Examine writing using a fun, interactive format. Young writers choose a piece of their own writing to proofread for initial capitals and final periods they left out. They work independently using green stickers to add capitals and red...

Descriptive writing is rich in sensory appeals and paints pictures in the minds of readers. Show young writers how to use an on-line thesaurus and a cliché website to create fresh, descriptive writing. The presentation ends with an...

How is an essay like a hamburger? Detailing the "meaty" parts of a well-written essay, this presentation takes students through the process of using a strong thesis statement to write a thorough and engaging response to a Document Based...

Participate in writing poetry as a group. Focused on a given theme, young writers compose a popcorn poem using sensing verbs and adverbs. They write popcorn poems, onomatopoeias, collective poems, and diamond poems. You could introduce...

If your class loves movies, this lesson is sure to interest them. After discussing the purpose and structure of movie reviews, young writers compose a movie review and discuss why people may read a review before they go see a film. The...

Commas can be complicated. Help learners achieve a greater understanding of comma usage with this handout, which includes two different comma activities. Following given directions, young writers punctuate provided sentences and combine...

Full of tips about structure, audience, and evidence in a persuasive essay, this presentation would be a great way to start a writing unit in your class. One slide advises young writers to make up quotes and statistics in their essays....

Review where quotation marks belong and what they are used to indicate. From direct speech to in-text citations, young writers will find this worksheet quite useful. Several exercises at the bottom, along with a key, give learners...

If you are teaching your young writers about the rules involved when adding -ing to the end of a word, then this presentation is for you! Learners are shown the two most important rules when adding -ing to the end of a word, then...

A common mistake in writing is using the words, "could of" instead of "could have." Additionally, many young writers make the mistake of following a contraction with the word "of." For example; He wouldn't of waited for you. This...

Here is an excellent presentation on creating complex sentences. Young writers discover that a complex sentence is a sentence that joins two or more sentences together. There are many ways for these types of sentences to be constructed,...

One of the most important elements of a story is the setting; when and where the story takes place. This presentation gives young writers excellent tips on how to create a setting by using visuals, time, description, and interesting...

Catalyze your classroom's creativity with this PowerPoint. It provides young writers with a general idea of a story about a missing princess, different characters, and step-by-step writing instructions from beginning to end. There are...

Put children's descriptive writing skills to the test with these fun collaborative writing activities. Presented with the picture of an object, young writers are are tasked with creating a description that provides enough detail for...

Hot off the presses! A perfect instructional activity idea for a journalism class or even a language arts class looking to incorporate some informational texts. Young writers analyze the front pages of various newspapers to determine the...

Practice capital letters I-P in this printing drill learning exercise, which has young writers examine arrows on sample letters to guide their pencils. A shaded letter gives them tracing practice, and then they try a few on their own in...

Young writers practice their letters in this tracing activity focused on the lower-case i. They focus on how the "magic pencil" writes, and try a few on their own. Next, they trace letters to complete four CVC words, and add an "i" to...

Ready to introduce your young writers to the multi-paragraph essay? Here’s an illustrated presentation that models how to use the pre-writing notes on a graphic organizer to craft a personal essay. Color codes help viewers identify the...

Here is a resource intended for a social studies class, but great no matter the subject. It's a complete outline for an essay. It includes space to write ideas related to the thesis, supporting details, transition sentences and words,...

NaNoWriMo, or National Novel Writing Month, is a writing project for which participants write an entire novel in a single month. If you have decided to this in your class, this resource will be useful for you. This is an editing...

The strength of this essay outline template is its specificity. By the time your young writers fill in the requested information, they are well on their way to compiling their multi-paragraph essay. Learners craft topic sentences,...

Should you use which or that when using a restrictive clause? What about a non-restrictive clause? Young writers practice their grammar skills with this resource, which provides a straightforward guide to which vs. that, as well as ten...

What is a ‘Zine? Although the referenced PBS video that launches this study of self-published magazines is not available, the activities detailed and the step-by-step directions for creating ‘Zines would engage young writers. This...

Get young writers in the practice of editing their work using this punctuation and grammar learning exercise. They first read eight sentences with grammar issues, rewriting or checking off as correct. The sentence errors involve...