After researching an issue introduced in Tyson Miller's Dream of a Nation: Inspiring Ideas for a Better America, writers develop an original thesis statement and craft an analytic essay using evidence collected in their research.

To conclude their study of Ethan Canin’s short story “The Palace Thief,” class members use their notes and annotations to craft an expository essay response to the prompt, "Analyze how the interactions between Hundert and the Bells...

Read like a writer. Scholars read a model literary analysis in preparation for a similar writing assignment before annotating each paragraph for the gist. Next, pupils devise a list of qualities of a strong literary analysis essay. 

The beauty of the way this expository writing resource is structured is that the units can be presented as a complete writing workshop or sequenced throughout a course of study

As an end-of-unit assessment, class members craft a formal, multi-paragraph essay identifying a similar idea found in Rainer Maria Rilke's collection, Letters to a Young Poet, and David Mitchell's Black Swan Green. Writers state and use...

After rereading the full text of Walter Mosley's essay "True Crime," groups complete an evidence collection tool worksheet, and then class members independently draft a multi-paragraph, evidence-based response that identifies how Mosley...

What does is take to be a role model? Through grand conversation, and the use of books and a graphic organizer, scholars find out and apply the requirements to identify a role model within their family. They then journey through the...

Readers of I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings are asked to craft an essay in which they compare how Maya Angelou uses figurative language to depict herself and Mrs. Flowers. 

As part of a mid-unit assessment, class members exchange their draft of a multi-paragraph essay with a classmate, review their partner's writing using the provided text analysis rubric, and evaluate the strength of evidence, the...

As a mid-unit assessment of a series of lessons that use Ethan Canin’s short story “The Palace Thief” as an anchor text, writers craft an in-class essay discussing how Hundert's character has developed throughout the text.

As a mid-unit assessment, individuals craft an in-class, formal essay response to a prompt that asks them to use textual evidence to identify Haley's purpose, as well as analyze how the structure, style, and content contribute to the...

Plagiarism is the theft of intellectual property. To avoid this crime, class members learn how to create a works cited page and how to craft in-text citations. After examining a high-performance model paragraph and an example of a works...

After a peer review of their outlines, class members examine a model of an effective, engaging introduction and then craft the first draft of the introduction to their research paper.

A strong thesis statement not only identifies the subject of an essay but also presents a claim that must be supported with evidence. After researching how nursing has evolved in the United States since the Colonial era, young writers...

The final session in this 20-lesson plan unit asks individuals to use their Quick Writes, discussion notes, worksheets, and annotated text to craft and support a claim about how Shakespeare develops either Romeo or Juliet as tragic heroes.

A three-part assessment challenges scholars to read informational texts in order to complete three tasks. Following a brief reading, class members take part in grand conversations, complete charts, and work in small groups to research...

Are your young writers having difficulty distinguishing between expository and persuasive writing? Discuss the difference between the two, and how some prompts can be responded to in either fashion. Included here is a simple lesson plan...

Scholars read excerpts from the story, Heidi, in a three-part assessment that focuses on comparing and contrasting characters. Each part contains three tasks that challenge learners to discuss, answer comprehension...

A three-part writing assessment challenges scholars to think critically about schools of the past and present. Learners read informative texts, answer questions to prepare for a discussion, research in small groups, complete a Venn...