Build the skills your budding authors need to develop to compose well-structured paragraphs. Give them the topic sheet (included here), and have them write a cohesive paragraph using the ideas listed. Consider having them include two...

How do you read when you know you're going to be summarizing a text? Summarize a nonfiction text with your upper elementary schoolers. Your pupils independently read a nonfiction article and write a summary paragraph using the six-step...

Writers draft paragraphs comparing and contrasting the author's viewpoint in two poems. They also discuss the differences between an informational text and a poem regarding manners. Rubric and assessment are provided.

See how much your class knows about earthquakes and volcanic activity and how these events shape geologic features. The first lesson in the series of 20 is a pre-test to find out what pupils already know. It includes 10 vocabulary...

Students observe and demonstrate the steps to identifying the main ideas of a text. They listen to the teacher read a paragraph and model the steps of summarizing the main idea. Students then independently read a different paragraph...

In these paragraph writing worksheets, students study the definitions and example sentences for the topic sentence, the body, and the concluding sentence in a paragraph. Kids then read a sample paragraph and answer several review...

Students identify fictional story elements. In this reading comprehension lesson, students read the book Goodnight Goon, which is a parody of Goodnight Moon, and discuss the story elements. Students use an included worksheet to record...

Third graders examine how finding the main ideas and summarizing increases their reading comprehension. They read "The Sea in Danger" while applying the six rules of summarization in a modeled lesson. Next, working in small groups, they...

Support your learners during the speech-writing process with a five-page graphic organizer. Pupils have plenty of space to write in their evidence and arguments on this resource. The organizer provides some prompts for each section to...

Walking in nature is the theme of a unit designed to support English language development lessons. Scholars look, write, speak, and move to explore topics such as camping, woodland animals, instruments,...

Read and discuss "The Yellow Wall-Paper" and the gender issues that the story brings up. Use articles from the time period to analyze, complete with specific discussion questions. After two days, scholars write an essay based on topics...

Students will investigate why comprehension is a major goal of reading. To comprehend the meaning of text, students must know certain strategies in order to be successful. Form a topic sentence that captures the meaning of a paragraph...

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...

Practice with paragraphs while thinking about careers! Learners examine and discuss two sample paragraphs, marking the different elements (topic sentences, body, concluding sentences), and try out writing their own paragraphs. Focusing...

Help third graders focus on improving their speaking and listening skills with this Common Core checklist. By phrasing each standard as an I can statement, learners can monitor their progress toward clear, attainable goals.

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

Skim, reread, and then take notes. The step-by-step procedure outlined in this resource can be used to help pupils write a summary of a reading passage. Using their notes, class members then draft a summary focusing on the main idea and...

Let’s learn about frogs! Young readers are led through “Freaky Frogs,” a non-fiction article. Teach learners how to edit an article so there are fewer details to sift through. After talking through the article, they learn the six steps...

Young scholars examine how to skim textual material. They read an article, and identify the main ideas by reading first and last paragraphs, topic sentences, and other organizational clues.

Students investigate literature to discover details and focus upon the main idea to analyze it. They use reading comprehension skills to interpret passages of choice based upon literary importance to the overall meaning. While evaluating...

In this paragraph worksheet, students cut out the 5 sentence strips that will form the opening paragraph of a speech on cooking. Students arrange the sentences in order: topic sentence, details and concluding sentence.

Just like you choose your clothes to ensure they fit the occasion, you should choose your words deliberately while writing. Style, the main topic of one handout in a series on writing skills, involves choosing words carefully and paying...

Young scholars create a web with the writing topic in the center of the web. They extend three branches from the center of the web, write the main ideas that support and develop the topic. They draw three branches that extend from each...

Introducing your class to essay writing? The gentle tone, concise explanations, and clear examples provided by a 17-slide presentation introduces young writers to the expository essay format. All that's missing is a complete essay with...