+
Printables
1
1
We are Teachers

Phrases to Outlaw in Students' Writing

For Teachers 5th - 12th Standards
If your writing classroom was the Wild West, what phrases would be "outlawed"? Here is one poster that every writing instructor, and really, any teacher of communication, should have in their classroom!
+
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Note-Taking: K.I.S.S. "Keep It Short and Simple"

For Teachers 4th - 6th Standards
Note-taking is an essential study skill, and it needs to be taught! In the context of a research project on energy sources, learners find multiple sources, evaluating, paraphrasing, and citing them correctly. Two lists with note-taking...
+
Activity
Curated OER

Express Yourself Lesson Seed 19: Synthesis

For Teachers 6th Standards
Wrap up your unit on The Cay with an engaging argumentative writing assignment. Writers must decide if they believe The Cay should be banned. The resource includes links to several articles, which have been addressed and examined in...
+
Handout
2
2
Waterford Union High School

Writing the Persuasive Essay

For Students 6th - 12th
An excellent, in-depth resource would be an asset to your unit on writing an argument essay. It provides an explanation to each part of the essay as well as examples of transition words to strengthen your kids' writing. Additionally, the...
+
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

What's My Point: Persuasive Writing

For Teachers 4th - 7th
Why do readers need to know an author’s purpose? How do you figure out what that purpose is? Guide your pupils through a series of activities that show them how to identify various techniques and structures used in persuasive writing....
+
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Writing An Article

For Teachers 4th - 8th
Young writers compose an article on the benefits of healthy eating. They are coached on how to use the passive voice in their writing. On the whiteboard, they brainstorm ideas of why healthy eating is important, then use those ideas to...
+
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Writing An Article Lesson Plan

For Teachers 5th - 9th
Review active and passive voice with young writers. They will use the passive voice to write persuasive articles encouraging healthy diets. The activity includes brainstorming activities for the writing, as well as a homework extension...
+
Activity
Curated OER

Express Yourself Lesson Seed 15: Theme

For Teachers 6th Standards
Build understanding of theme with an activity designed for The Cay and the Common Core. Small groups or pairs use graphic organizers to determine themes, find and record related details from the text, and formulate theme statements. In...
+
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Press Review

For Teachers 6th - 12th Standards
How can word choice affect a political speech? Middle and high schoolers examine the text of the 1999 State of the Union Address, and then determine how newspaper articles and television reports describe and analyze the event. Use this...
+
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Is That a Fact?

For Teachers 5th - 12th Standards
Investigate popular scientific claims and gather evidence to defend or argue against an author's stance. Writers synthesize information and compose their own "Really?" columns modeled after those found in the weekly "Science Times"...
+
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Expressing Your Views to the Letter

For Teachers 6th - 12th Standards
Analyze the motivation, purpose, and value of letters to the editor by examining letters written in response to the violence at Columbine High School. For homework, middle and high schoolers write their own letters to the editor about an...
+
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Family Life

For Teachers 6th - 12th
What is family? Challenge your scholars to write an encompassing definition of what this word means to them. After reading "It May Be a Family Matter, But Just Try to Define Family," class members discuss the emotional issues surrounding...
+
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Rave Reviews

For Teachers 6th - 12th
A fun lesson plan that utilizes toys and persuasion! After reading the article, which was written in 2005, pull some advertisements for toys currently being sold. These will be more relevant to your middle and high schoolers. What toy is...
+
Lesson Plan
1
1
Curated OER

Hic-Hic-Hooray!

For Teachers 6th - 12th Standards
What is really the best way to get rid of hiccups? Investigate some old wives' tales and folk remedies related to health. Middle schoolers explore the science behind why people might believe these myths to be true and find the real...
+
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Truth Be Told

For Teachers 6th - 12th Standards
Encourage your middle and high schoolers to share their memories of a recent event. After reading a New York Times article, they discuss Elie Wiesel's memoir, Night. They write their own memoir about a significant event that affected...
+
Lesson Plan
1
1
Virginia Department of Education

Analyzing and Planning Persuasive Writing

For Teachers 6th - 9th
Young writers work backward to analyze persuasive techniques. As a class, work through the provided persuasive letter: a plea to an imaginary city council to lift a city-wide ban on fast food restaurants and discount stores. Start by...
+
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Draft Dilemmas

For Teachers 6th - 12th
Consider the possibility of a new U.S. draft with this lesson, which encourages class debate and persuasive arguments. Middle and high schoolers discuss how such a draft might be enacted and how they would feel about it. They write...
+
Lesson Plan
2
2
Curated OER

Strong Convictions

For Teachers 6th - 12th Standards
How can the rhetorical structure of an editorial help to develop its argument? Use this New York Times editorial to emphasize the importance of structure in a piece of informational text. Adolescent writers then use the editorial as a...
+
Lesson Plan
1
1
Curated OER

The Last Word: Using Critical Thinking and Analysis to Reach a Decision

For Teachers 5th - 9th
Want to explore the process of writing a persuasive essay and tie it in with the upcoming elections? Class members use Venn diagrams and the hamburger model of persuasive writing to write a five-paragraph essay on elections and...
+
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Talking Heads

For Teachers 6th - 8th
After processing notes from research or an interview, middle schoolers turn the information into a script or dialogue for narrative, persuasive, or expository text. Use this lesson in any writing unit to reinforce proper writing skills.
+
Lesson Plan
1
1
Curated OER

Showdown in the New Wild West

For Teachers 6th - 12th Standards
What is the root of the conflict between ranchers and environmentalists? Middle schoolers write their impressions of what an environmentalist is and does. They read the New York Times article "In New Wild West, It's Cowboys vs. Radical...
+
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Using Details from Text to Identify Author's Purpose

For Teachers 3rd - 7th
Explore writing techniques by analyzing newspapers and magazines with middle schoolers. They will collaborate in small groups to read local news stories and identify the main ideas and author's intent. They also utilize an information...
+
Lesson Plan
2
2
Curated OER

Search Warranted?

For Teachers 6th - 12th Standards
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...
+
Activity
Curated OER

Express Yourself Lesson Seed 17: Obituary

For Teachers 6th Standards
The Cay has been criticized by groups such as the Council on Interracial Books for Children because of the way race is portrayed. Explore the argument against the book while taking the author's perspective into account. Class members...