Curated OER
Writing with Writers for Grades 9-12
Have your class examine the characteristics of various writing genres using the Writing with Writers online project. Detailed instructions for how to introduce, discuss, and develop a piece of writing for each genre are included. Class...
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Persuasive Writing-"Those Whales"
Use an article about an Orca killing a trainer to help writers complete a persuasive essay. The article, other templates, and models are attached. Scholars divide up into groups of three where each person takes a different role,...
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Using Each Trait to Improve Student Writing
Students study examples of each trait in literature. They discuss how each trait adds to the craft of writing and practice revision of a writing piece with a particular trait in focus. They rate their writing on the trait of Ideas using...
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Lesson Plan 11: Beginnings
Every good novel needs a solid beginning! Setting the stage can have your budding authors stumped, so use this lesson to get them thinking. After examining the plot rollercoaster image (included) they consider the four places their story...
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"Knot" the Whole Truth: Writing a Modern-Day Story with a Tall Tale's Voice
Beyond Paul Bunyan and his blue ox, tall tales can be a great way to teach young writers about word choice and voice in their writing. Using Jerry Spinelli's Maniac Magee and the Six-Trait Writing process, they begin to write their own...
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Writing: Narrative, Expository, Persuasive, and Descriptive
If you are interested in having a basic framework for teaching expository, narrative, persuasive, and descriptive writing, this resource may help; however, you will have to find information on the different forms of writing to share with...
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"Can Do!" Reading, Writing, and Understanding the Art of Technical Writing
Technical and informational writing is the most common type of writing that students will encounter. Using this SMART board activity, teach your 10th graders the four different types of technical writing. They can then practice following...
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Writing Prompts for High School
Are you teaching a high school language arts class and stumped for writing topics? Five pages of writing prompts for all kinds of writing should help you out. Many of these prompts refer to texts that are not included in this resource,...
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Descriptive Writing: Using Art to Inspire description
Write with the senses! Try using art to inspire writers to consider all of the senses. Here, the class is divided in half. Each group looks at one of two images, imagines the senses that would be engaged, and records answers to five...
MENSA Education & Research Foundation
The Writer’s Toolbox: What You Need to Master the Craft
Strengthen your high schoolers' writing with a series of steps for writing successfully. With sections on organizing an essay, choosing a topic, crafting a thesis statement, and revising a draft, the lesson encourages your class to...
Curated OER
Draft Dilemmas
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...
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Writing with Writers
Students participate in Writing with Writer's, a step-by-step set of directions aimed at improving different genres of student writing. They identify the characteristics of different genres and follow a specified writing process to...
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Family Life
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...
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Technological Grand Conversations
Conduct a written literary discussion and diminish stress about public writing. Class members, already arranged into literature circles, compose and post responses to novels, signing with initials or class number. The process continues...
Dream of a Nation
Read, Watch, Write for Pathos, Logos and Ethos
Encourage your young citizens to make a difference. Using Tyson Miller's Dream of a Nation: Inspiring Ideas for a Better America as a starting point, class members watch documentaries, investigate issues, and then write letters to...
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Compare and Contrast Night to Life is Beautiful
After reading Elie Wiesel's Night, watching the movie Life is Beautiful, and researching World War II, class members write a comparison essay on the book and film. This includes a prior knowledge activity, discussion in whole and small...
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Story Writing
Learners work in groups to create a story that will be presented to the class. In this story writing lesson plan, students complete a project planning sheet, work together to create a story that includes a hero and at least two other...
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Teaching Others About Being Deaf
Students read two articles about how college students taught others about being blind or deaf. In their school, they interview students with a physical challenge and use the internet to research how to write about those with...
EngageNY
Grade 9 ELA Module 3, Unit 3, Lesson 6
The eighth lesson in the editing process focuses on flow and cohesiveness in the entire research paper. Class members examine color-coded pre- and post-revision model paragraphs and then work in pairs to revise and peer-review their papers.
Curated OER
Don't Let the Earth Down
Although recycling is definitely beneficial, reducing our waste and conserving our natural resources should really be the focus of environmentalists. Encourage the future generation to create a public service announcement about a...
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The Electronic Exit Portfolio (EEP)
Here's a fresh take on the student writing portfolio. Consider having learners create an electronic portfolio. After examining sample e-portfolios, class members explore various software programs they will use throughout the course and...
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Prometheus Bound: Rebel with a Cause
If you are teaching Aeschylus' Prometheus Bound, you can't afford to miss this source. An extensive list of ideas outlines numerous discussion topics, writing prompts, comprehension questions, oral presentations, and projects. Have class...
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Through Our Eyes
After reading Sandra Cisneros’ novel The House on Mango Street, class members design a canned food drive, create advertisements for the drive, and use digital cameras to document the entire process. In addition, pupils journal their...
Film English
If At First You Don't Succeed
When faced with a challenge, how do your pupils respond? Starting with character analyses, learners participate in a activity about appearances and perseverance. They watch a short film, talk about common English expressions, and write a...