Writing the conclusion of an essay can often seem like a superfluous or daunting task. Support your young writers in understanding the various types and purposes of a conclusion paragraph, such as summarizing key points of a paper or...

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. 

What is the purpose of an introduction and conclusion? Using the resource, scholars review the model position paper from activity one and discuss the author's choices. Next, they draft their position papers' introductory and concluding...

Young writers compose a gripping ending to their historical fiction narratives. Following the previous lesson plan, where learners wrote a bold beginning, class members examine exciting endings from a literary text. They then draft their...

Class members begin to work on the body paragraphs of their opinion essays about Jackie Robinson started in the previous lesson. They analyze a model paragraph and underline reasons for the opinion. Learners then take part in a mini...

Young writers complete a timed persuasive writing assignment in which they argue for a club they would like to see established at school, and are then provided with real student samples of responses. 

Crafting a clear and cohesive conclusion to any piece of writing is crucial. An effective conclusion restates the central claim in the introduction, briefly summarizes the supporting claims, and presents a new way of thinking about the...

After completing three body paragraphs of an argument essay about life's rules to live by from Bud, Not Buddy Christopher Paul Curtis, it's time to begin writing the introduction and conclusion. Independently, pupils draft the final two...

Learning how to craft a cogent argument based on a solid claim, supported with evidence and solid reasoning, is an important life skill. Teach middle schoolers about argumentative writing with a lesson asking them to analyze the claims,...

Hook your class into inquiry-based, hands-on learning with a activity on narrative leads. Pupils research different types of hooks and decide which one to use in their own writing. Carefully scaffolded to include all learners, the...

And that's a wrap! Scholars create their concluding statement drafts by examining model text with exemplar conclusions. In pairs, they discuss how transitional words and phrases add to sentence structure and consider how their concluding...

Walk your learners through constructing a well-formulated argument on Napoleon's dedication to the goals of the French Revolution. 

What important facts about Dr. Seuss influenced the Read Across America movement...? This is the driving question of a research project that requires scholars to find information about Dr. Seuss' life and work. Class...

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...

How do pupils relate paired passages to each other? Here's a resource that helps! The lesson includes a short story and a poem as a set of paired reading passages, followed by some analysis questions. It also includes an essay template...

Class members explore cultural diversity through a variety of texts that showcase the importance of traditions. Then, they interview their family members to research their own cultural background and write their findings on quilt...

Scholars read paragraphs 13 and 14 of "Of Our Spiritual Strivings" and analyze Du Bois's chapter conclusion. Writers revisit their quick write assignments from the previous lesson plan and revise or expand them as needed.

Being able to identify the details that support a main idea is an important skill. Have your pupils practice with this graphic organizer, which includes space for a main idea, three supporting details, and a final conclusion.

Walk your class through the process of writing compare and contrast essays with this easy-to-use graphic organizer. After first using the included Venn diagram to record the similarities and differences between two subjects,...

Let the graph tell the story! Adding context to graphs allows learners to analyze the key features of the function. They make conclusions about the situation based on the areas the graph is increasing, decreasing, or has a maximum...

Work with your class to fill out this Venn diagram. Pupils can compare and contrast any two things and then write a short paragraph about the relationship demonstrated in their diagram.

Difficulties with brain injuries still continue today. After reading Phineas Gage: A Gruesome but True Story About Brain Science, class members read a series of modern personal essays about brain injuries and choose an essay to compare...

Through the journey of four stories of immigration, scholars complete graphic organizers and apply knowledge to create a visual representation of their findings on a large poster. Third and fourth readers write a letter to their...

Kurt Vonnegut's short story "Harrison Bergeron" engages adolescents with its theme about the dangers of complete societal equality. Learners complete a graphic organizer to track literary elements in the story, as well as an inference...