Curated OER
Organizing One’s Thoughts
Students take a closer look at the organization of written pieces. In this writing skills instructional activity, students examine transitions, repetition, parallelism, and other organizational patterns in writing.
Curated OER
Democracy in Action
Students consider words that reflect their knowledge and opinions about democracy. They work in groups to research countries that have recently transitioned to democratic forms of government.
Curated OER
Comma Practice Worksheet
Start by introducing your class to basic comma rules, and then give them this practice sheet. First, learners add commas where necessary, and then they write down which comma rule (or rules) used in each sentence. Great practice!
Curated OER
Homemade Holidays
Foster your high schoolers' creativity - and generosity - with this writing lesson plan. After reading the article "Homemade Holiday Gifts" by Frances Janisch (from the GALE Student Resource Center - Gold), pupils meet in groups to...
Curated OER
Creatively Creating Expository Essays
Students, after reading Fahrenheit 451, brainstorm inventions that could have been in the novel. They present their invention to the class and writing an expository essay about their creation.
Curated OER
Nibble, Nibble, Little Mouse
Learners complete activities to analyze points of view in different texts. In this point of view lesson, students read Hansel and Gretel and The Magic Circle and discuss the points of view. Learners choose a character from the story and...
Curated OER
Introductions and Conclusions
The format of the introduction and conclusion paragraphs in an expository essay are the focus of short presentation that details how to craft these all-important sections of a paper. No specific examples are included.
Curated OER
Poetry in Motion
High schoolers explore poetry and technology. In this poetry writing lesson, students choose a theme and write a pattern poem, then create a related slideshow.
Ohio Literacy Resource Center
Compare & Contrast Essay
Comparing two texts can build a greater understanding of the texts and themes of the works. Take some time to follow the steps here to guide your pupils through the process of composing compare-and-contrast essays.
Curated OER
Do Heroes Have to Wear a Cape?
Young writers choose a person from American history, their community, or their family to use as the subject of a persuasive essay. The process begins with a discussion of the characteristics of a hero, the completion of a prewriting web,...
Northern Lights Special Education Cooperative
Lessons from The 7 Habits of Highly Effective Teens
As part of a study of Sean Covey, the author of The 7 Habits of Highly Effective Teens learners write autobiographical e-mails, hold discussions, create a collage, and compose a personal mission statement. Pupils then have a chance to...
University of Chicago
Using Artifacts for Clues About Identity
Learn about the ancient Near East through a close examination of ancient artifacts. Lead your class into analysis by first observing an artifact as a class. Pupils can then work in pairs to analyze the other artifacts and compile a list...
Curated OER
The Write Stuff to Get the Job
Students conduct Internet research to determine how to properly create a cover letter, resume and follup-letter. Students then create their own letters and resumes using the Resume Wizard in Microsoft Word.
Curated OER
Paragraph Building
Build the skills your budding authors need to develop to compose well-structured paragraphs. Give them the topic sheet (included here), and have them write a cohesive paragraph using the ideas listed. Consider having them include two...
Curated OER
Global Warming
This contains a writing prompt about global warming that could be adapted in a number of ways. The resource provides some information about global warming and possible effects. Learners explore the enhanced greenhouse effect and the...
Curated OER
Interactive Verb Quiz #2
In this grammar worksheet, students participate in an interactive verb quiz involving transitive, intransitive, linking and auxiliary verbs in twenty sentences.
Curated OER
It's Indirect: Using Indirect Objects
For this grammar worksheet, students learn about using indirect objects in sentence writing. They then use what they learned to answer the 6 questions on the page. The answers are on the last page in the packet.
Curated OER
Dive into the Common Core with Opinion Pieces
Build your confidence in implementing Common Core State Standards with this CC-based approach to an important writing standard.
Curated OER
September 12 Journal Writing
Students write journal entries reflecting on their feelings about the attacks of September 11, 2001.
Virginia Department of Education
Creating Thesis Sentences
Growing writers explore what it takes to develop and support a thesis statement with pre-fabricated ideas provided by the Virginia Department of Education. Learners take notes on what makes a thesis statement and a topic sentence, and...
jc-schools
The Expository Essay
Did you ever create an awesome graphic organizer only to find that your class was completely baffled by how to use it? This resource not only provides you with a great graphic organizer for a standard five-paragraph essay, but also...
Beacon Learning Center
Challenging the Human Spirit
High schoolers select a theme-related essay topic from Night, by Elie Wiesel, or The Metamorphosis, by Franz Kafka, and develop an essay that relates the theme to modern-day personal experiences. The essay follows a preset rubric...
Curated OER
A Year
Students examine an author's philosophical look at life through anecdotes he describes as a teacher in Uzbekistan. In this Uzbekistan lesson, students analyze a literary passage in order to identify, then practice using, similes,...
Curated OER
Disco - Voices of a New Generation
Students analyze lyrics of selected Disco songs for content, theme and vocabulary. They write an extended response citing specific lyrics in response to three general themes.