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...

At best, fighting in hockey makes the sport more entertaining; at worst, fighting could lead to death. Pupils read background information about the prevalence of fighting in hockey since the 1917 formation of the National Hockey League....

Support your writers! Clear procedures and appropriate support make this a superb resource for elementary writing instruction. Ready your class to compose original descriptive paragraphs inspired by the episode in Roald Dahl's James and...

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...

Look it up. Scholars use a dictionary and thesaurus to verify the meaning of the research vocabulary words they defined in the previous activity. They then use sticky notes to write a synonym for each word. Finally, individuals choose a...

Young scientists develop their observation and writing skills as they craft and then post a detailed description of a plant or animal they have spotted and photographed.

Familiarize your class with commonly used editing marks. They apply the use of editing marks to a letter and examine different types of literary tools before making a note card resource for the tools. They add their own examples for each...

Students conduct field research of a historical site in order to discover a more complete understanding of a time period. They choose one particular historical figure and write a short poem about the site from the historical person's...

Eschew obfuscation! Using dictionaries, writers revise a complicated text so that it reads more simply and improves the clarity of the passage. Focusing on word meanings, they revise the sample worksheets and then present their...

As guided practice, class members work together to revise a model persuasive paragraph. Then they practice independently with their own writing. The included rubric looks at prewriting, drafting, revising, editing, nonfiction text...

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...

Students write a scene.  In this creative writing lesson, students read The Lightning Thief and discuss the sentence fluency and word choice in the writing.  Students complete a writing assignment where they create an...

Sixth graders explore language arts by writing dialogue. In this vocabulary choice lesson, 6th graders identify synonyms and the importance of using a thesaurus while writing dialogue in their own original work. Students revise and edit...

Middle and high schoolers check their writing for pronoun-antecedent agreement. After identifying the pronouns in their writing, they then complete a table with the pronouns and corresponding antecedents, making revisions as necessary.

Keep your class in conversation with others across the country or across the sea by writing letters to pen pals. The activity calls for students to be pan pals with pupils in Africa; however, the listed steps could be used for any...

Identify examples of strong voice in popular picture books. Young authors add voice to their writing and revise their own writing. In addition, they share their writing with their peers.

People travel to Washington, DC from all over the world to take a tour of the White House or catch a glimpse of the Washington Monument. Using the novel study for There's a Boy in the Girls' Bathroom by Louis Sachar, scholars research an...

High schoolers examine samples of writing and discuss the score it received. They brainstorm what qualities make a good writer and stories.

Learners use strong verbs in their writing. For this verbs in writing lesson, students locate the verbs in their writing, then identify the verbs that are weak and make revisions.

Students complete a works cited page, make revisions on their writing, and improve their writing skills.  In this writing a research paper activity, students create a bibliography using MLA format and peer evaluate the papers of...

Dander from the show Twisted Whiskers and characters from My Little Pony are featured in this three part instructional activity that explores using story pyramids to scaffold ideas, adding sensory details to enrich writing, and editing...

In this writing as a process worksheet, students explore how writing is a process instead of a finished piece of work. Students also test out how to mind map a story.

Analyze point of view and how it affects a literary work with this instructional activity. Middle schoolers create a written piece that focuses on point of view. They review the literary term "point of view," and explore examples of the...

Note-taking is an essential study skill, and it needs to be taught! In the context of a research project on energy sources, learners find multiple sources, evaluating, paraphrasing, and citing them correctly. Two lists with note-taking...