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Painting Places with Words Using John Steinbeck's Of Mice and Men

For Teachers 8th - 9th Standards
Useful in an Of Mice and Men unit, or in a unit that focuses on descriptive writing, this lesson prompts young authors to impersonate John Steinbeck's writing style in the opening passages of the novel. A Six Trait writing activity...
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"Lawd! Lawd! Lawd!"

For Teachers 7th - 10th
From British accents to Texan drawls, a character's dialect can be an important part of the reading experience. A Six-Trait writing activity guides learners through the analysis of a character's dialect (Daniel Keyes's Flowers for...
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Curated OER

Episodic Writing Using Pictures of Hollis Woods by Patricia Reilly Giff

For Teachers 5th - 7th
Help your middle-schoolers expand their writing skills with this lesson on episodic writing, which focuses on story details, idea development, and organization. After reading "The Eighth Picture: End of Summer" from Patricia Reilly...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Jeffrey and Sloth: Six Traits of Writing

For Teachers 4th - 8th
Use drawings as inspiration. Have learners doodle for 10 minutes before beginning the lesson. Then, have them use their doodles to inspire a story. Several writing activities are included here to play with writing. One of my favorites...
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Curated OER

Same Setting, Different Moods: Voice and Word Choice Using Lord of the Flies

For Teachers 9th - 10th
Whether it's dark, delightful, or somber, set the mood with William Golding's Lord of the Flies. High-schoolers practice descriptive writing by creating the appropriate mood for an original scene, starring one of the book's main characters.
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Curated OER

Hoot: Persuasive Writing Assignment

For Teachers 6th - 8th Standards
Can your class convince the townspeople to support the rally in Carl Hiaasen's Hoot? Have your young writers exercise their persuasive writing skills in a lesson that prompts them to write a letter or a speech based on Chapter 18 from...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Effective Writing is More Than a Five Paragraph Essay

For Teachers 7th - 9th
Groups become experts in one aspect of the six traits of writing, prepare a PowerPoint presentation, jigsaw, and teach others about their trait. Writers then focus on these traits as they compose a persuasive essay about a person they...
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Boogie Woogie with a B: Using Alliteration while Exploring Patriotic Tunes

For Teachers 8th - 11th
Are you looking for a way to bring writing into your history lesson - or history into your writing lesson? This cross-curricular activity is helpful and fun, no matter what class you're teaching! Using "Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy" by the...
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Borrowing Narrative Skills from Mr. Fletcher: Using a "Prompts in Reverse" Technique to Inspire Your Writers

For Teachers 3rd - 8th
Help your class find their writing voices with this lesson which uses the work of Ralph Fletcher to guide a "Prompt in Reverse" activity. Using the chapter "First Pen" from Fletcher's Marshfield Dreams, learners decipher what they...
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Using Each Trait to Improve Student Writing

For Teachers 9th - 12th
High schoolers examine examples of the qualities of good writing skills and discuss how each of the traits add to the process of good writing. A variety of excerpts from literature provide samples for the exploration.
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Strong Descriptive Writing: James and the Giant Peach

For Teachers 4th - 6th
Support your writers! Clear procedures and appropriate support make this a superb resource for elementary writing instruction. Ready your class to compose original descriptive paragraphs inspired by the episode in Roald Dahl's James and...
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Curated OER

Counting Up/Down Stories

For Teachers 6th - 10th
Mirroring Jerry Spinelli's style in Wringer, chapter 5, pupils use the "counting up/down technique" to recall an important moment in their lives. In the book, the character is being punched, and between blows he remembers details that...
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A Monster of a Metaphor

For Teachers 7th - 12th
What do Jeep advertisements and Steinbeck's The Grapes of Wrath have in common? They both employ the art of the extended metaphor! Using the Six-Trait Writing model, learners begin to work on their own extended metaphors. Development...
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"Voicing" - A Believable Account with "The Glory Fields" by Walter Dean Myers

For Teachers 7th - 8th
Dr. Seuss and Walter Dean Myers team up to cover the topic of prejudice. Using The Sneeches (about the culture clash between star-bellied and bare-bellied Sneetches) and The Glory Fields (about a boy coming to America on a slave ship),...
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Curated OER

"Knot" the Whole Truth: Writing a Modern-Day Story with a Tall Tale's Voice

For Teachers 5th - 9th
Beyond Paul Bunyan and his blue ox, tall tales can be a great way to teach young writers about word choice and voice in their writing. Using Jerry Spinelli's Maniac Magee  and the Six-Trait Writing process, they begin to write their own...
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Lesson Plan
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Jeffrey and Sloth

For Teachers 4th - 8th
Students listen to the story Jeffrey and Sloth and explore the six traits of writing. In this six traits of writing lesson plan, students practice doodling as a method of brainstorming ideas. Students then discover the importance of...
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Delicious Words

For Teachers 5th
Fifth graders work together to make simple menus more interesting by adding descriptive words. This plan works well with the Six Traits of Writing as it covers the trait of word choice. This is a really fun way for students to practice...
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"I Never Knew That!"

For Teachers 6th - 12th
Incorporating To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee, narrative writing, and friendly letters, this lesson is ideal for any number of units in your classroom. First, read chapter 10 of the novel, noting Scout and Jem's reactions to their...
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Unit Plan
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Nonfiction Genre Mini-Unit: Persuasive Writing

For Teachers 1st - 4th
Should primary graders have their own computers? Should animals be kept in captivity? Young writers learn how to develop and support a claim in this short unit on persuasive writing.
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Impersonating Great Poets Using "Science Verse" by Jon Scieszka

For Teachers 5th - 7th
A great way to bring poetry and parody into your language arts classroom, this instructional activity mimics famous poems based on Jon Scieszka's Science Verse. The activity not only allows the class to see examples of poem parodies, but...
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Trait Variations for Survival

For Teachers 4th - 8th
Young learners examine how different traits could give one organism an advantage over another. In groups, they view two different organisms in different environments. To end the lesson, they complete a Venn Diagram on the two organisms...
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Curated OER

Narrative Writing

For Teachers 4th - 8th
Are you the oldest in your family? The youngest? The middlest? How do you feel about your place in your family? After reading such stories as My Rotten, Redheaded Older Brother by Patricia Polacco and Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing by...
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Curated OER

Writing Through Art

For Teachers 4th - 6th
Examine the works of visual and performing artists with upper graders. Using the works, they identify the comparisons among the techniques used. They will also review the six traits of effective writing and keep a writing journal...
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Curated OER

Assessing the Traits: What is Good Writing?

For Teachers 9th - 12th
High schoolers examine samples of writing and discuss the score it received. They brainstorm what qualities make a good writer and stories.

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