Curated OER
Painting Places with Words Using John Steinbeck's Of Mice and Men
Useful in an Of Mice and Men unit, or in a unit that focuses on descriptive writing, this lesson prompts young authors to impersonate John Steinbeck's writing style in the opening passages of the novel. A Six Trait writing activity...
EngageNY
Grade 9 ELA Module 3, Unit 1, Lesson 8
Have you ever wanted to learn more about a subject after you finished a great book? Guide ninth graders through an inquiry-based research project as they finish the first chapter of Temple Grandin's Animals in Translation. Having...
Curated OER
Global Warming: Writing and Editing a Research Report
Bring environmental issues into your classroom! Practice writing and peer editing research reports on global warming and the greenhouse effect. Middle schoolers can work on their research skills, their writing skills, and how to...
Curated OER
Writing a Resume
Student create and evaluate resumes. In this practical writing lesson plan, students employ the writing process to write their own functional quality resumes.
Curated OER
Describing How Something Works/ Describing a Process
Students browse through and take notes from the "How Stuff Works" website and choose a topic to describe in writing. They draft a summary of the text and present their writing for feedback. They revise their writing based on feedback given.
Curated OER
Making an Argument: Effective use of Transition Words
Work on using transition words in context by prompting elementary and middle schoolers to write their own persuasive essays using transition words. They explore new forms of transition words and examine how they are used in an editorial...
EngageNY
Grade 9 ELA Module 4, Unit 1, Lesson 27
Crafting a clear and cohesive conclusion to any piece of writing is crucial. An effective conclusion restates the central claim in the introduction, briefly summarizes the supporting claims, and presents a new way of thinking about the...
EngageNY
Grade 9 ELA Module 3, Unit 3, Lesson 8
Writers complete editing and polishing the final draft of their research paper and submit the document for assessment.
EngageNY
Grade 9 ELA Module 4, Unit 1, Lesson 26
The focus of the day's instructional activity is methods for creating a formal style and objective tone in an argument essay. After examining models, pairs engage in peer review of their essay drafts and continue to revise while...
EngageNY
Grade 9 ELA Module 4, Unit 1, Lesson 25
After analyzing the strengths and weaknesses of the evidence they have recorded on their argument outline tool, writers draft their essay's first body paragraphs, ensuring they have properly cited their source material.
Curated OER
Writing a Research Paper: Citing Sources and Revising
Students complete a works cited page, make revisions on their writing, and improve their writing skills. In this writing a research paper instructional activity, students create a bibliography using MLA format and peer evaluate the...
Curated OER
Cover Letter/Letter of Introduction Writing
Students compose cover letters. In this writing skills lesson, students follow the provided steps to write cover letters that introduce them to potential employers.
EngageNY
Grade 9 ELA Module 4, Unit 1, Lesson 24
Who bears the most responsibility for ensuring that goods are ethically produced? Using evidence drawn from Sugar Changed the World: A Story of Magic, Spice, Slavery, Freedom, and Science, the unit's central text, and from the...
Curated OER
Writing to Argue
Students analyze speeches for or against continued military presence in Iraq. In this writing to argue lesson, students listen to speeches given before Parliament to identify rhetorical devices used. Students compare techniques used and...
EngageNY
Grade 9 ELA Module 4, Unit 1, Lesson 29
Writers review the provided essay rubric, edit and rewrite if necessary, polish their work, and then submit their argument essay.
Curated OER
Peer writing evaluation (myth)
Students compose myths. In this creative writing activity students use their knowledge of the features of myths to compose their own, then share with a peer for feedback.
Curated OER
Research and Technical Writing
Pupils summarize information from their research on to note-cards. For this technical writing lesson students examine examples of note-cards that contain main ideas from research previously conducted. They will then compose their own...
Curated OER
Writing a Myth
Students create a myth in the style of Greek mythology. In this writing a myth lesson, students discuss the characteristics of Greek myths and the writing process. Students then write their own myth.
Curated OER
Writing and Sharing Community Stories
Young scholars use interviewing skills to explore and express the culture of their community. In this literacy/writing lesson, students interview a community member as a basis for a biographical writing project. Each class member...
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,...
Curated OER
I Have a Dream Podcasts
Students write dream speeches and record them as Mp3's. For this speech lesson, students watch Martin Luther King, Jr.'s, "I Have Dream Speech." They use the writing process to develop a dream speech which they rehearse. They record...
Curated OER
Revising Character Descriptions
Students effectively revise character descriptions. In this revising character descriptions lesson, students work with a partner to give and receive constructive criticism to improve their character descriptions.
Curated OER
When I Set My Hat at a Certain Angle: Trying on Zora Neale Hurston's Voice to Dress-up Prose
After reading and evaluating examples of prose nonfiction by Zora Neale Hurston and other authors, high schoolers write a personal reflective essay rich in figurative language. By incorporating this strategy, they utilize voice within...