"What do we have to do again?" Chances are you hear this question all the time. Here's a handout that offers scholars tips on how to understand college writing assignments. Class members learn strategies to help them decode assignments...

Help your young writers pay close attention to their conventions and move toward revision with a straightforward chart. Learners can analyze 11 sentences on this page by noting down the first letter in each, the first of words in each,...

High schoolers analyze mood and voice in Emily Dickinson's poem, "There's a Certain Slant of Light." After the analysis, young scholars write a poem of their own emulating the Dickinson poem, and then write a one-page essay describing...

Open-ended and intriguing, a writing prompt about two people from history is sure to get your young scholars thinking. Have them choose two historical figures, and after brainstorming their similarities and differences, successes and...

This St. Patrick's Day, young writers imagine they found a pot of gold at the end of a rainbow. After a class discussion and brainstorming, scholars compose a narrative essay making sure they incorporate transitions and at least three...

After reading literary and informational texts, scholars answer multiple-choice questions and write both a source-based argument and a text-analysis response.

Boost expository writing skills while testing content understanding. Here are three short essay questions intended to activate learner comprehension of concepts related to The Byzantine Empire, shifts in Roman law, and geographical...

Three wonderful questions will help your middle schoolers better understand the Byzantine Empire. They construct short essay responses to each of the three prompts, discuss the schism between the Greek and Roman Catholic church, the...

Reading goes beyond taking in information—it also involves forming impressions about what we read. Sometimes we share those impressions through book reviews, a specific type of writing outlined in a handout on the topic. Using the...

Expository writing is a vital skill for learners to acquire. They answer three short essay questions on the colonization of Africa, based on Imperialist ideology. Use after or during reading to boost informational comprehension and...

Human prehistory is an exciting topic for many learners! Engage your social studies class in critical thinking by having them answer the three short essay questions on this worksheet. They need to know why prehistoric people migrate, how...

Consider the factors and outcomes of societal changes that occurred during the Japanese Feudal period. Critical thinkers use what they know to answer three short essay questions. This helpful worksheet is a great tool for building...

Did your class finish reading about Feudal Japan and the Tokugawa Shogunate period? Reinforce their understanding with three essay questions focused on comprehension and critical thinking.

What were the roles of the Reds and Whites in the Russian Civil War? What were the causes and reactions to the Russian Revolution? These intriguing questions need answers, and your class has just the people to do it! They can answer...

The Chinese Communist Revolution, the massacre at Tiananmen Square, and the market economy under Deng Xiaoping are the focus of this writing prompt. The class will respond to three short-answer prompts related to the Communist Revolution.

A lot has been going on in the Middle East over the past 20 years. Your class can read and then write to describe the US and Soviet involvement in the Iran-Iraq War, the impact of Islamic fundamentalism on world politics, and Egypt's...

Political change in Latin America is the topic of these writing prompts. Critical thinkers will use what they know about Latin American history and politics. They'll respond to three prompts focused on the role of Juan and Eva Peron in...

The effects of changes in the Latin American government are the topic of this writing exercise. Challenge your class to read and respond to three prompts that describe the Sandinistas of Nicaragua, Latin American immigration to the US,...

Young scholars complete essay writing activities. In this essay writing instructional activity, students use an outline activity to learn about the advantages and disadvantages for various essay writing types. Young scholars also break...

The components of a five-paragraph essay are outlined on these slides. Not much explanation is given, but you can use this as you lecture and help your learners write. Follow the outline for what each paragraph should contain, and...

This lesson, which promises to improve the essays of your middle schoolers, contains a list of characteristics an essay should include. It breaks it down into the introduction, thesis statement, body, etc. There's also a list of things...

Groups become experts in one aspect of the six traits of writing, prepare a PowerPoint presentation, jigsaw, and teach others about their trait. Writers then focus on these traits as they compose a persuasive essay about a person they...

Inspire essay organization with this handout and exercise about outlining. Writers read through a brief outline model and then practice writing their own outline by completing a second model. Scholars not only complete the outline, they...

Class members use an expository essay worksheet to review a peer’s paper. The focus here is on the thesis statement.