Polk Bros Foundation
I Can Identify a Nonfiction Writer's Main Idea and Supporting Examples
Use this page to quickly identify the central idea of a text and organize ideas for writing an informational or explanatory text. The activity is split into two parts. In the first part, pupils note down the main idea and supporting...
Curated OER
Quotation Response Speech: Public Speaking Skills
Improve high schoolers' public speaking with an engaging activity. Class members select three personally relevant quotes from a list. They then write a short speech for each quote, explaining how the quotes are personally relevant. The...
Curated OER
Convey Ideas in Writing
Use the platforms of the 2004 presidential candidates to bring persuasive writing to your class. Young voters identify the three issues most important to them in the election and research the issues and candidates' positions. They write...
TV411
Whip up a Storm of Writing Ideas
Need a key to unlock writer's block? Introduce your writers to four easy steps that will release them from their mental prison. The brainstorming worksheet, designed to set free their imaginations, even has an answer key.
Curated OER
Organizing One’s Thoughts
Students take a closer look at the organization of written pieces. In this writing skills lesson, students examine transitions, repetition, parallelism, and other organizational patterns in writing.
Curated OER
Writing: Planning and Organizing
Twelfth graders examine the five step prewriting process used before writing essays. They select a common topic and determine the purpose,and audience for the essay. They list examples in daily life where planning and organizing are...
Curated OER
Animation Pre-Production
Does your class love reading cartoons? Use their talents and interests to examine the process of writing a story they wish to tell through a cartoon. They develop the beginning, middle, and end of a story based on their original...
Curated OER
Quick Writes
Learners write on a variety of topics, maximize creative and expository writing skills, develop focused writing, organize ideas, incorporate detail in writing, and exhibit varied and precise word choice.
Curated OER
Surviving AIDS
Enhance your middle and high schoolers' research skills with this lesson plan. After viewing a video clip about HIV and AIDS, high schoolers identify the facts and issues surrounding the disease. They work together to create a newspaper...
Curated OER
Short But Sweet
After analyzing and evaluating news summaries found in the New York Times "Week in Review" section, middle schoolers study the steps for summarizing a news article briefly and accurately. They write two news summaries: one on a newspaper...
Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
Renaissance and Reformation Writing for the SAT
Responding to a question on the Machiavellian principle of a ruler's need for power and ruthlessness, young historians are given writing tips and a framework for constructing a well-developed essay in 25 minutes. The given structure of...
Minnesota State University
Writing Sample Constructed-Response Assignment
Class members practice their writing skills by completing a prompt about maturity. They develop a constructed response about something they once thought was important, but may not be as important now.
Virginia Department of Education
Persuasive Writing
Grab a debatable (or controversial) moment from your current reading, and use this task to progress the persuasive writing skills of your high school scholars. Divide your learners into four small groups and let them collaborate, debate,...
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
Paragraph Construction
What is a paragraph? This question drives the PowerPoint. Viewers discuss important elements of a solid paragraph, transitions between paragraphs, and strategies for editing. Show this presentation and then look at an example paragraph...
Curated OER
Exploring Careers
The world is full of possibilities for your ELLs. Help them explore their career options with a instructional activity that incorporates Internet research and expository writing. Not only will they learn more about their careers of...
National First Ladies' Library
What Does It Mean to Give Your Time?
Students identify and consider what it means to sacrifice time and effort in helping others. Then they decide areas where their help may be needed, and pursue this area in the local community. Students also search the World Wide Web to...
Curated OER
Outlines and Organization: Sample Outline
Provide your essay writers with a sample essay outline. Richly detailed, this two-page handout not only describes the necessary parts of an outline, but also explains the purpose of each section. A model outline is also included.
North Carolina State University
Integrating Your Research
Employ this resource to expand efficient ideas on how to present and organize activities that describe how researchers can implement their research by using direct quotes, paraphrasing, and summarizing—without plagiarizing. Activities...
Curated OER
Breaking News
Students organize a newspaper article using a worksheet that helps them study the vocabulary of news articles. They write newspaper articles about mythical creatures invading contemporary Los Angeles.
Virginia Department of Education
Synthesizing to Support a Thesis- Big Picture Emphasis
Help your researchers as they begin to develop a topic for research with these worksheets. Included are two nicely designed graphic organizers that assist students in narrowing and researching their topic, and an efficient evaluation...
Curated OER
Note-taking and Organizational Strategies
Students practice taking notes. In this written communication lesson, students discuss the purpose of taking notes and then research note-taking methods using the provided Web site tool. Students practice using one of the note-taking...
Curated OER
Car For Sale!
Car For sale! In this GED prep activity, writers develop a classified advertisement to sell a car. After a discussion of precise words and phrases, telling details, and sensory language, sellers draft their ad for review, revision and...
Curated OER
Essay Writing
Are your learners working towards their GED? First they study the GED essay rubric, and then they read a sample essay as a group. After studying the basic elements, they write an essay of their own. After peer editing, they revise their...