Curated OER
Informative Writing for the Winter Season
Informational writing lessons can be creative and motivating for students.
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Thankful Writing
Students go through the entire writing process to create an expository essay about what they are thankful for. They use graphic organizers to guide them through the process.
Have Fun Teaching
Compare and Contrast (3)
Sometimes the way a topic is presented in fiction can be very different from how it is in reality. Compare and contrast a topic from both a fiction and nonfiction source with a graphic organizer that prepares kids to write about what...
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Expository Writing
Students write a short essay. In this essay writing lesson, students select from a tiered assignment a topic in which to compose an expository essay.
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Determining Ideas and Adding Details
A handy TFDC (topic/fact/detail/conclusion) graphic organizer (included) allows young writers to outline and record their main ideas and supporting details in the prewriting phase. They then continue to add details to the topic sentences...
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Out of This World Writing!
Miss Frizzle's class provides the inspiration for your young learners! Read "The Magic School Bus Explores Outer Space," and discuss the solar system. First learners will complete a KWL chart about a planet they're assigned to. Then, as...
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Picture the Process
Students read Chasing Vermeer and relate the book to the author . In this writing process lesson plan, students view Blue's Photo Album and see how the author writes and revises her work. Students discuss the process that all good...
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Writing a How-To Paper
For this ESL writing worksheet, students choose one of ten story starters and write an essay on how to do something. No hints or procedures are provided.
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Outline a Travel Narrative
Fourth graders are taught how to outline a fictional narrative essay. They review the definition and structure of narrative essays. Students use the activity to brainstorm specific ideas for narrative essays. They are given a...
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Civic Oration Topic Planner "A Great Time in American History"
In this report planning worksheet, young scholars prepare to write a 3-5 page report about one great time in American History. Students choose a topic, answer 4 questions to help in planning the report and take this form home for...
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The Wild Life: Writing Exercise
In this description activity, students describe a typical summer morning in a teepee village. Essays should include introductory paragraph, body paragraph, and concluding paragraph.
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Forced Potawatomi Migration
Fourth graders write about the forced Potawatomi migration. In this primary source lesson students are read journal entries from an emigrating party of Potawatomi Indians. Students reflect on the items the Indians might have taken with...
Read Works
Writing Compare and Contrast Essays
Practice writing compare and contrast essays in your class by starting out with a Venn diagram. A sample that can be expanded upon is provided here. After your writers have completed the guided practice, have them write individual essays...
EngageNY
Documenting Research: Sorting and Recording Information About the Wheelwright
Fourth graders practice using a graphic organizer to record their notes and answer text-dependent questions while supplying evidence of how they found their answer. They focus on a machine called the wheelright, which was commonly used...
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Setting Goals
Fourth graders view a PowerPoint presentation "Setting goals." They use Kidspiration to organize long and short term goals for academics. Students write essays about Goal Setting. Students work in groups and create a dialogue involving...
Gwinnett County Public Schools
Analysis of the Tuck Everlasting and The Birchbark House Text Exemplars
Looking to introduce some text-based questions into your ELA lessons? Practice the kinds of skills the Common Core demands with the seven text-based questions and the essay prompt provided here. Designed to be a three-day lesson, day one...
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How Weather Affects Our Lives
English learners practice basic weather terms from listening to two books. They keep a daily weather record for two weeks to record the type of weather, as well as the high and low temperatures for each day. Next, they complete a simple...
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Could You Elaborate on That?
Fourth graders engage in a lesson which teaches the parts of an expository essay and how to organize and write an expository piece from a given topic. After a lecture/demo, 4th graders utilize a worksheet imbedded in this plan which...
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Finding Your Story: Helping Students Begin Their Memoir
Students write their memoir. For this memoir lesson, students study the differences between an autobiography and a memoir. Students construct an outline as the basis for their memoir.
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What is a Paragraph? Part Two
Paragraphs are simply visual cues to separate information. Briefly display the different types of paragraph organization with these slides. A good tool for beginning readers and writers.
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Power of Persuasion
Teaching students about persuasion can be a fun experience that involves writing, PowerPoint presentations, and vocabulary building.
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Harriet Tubman Integrated Unit
Students organize facts about Harriet Tubman. In this writing lesson, students research Harriet Tubman, sort facts about her into two categories, and use the information they have found to write about her life in complete paragraphs.
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The Breakfast Busters Persuade Others
Students write persuasive essays about their favorite breakfast cereal after seeing how advertisements are used to influence people.
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Like Comparing Bison and Fish
Fourth graders study the development of North American Indian cultures by looking at how geography impacted their development. They write a five paragraph essay comparing the Plains Indians and the Clatsop Indians.