the way this expository writing resource is structured is that the units can be presented as a complete writing workshop or sequenced throughout a course of study
Nancy Fetzer's Literacy Connections
Expository Paragraph
Upper elementary and middle school writers learn how to craft an expository paragraph by following the six steps detailed in a 48-page instructional guide. Learners learn how to write six different types of informational paragraphs: to...
Curated OER
Organizing by Writing
Middle schoolers analyze how to use writing for generating and organizing their thoughts before communicating them. They use the questions on the first handout to organize a three-minute introduction of themselves to their small group....
Curated OER
Convey Ideas in Writing
Use the platforms of the 2004 presidential candidates to bring persuasive writing to your class. Young voters identify the three issues most important to them in the election and research the issues and candidates' positions. They write...
Curated OER
Writing Effective Thesis Statements and Introductory Paragraphs for Research Papers
After reading on the topic of their paper, high schoolers work in pairs to assess how to write powerful, precise thesis statements. The introduction contains three statements: a universal statement, a bridge statement, and a thesis...
Fluence Learning
Writing About Literature: Comparing and Contrasting Characters in Heidi
Scholars read excerpts from the story, Heidi, in a three-part assessment that focuses on comparing and contrasting characters. Each part contains three tasks that challenge learners to discuss, answer comprehension questions,...
Curated OER
Tell It to the Judge - Persuasive Essay
Students write a persuasive essay that compares and contrasts a classic fairy tales with a fractured one. They use the writing process to complete and publish the essay.
University of North Carolina
Thesis Statements
Phrases such as "This paper is going to be about" and "I am going to tell you about" do not make for effective thesis statements. A handout from the UNC Writing Center helps writers break from those phrases to craft effective thesis...
National Endowment for the Humanities
Lesson 1: The First Great Awakening
High schoolers examine the First Great Awakening and how it affected religious belief in colonial America. They read and analyze primary source documents, explore various websites, and write a five-paragraph essay examining the beliefs...
Curated OER
"Size 6: The Western Women's Harem" by Fatema Mernissi
Intended for a mature, advanced placement audience, this set of questions accompanies an essay by Fatema Mernissi regarding clothing size and the possible implications for not fitting in with what is considered the norm. A very...
EngageNY
Qualities of a Strong Literary Analysis Essay
Read like a writer. Scholars read a model literary analysis in preparation for a similar writing assignment before annotating each paragraph for the gist. Next, pupils devise a list of qualities of a strong literary analysis essay.
Do2Learn
Organizer Tree
Help your pupils organize their thoughts, gain a greater understanding of a topic by laying it out clearly, or plan for writing with this graphic organizer. Learners can write in three larger topics and then two subtopics for each.
Curated OER
Summer Reading and Writing Assignment: Fahrenheit 451
Twelfth graders explore Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury. For this reading and writing lesson, 12th graders read the book and think of five books to save from the fire. Students write an essay explaining why they'd save them. The essay...
Curated OER
Introduction Paragraph
Key parts of an introductory paragraph (grabber sentence, connecting information, thesis) are highlighted in a presentation that uses color-coded sample paragraphs to illustrate how these parts combine to form a complete opening paragraph.
Curated OER
World War II: Internment in Hawaii
Learners examine world history by writing an essay in class. In this World War II lesson, students identify the attack on Pearl Harbor, the response from the U.S and the effect it had on Japanese-Americans. Learners define Japanese...
The New York Times
Writing Fiction Based on Real Science - NYTimes.com
Refuse to alienate your scientific-minded young scholars during your creative writing unit. Learners explore how literary writing can reflect observable fact, and be based in actual science. The links include examples of fiction and...
Thomas Jefferson Foundation
Personal Morals vs. Political Moves Document Based Essay
Was Thomas Jefferson a hypocrite? Tackle this question with primary source analysis and an essay. The packet includes historical background, a writing prompt, a combined outline and checklist, and ten primary documents paired with...
Curated OER
Don't Let the Earth Down
Writing a persuasive argument starts with a clear thesis. Using this resource, your class will write a persuasive paper on a conservation issue. They will then transform their argument into a 30-second public service announcement. If...
National Geographic
Steps in a Process Diagram
Start at step one with this straightforward graphic organizer! Learners write down five steps in a process to complete the worksheet. Arrows point from one box to the next to show the relationship between steps.
Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
Elaboration, Revision, and Proofreading
Designed to help writers strengthen their elaboration, revision, and proofreading skills, this 48-page workbook is packed with information about and exercises in personal, narrative, persuasive, and report writing.
Curated OER
GLOBALIZATION
Young scholars define the concept of the global community. They analyze characteristics of global communities using Stark's three categories: communication, economy, and culture/community. They write a five-paragraph essay which...
Curated OER
Henry Ford: A Cultural Icon
Students conduct research online for information about Henry Ford and his assembly line, examine economic, technological, and social changes that resulted from Ford's innovation, and use notes and resources to write five paragraph essays...