Curated OER
Narrative Writing vs. Explanatory Writing
The class discusses the different purposes an author has for writing. The focus of the discussion is on writing to tell a true story and writing to give information about a specific topic. There are writing purpose sorting cards embedded...
Curated OER
Backwards Writing: Reflections and Symmetry
Why is "ambulance" written backwards on emergency vehicles? Young geometers apply principles of symmetry to translate words written backwards. See if your school or district subscribes to Jobland, where you can view a clip that explains...
Curated OER
Be a Celebrity and Share Your Life with Us
Sixth graders discuss their likes, dislikes, hobbies, goals, and special events in their lives. They write a five paragraph autobiography focusing on style, transitions, and details. This is well-suited for either explanatory or...
Curated OER
Writing: Laying and Covering the Foundation
Your middle schoolers can become stronger writers with a lesson covering the basics. They compose effective thesis statements and introductions, discuss different ways to capture a reader's attention, and compare a poorly written...
Curated OER
Scrambled Stories II
Review story elements with your class. They will use examples from a story to develop critical-thinking questions. Then they use a graphic organizer to describe the setting, character, and plot of the story, focusing on how they...
Curated OER
Convince that Jury (Inspired by Roald Dahl's
What happened to a murder case when the police eat the murder weapon? After reading Roald Dahl's dark and ironic short story "Lamb to the Slaughter," students write a persuasive essay to convince a jury that the wife who killed her...
New York State Education Department
TASC Transition Curriculum: Workshop 4
Why is it important to use precise language? Participants explore this question in the fourth activity in a series of 15 on effective instruction. Perfect for all content areas, the activity promotes appropriate language choice through...
New York State Education Department
TASC Transition Curriculum: Workshop 11
You'll C-E-R a difference in classroom achievement after using a helpful lesson. Designed for economics, civics, government, and US history classes, participants practice using the CER model to craft arguments about primary and secondary...
Global Oneness Project
Exploring Cultural Sustainability
Small groups learn about a present-day nomadic culture in Mongolia and the threats to its existence by exploring a photo essay. The resource includes thoughtful discussion and writing prompts about cultural sustainability, the...
Ogden Museum of Art Education Department
Literacy and Landscapes
As the saying goes, art often imitates life ... and literature! A series of activities designed to accompany a visit to the Ogden Museum of Southern Art encourage writers to find inspiration in various landscapes. The lesson includes a...
EngageNY
TASC Transition Curriculum: Workshop 15
What do a cheetah, Audi commercial, and air have in common? They're all topics of an engaging inquiry-based, hands-on workshop for educators about background knowledge, reading strategies, the CER model, and argumentative writing. The...
Virginia Department of Education
The Writing Process for Expository Writing
Struggling on what steps to take in your expository essay lesson? Or confused on what to include for your scribes? This exercise in the process of expository writing provides concepts and structure for the educator on what the writers...
Curated OER
Writing a Good Introduction
Fifth graders use a list of transitional words and hooks in order to write a good introduction. In this writing lesson plan, 5th graders view and discuss a PowerPoint presentation on introductions.
Curated OER
The Correct Use of the Articles "A" and "An"
Young scholars discover the grammatical rules regarding articles. In this grammar activity, students study the rule regarding the use of "a" and "an" in writing. Young scholars are encouraged to discover the rule on their own and apply...
Curated OER
Sight Word Line-Up
Students use sight words to correctly line up. They are given a card and are to match it up with the set taped to the floor. They read each card and show it to the class before they move to their destination.
Curated OER
The Use of Signal Words in Writing
Students examine the use of transition or signal word to create good paragraph organization.
Channel Islands Film
A Time Capsule of a Lost Early California Lifestyle
After viewing The Last Roundup, a documentary that examines the transitioning of Santa Rosa from a privately owned island to a National Park, class members adopt the point of view of Tim Vail, a member of the family that once owned the...
Curated OER
Search Warranted?
Young readers work on evaluating claims in a piece of informational text with the article "In New York, It's Open Bag or Find Exits" from the New York Times. They analyze current search procedures implemented to fight terrorism and...
Curated OER
Summer Shorts
Want to use sequence maps in your narrative writing unit? Young writers work to create personal narratives about their summer vacation. They write a narrative of their vacation and create a display using summer clothing shapes made from...
Scholastic
Descriptive Writing Fortunes
What does your fortune say? Engage class members in writing complete sentences by first handing out fortune cookies and reading the messages. Pupils will practice writing complete sentences by composing fortunes to put in die cut fortune...
Curated OER
Stimulating Narrative Writing
Students create an art project and write a process paper as a response to literature. In this literature response lesson plan, students listen to Lynn Ehlert's, Snowballs before decorating a construction paper snowman. They write a...
EngageNY
End of Unit Assessment: Final Essay
This is just the transition phase. Scholars participate in a mini lesson about using transitions in writing. They then have a brief peer critique of the introduction and conclusion paragraphs for their end of unit assessment. Learners...
Curated OER
Describing Paintings: Calm or Stormy
Young writers use nouns, verbs, and adjectives to describe details in two paintings. One depicts a sunny landscape, and the other shows a cloudier view. They write a narrative inspired by the paintings, paying attention to transitional...
Curated OER
The Personal Narrative - Part One
Read to write! The class lists sensory details based on the plot of a story they have recently read. They create a drawing of a bracelet and use the bracelet's jewels or charms to list sensory details included in the story. They then use...