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...

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

Time to revise! Using a writing evaluation rubric, scholars participate in a peer editing process to provide feedback on each others' informative essays. Next, pupils begin revising their drafts based on the feedback they receive. 

Dictionaries, thesauruses, word walls, oh my! Pupils use several resources to revise their position papers to include appropriate vocabulary. Then, after peer editing, scholars write the final drafts of their essays and self-assess using...

Hungry? Try a quote sandwich! Writers discover the concept of using a quote sandwich to introduce and analyze a quote in an argumentative essay properly. Additionally, pupils engage in peer critiques, analyzing each other's drafts and...

Class members closely examine the use of words in the poems "Inside Out" and "Back Again" to determine if different words would create more powerful poetry. They then conduct peer reviews of the poems they created and offer suggestions...

The perfect resource for a beginning journalism teacher or someone designing a journalism unit, this activity prompts students to write a newspaper article. It covers all aspects of the writing process, such as a guided warm-up...

Dear Sir or Madam: What's the difference between formal and informal language? Scholars focus on using formal English and transitions in their position papers. After revising their rough drafts, they engage in the peer editing process...

The eighth lesson in the editing process focuses on flow and cohesiveness in the entire research paper. Class members examine color-coded pre- and post-revision model paragraphs and then work in pairs to revise and peer-review their papers.

Can budding writers accept constructive criticism? Learners work with their peers to gain feedback about their argumentative essay drafts. Peers give one another constructive criticism to revise their work better. Using a Peer Review...

As the unit on research writing draws to a close, class members continue to revise and edit their papers, this time focusing on grammar, spelling, and punctuation (colon and semicolon).

It's time for a quote sandwich! Using the resource, pupils learn about the three parts of an effective quotation: introduction, quote, and analysis. Scholars use the model to peer critique each others' writing to show what they learned.

Get ready to review and revise! Scholars peer edit each other's literary analysis essay drafts. Next, using peer and teacher feedback, pupils compose their final drafts. 

Opposites attract. Scholars choose one of their claims from the previous instructional activity. They then must consider the opposite view of that claim and create a counterclaim, discussing it with classmates. To help guide the...

Everyone deserves to read a great book! Here, pupils write a persuasive letter to the school's librarian detailing their favorite story and why it should be found on the shelves. Class members' persuasive reading passages are shared with...

Help learners respond in the best way possible to open-ended questions. Go through the ACE method with a text and question of your choice. Scholars work in groups to post their responses on the board. An attached rubric is used for...

All good essays must come to an end. Pupils write the final drafts of their position papers about the best food chain from Michael Pollan's The Omnivore's Dilemma. Next, they share their favorite part of their papers with their partners.

Peer editors review critique expectations before offering feedback on each other's two-voice poems. They record their feedback on peer critique recording forms, and then begin revising their poems. 

Take the last step in writing a literary argument essay using Bud, Not Buddy by Christopher Paul Curtis in an activity focused on feedback. Using the stars and steps revision method, pupils consider teacher and peer feedback to revise...

As scholars prepare to craft their essays based on Katherine Paterson's Lyddie, they learn about using compelling reasons in their writing. Next, they develop a claim about whether Lyddie should sign a petition to speak out against...

Answering questions is the best way to hone and revise your argument. Foster receptive writers with a workshop activity that promotes peer editing and argumentative writing skills. Given lists of both friendly and skeptical...

Shake up the writing process with a peer critique. The second of four lessons in the Grade 8 ELA Module 2B, Unit 3 series first has young writers compare their interpretations of a scene from William Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's...

Class members examine examples that model how to develop and maintain a formal style and an objective tone in informative/explanatory writing. They also engage in a peer review activity and revise their work based on the feedback.

Scholars read their poems to their research teams as their final performance task. The teams listen and give feedback on the flow between the two poems. Writers then take the feedback from their teams and revise their poems before...