What is the difference between a news story and a personal narrative? This plan has learners write a personal narrative using the topic of service projects in their community. Consider completing a cross-curricular extension by bringing...

Academic writing is characterized by certain phrases. Young writers are asked to indicate where, in an academic paper, phrases like, having said that, most experts agree that, the generally accepted view is that, etc. would appear....

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...

Binoculars are used as a metaphor for good descriptive writing. Class members first view a small picture and then an enlarged view of the same image in which the details come into focus. Next, learners examine a paragraph lacking sensory...

Opinion, audience, purpose. Fourth graders are introduced to the three characteristics of persuasive writing in the third unit of a year-long writing program. The 98-page packet is complete with plans, model essays, graphic organizers,...

How are disasters addressed by the Federal Government? This New York Times lesson, based on the article "Disaster Aid: The Mix of Mercy and Politics," prompts middle schoolers to discuss the idea of using a disaster declaration as a...

 Young scholars describe the sensory experience of a character's journey in an essay.  In this precise details writing lesson, students explain the effects on the senses of weather, time of day, landscape, and other...

Eighth graders write an essay describing one of the main causes of the Civil War. In this Civil War lesson plan, 8th graders discuss the Civil War and then write an essay on it.

In this Flag Day activity, learners draw a picture pertaining to the American flag. Students write an essay or story about the picture.

It's an easy transition. Scholars identify transition words in the Pygmalion model essay and record definitions in the Transitions anchor chart. They then begin to look at the tone of the model essay. Finally, individuals begin writing...

Writers look at the End of Unit 2 Assessment: Best First Draft of an Informational Essay handout and use sticky notes to identify things in their work that need editing and revising. They reference their notes to finalize their...

Positive feedback is a great way to improve writers' skills. Scholars receive their draft essays back with teacher comments and start the revision process. Next, they prepare to begin their final drafts at home.

See it through my eyes. Scholars complete mid-unit assessment part II by writing an essay describing how the narrator's point of view influences how the story is told in the text In the Middle of the Storm. Pupils also complete a...

After finishing a unit on Greek history, it's important to test how much learners remember. This handout provides six different essay topics related to Greek History, influences, Athenian Democracy, or Alexander the Great. A rubric is...

Hungry? Try a quote sandwich! Writers discover the concept of using a quote sandwich to introduce and analyze a quote in an argumentative essay properly. Additionally, pupils engage in peer critiques, analyzing each other's drafts and...

This is just the beginning. Learners take the first step toward their end-of-unit assessments of Unbroken. They use their tools and knowledge gained from the unit to create first drafts of their informational essays. Writers then respond...

Writers continue looking at the rubric for their A Long Walk to Water essays. This time, they analyze the demands for the introduction and conclusion paragraphs. Pupils compare the rubric to the opening and closing of the model...

An effective lesson plan truly can make all the difference. Seventh graders read, analyze, and annotate Robert Frost's "The Road Not Taken" before writing an essay about what they believe to be the theme of the iconic poem.

Show me the evidence. Writers analyze the Command of Evidence row of the rubric for A Long Walk to Water essay. Pupils work in pairs to determine how the writer of a model essay meets the demands of the rubric. They then use a Forming...

After reading Sandra Cisneros' The House on Mango Street, class members craft an essay in which they use evidence from a variety of vignettes to demonstrate how Cisneros develops Esperanza's character.

Follow the format of Ray Bradbury's The Martian Chronicles with a journal-writing activity. Readers choose a character and examine the character's life and circumstances through brainstorming, research, and discussion before...

Scholars complete the unit by finishing their end of the unit assessments. They arrange sentences for an introductory paragraph in the correct order, provide evidence for their thinking, and write a conclusion paragraph. They then...

In need of three good writing prompts focused on World War I? Learners respond to three prompts, each having them examine an aspect of World War I. They describe the role nationalism played in the war, the impact of the fall of the...

Why did communism develop in an unindustrialized Russia? What human rights were violated under Joseph Stalin? And, how did the Soviet Union become industrialized? These are the writing prompts your class will work to answer with complete...