Curated OER
The World Around Me
Combining visual and language arts, here is a resource that prompts middle schoolers to write stories based on pictures of their surroundings. They use digital cameras to take pictures of favorite areas in the school. Next, they choose...
Curated OER
Telling Our Stories of Giving - Writing to Persuade
After identifying the parts of a persuasive piece of writing, young writers explore different prewriting activities for the persuasive essay. They have the option to write a news article, personal narrative, or persuasive essay to...
Curated OER
Varied Beginnings: Research Process / Narrative Writing Techniques
What's the best way to start a story? Learners write a memoir using effective openings. They research the process and work through a list of hooks to use in their writing. They use at least two hooks to begin their personal memoir. A...
Curated OER
The Personal Narrative - Part Two
Does your langauge arts class journal frequently? Extend one of your journaling activities by having your writers choose a journal entry and take it through the five stages of writing. They will use the attached graphic organizer to...
Curated OER
Teacher of the Year
Now is the time to identify the great teachers in your school! Discuss the characteristics of persuasive writing and analyze an example. Then, each pupil chooses a teacher who they feel should be named teacher of the year. They plan and...
Curated OER
Around the Room Short Story
Collective story writing is a great way to reinforce the concept of story elements and collaborative learning. Young writers discuss story elements such as, setting, character, action, climax, conclusion, foreshadowing, dialogue, and...
University of North Carolina
University of North Carolina: Writing Transitions
This University of North Carolina writing tutorial gives examples and how to use transitions and stresses the importance of organization. W.9-10.1c cohesion/clarity/reason, W.9-10.2c cohesion/clarity/trans, W.11-12.1c...
University of Sydney (Australia)
University of Sydney: Planning the Overall Structure
This resource discusses the steps in planning the structure of a student's argumentative essay. Page 4 of this article focuses on Thesis statement.
BBC
Bbc Skillswise: Writing: Format and Style
As part of the BBC's Skillswise unit, this site focuses on using various ways of writing for different purposes. For learning tools, the site includes a worksheet, a factsheet, and a quiz.