Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
Writing Workshop: Writing a Compare-Contrast Essay
Crafting a compare-contrast essay can prove to be a challenge even for experienced writers. Eradicate the mystery with a PowerPoint that details the rationale for and the structure of this form of expository writing. The 20-slide...
Curated OER
Studying Anchor Papers
Students examine the Florida Writes! Rubric and discuss the basic elements of the scoring system. In small groups, they use the rubric to discuss and score several student essays.
Curated OER
Write Your Own Cultural Connections
Students write a cultural narrative. For this multicultural writing lesson, students create an expository narrative to teach others about their lives. Students complete the narrative and use a buddy editing strategy to revise their papers.
Curated OER
Developing Student Web Pages for Showcasing Research
Students employ information literacy skills to research topics. They develop topics using a graphic organizer. They draft, revise and edit research projects. They write an expository essay. They create a web page in Microsoft Publisher.
Curated OER
Using a Venn Diagram to Compare / Contrast: Double Bubble
Create a "Double Bubble" to organize information in a Venn diagram-like graphic organizer. There are a few options included to differentiate this assignment, but unfortunately, there are no topics for selection. Provide your emerging...
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
Paragraph Unity
Your class can construct a well-written paragraph. They utilize a sequential method which assists them in formulating a concise expository piece. The paragraph must contain a topic sentence, five supporting sentences, and a conclusion.
Curated OER
Food Travels and Preservation
Young scholars complete a worksheet. In this food distribution and preservation lesson, students learn about the transportation of agricultural projects. Young scholars list foods that they buy at the grocery store and then identify how...
Curated OER
Change of Perspective
After reading an example of a Cultural Connection about a particular person, class members are asked to think about what this person might experience on a daily basis. They then craft a narrative from the subject’s point of view.
Curated OER
From Whose Perspective?
Students critically analyze news coverage of Palestinian-Israeli violence by comparing information from a variety of news sources. They compose expository essays reflecting on how to obtain accurate, unbiased, and credible information.
Virginia Department of Education
Deciding the Mode
Are your young writers having difficulty distinguishing between expository and persuasive writing? Discuss the difference between the two, and how some prompts can be responded to in either fashion. Included here is a simple lesson plan...
Curated OER
Cause and Effect: Light Clusters and Geography
After viewing a map of lights at night over a variety of geographic formations, young topographers connect the location of light clusters to geographic features that encourage human settlement. They list causes and effects of large...
Curated OER
Farming in Ancient Mesopotamia: An Ancient Civil Engineering Problem
Sixth graders identify the major obstacles in farming in Mesopotamia. They work together to design and build a model that solves these problems. They write a short essay that describes the problems and their possible solutions.
Curated OER
Author In The Spotlight
Complete an in-depth study of the works or a specific author. Working in pairs, students read at least four works by the same author. After completing the reading, they create an essay comparing and contrasting the works and create an...
Museum of Tolerance
Music Evokes Memories and Emotions
Dim the lights, take a deep breath, and press play to explore the emotions and memories that music elicits. Class members begin using relaxation techniques designed to create a positive listening experience. As music plays, learners...
Curated OER
Self-portraits: Integrating Arts And the Language Arts
Students look into a mirror and draw their own self-portraits. Then they write a descriptive essay, describing the portrait and the features of their face.
Curated OER
T-shirts Build School & Community Pride
Students explore ways to promote community pride by creating t-shirts. In this community lesson, students utilize a digital camera to take photographs of their hometown and transfer them to a t-shirt. Students complete a creative...
Museum of Tolerance
Oral History Activity
Oral history has brought a multitude of lessons, stories, and factoids to our current knowledge of the past. Let us continue to use oral history traditions through a lesson that encourages pupils to discover and appreciate where they...
Curated OER
Fiction vs. Nonfiction
Young scholars explore fiction and nonfiction writing. They identify the elements of fiction in a short story and identify the criteria necessary in a nonfiction piece. Students distinguish the author's purpose in an expository text,...
Curated OER
Truth, Trash and Treasure
Students examine how people can make a difference in the world. They read and analyze excerpts from a novel, discuss song lyrics, clean up a local park, and write an essay.
Curated OER
House and Holmes: A Guide to Deductive and Inductive Reasoning
Test your pupils' reasoning skills with several activities and a quick mystery to solve. Learners watch and analyze a few video clips that demonstrate reasoning in action, practice deduction with an interactive and collaborative...
Curated OER
In The News
Students investigate the life of Amelia Earhart and conduct research using a variety of resources including Scholastic.com. Then they take the information and write a newspaper article. The entire process of writing is completed...
Curated OER
GET READY FOR FCAT WITH MUSIC IN OUR SCHOOLS MONTH!
Students integrate writing skills with music. They select three to four topics to write about and print out on decorative paper.
Curated OER
Two Rivers Ran Through It
Sixth graders discover the problems that early Mesototamian farmers faced while developing agriculture in the land between the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers. They design a working model that solves those unique challenges.