Transitions are the glue that link paragraphs together. Pupils listen to a mini lesson plan on sentence structure and transitions and use what they learned to revise their informative consumer guides. Next, they self-assess their writing...

First and last impressions are important. Using the helpful resource, scholars draft the introductory and concluding paragraphs of their literary analysis essays. Next, they use a writing evaluation rubric to self-assess their work. 

A final assessment marks the end of a unit that takes a close look at a variety of informational texts all about frogs. A graphic organizer aides scholars in planning an accordion paragraph using their recorder forms from previous...

Class members dig into the expectations for the end-of-unit assessment for A Mighty Long Way by studying the rubric. The Rubric Criteria strips help pairs of readers look more closely at specific rubric points. They share ideas with the...

Class members look again at the end-of-unit essay prompt for A Mighty Long Way. After reviewing the requirements of the essay, they use their Gathering Evidence note-catchers and color-code the evidence that matches the two questions in...

How do writers use evidence from literary texts to support analysis and reflection? With instructional activity 17 of 20 from the Grade 8 ELA Module 1, Unit 2 series, learners gather resources to prepare for an end-of-unit assessment....

The opening exercise in this instructional unit introduces class members to the writing process they will follow to craft an informative, expository research paper that addresses their research question. To begin, writers are asked to...

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...

Readers organize and display three ideas that support a topic, as well as two details that support each idea. 

Oral history has brought a multitude of lessons, stories, and factoids to our current knowledge of the past. Let us continue to use oral history traditions through a lesson that encourages pupils to discover and appreciate...

The Power Essay, like the power paragraph, focuses on helping students understand the structure of a piece of expository writing. The "power" concept teaches students to organize their ideas according to levels of specificity and to...

[Accessible by TX Educators. Free Registration/Login Required] In this lesson, you will be taking a look at how authors of informational texts, such as expository texts, organize their writing and the effects that organization can have...

[Accessible by TX Educators. Free Registration/Login Required] In this lesson, you will learn how to adjust the organization of your essay to make it appropriate for different purposes, different audiences, and different contexts.