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,...

Support your learners as they work on writing paragraphs by providing graphic organizers, outlines, and frames. Sift through this packet to find the perfect organizers and templates to prepare pupils for writing. The resource...

Second graders write topic sentences. In this writing lesson, 2nd graders construct a paragraph consisting of a topic sentence and 2-4 additional sentences. Students analyze their writing and publish a final copy.

Drafting a strong first sentence for a summary is an important step. Writers can use the formula presented on this handout to get started. The resource lists three steps to put together a strong topic sentence, as well as tips and hints...

Whether introducing the structure of expository essays or reviewing the format with your high schoolers, take the time to check out this resource. Examples of seven common forms of introductory paragraphs and six types of conclusions, as...

Third graders relate the concept of individuality of geometric shapes to the individuality of topic sentences. They write and revise a persuasive argument essay using an established rubric.

Neighborhood and community is the theme of a unit comprised of extra support lessons. Following practice pages and a teach, blend, guided practice, practice/apply routine, the series of lessons provide additional reinforcement...

As your 3rd grade class finishes reading Bullfrog at Magnolia Circle, the eighth lesson plan of this unit helps readers from an understanding of the very specific information on the final page of the book. As with the entire unit,...

At 32 slides, one would think this presentation on thesis statements is a bit too long, but it is the most important component of a well-written essay! Help your developing writers craft concise, interesting theses with this PowerPoint....

Students read Arthur's Pet Business and  complete a pre-writing worksheet for expository writing.  In this paragraph writing instructional activity, students gather and organize material for a paragraph about pets.

In this synthetic elements learning exercise, learners read a selection, "Maya Lin's Civil Rights Memorial," then decipher the main ideas. Students are asked to support their main ideas with notes and phrases that prove their...

The value in this PowerPoint about the five-paragraph expository essay comes from the clear explanations and specific examples provided to illustrate each aspect; however, a complete, model essay is not included. Beware the typos!

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...

Students choose a paragraph from a book of their choice, identify the main idea, and draw an illustration of the main idea. They write original paragraphs, illustrate them, and trade with a partner, identifying the main idea of the...

Each presidential election year, the debate about the electoral college rages. Michael C. Maibach's "A Defense of the Electoral College" offers young political scientists an opportunity to examine a reasoned argument for why the...

Students practice various comprehension strategies to generate the main idea of the text. They encounter unfamiliar concepts and new vocabulary in their quest of the main idea in "Watson's Goes to Burmingham." The Five W's (What, Where,...

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.

Discuss the importance of comprehension and the use of summarization with your class. Through guided practice, they follow three steps in finding and highlighting important information, deleting information that is not needed and...

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...

Provide these templates as aids for pupils as they work to compose summaries of both stories and informational texts. The first two frames provide sentence starters to help learners structure their summaries and include all the necessary...

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...

What is a paragraph? This question drives the PowerPoint. Viewers discuss important elements of a solid paragraph, transitions between paragraphs, and strategies for editing. Show this presentation and then look at an example...

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.