In an expository essay, a type of informational text, the writer clarifies or explains something by using facts, details, and examples in a clear and concise way. To write an effective expository essay, students need a basic...

A printable graphic organizer for students to use when writing on opinion or persuasive essay. Directions on how to use this type of graphic organizer as well as lists of teaching ideas, lesson plans, and other resources are also...

A lesson plan made for young scholars to write from various perspectives regarding the same topic. The mentor text entitled The Important Book is used, as students become more familiar with voice, point of view, persuasive techniques and...

A kindergarten teacher shares how she introduced persuasive writing in her classroom. After a discussion about "problems" that need to be fixed in their school, the class decided they wanted to write the principal a persuasive letter...

For this lesson, students examine multiple mentor texts to help drive them toward the final persuasive writing assignment: comparison and contrast poems written from a parent and a child's perspective. A short story, two poems, and a...

A series of six screencast lessons explaining the process of argumentative writing. The first [4 min. 22 sec.] focuses on overall structure and purpose. The second [6 mins, 18 secs] explains how to state a claim. The third [6 min. 3...

In this video segment from Nature, learn about cats. Consider the possibility that the cat may become the number one choice for pet owners.