Unit Plan
Massachusetts Department of Education

Nostalgia

For Teachers 11th - 12th Standards
To prepare for crafting their own memoir, class members examine poetry by Margaret Atwood, Billy Collins, Robert Hayden, and Claude McKay, stories by Richard Rodriquez and Willa Cather, and Barry Levinson's film Avalon. They examine...
Lesson Plan
Santa Monica-Malibu Unified School District

Parts of Speech Pre-Test: The Building Blocks of Grammar

For Teachers 6th - 8th Standards
Help your learners get a good grasp on grammar. An insightful pre-test allows teachers to learn about their young writers' knowledge of the building blocks of grammar, so they can begin building a unit of study. It includes a...
Lesson Plan
Santa Monica-Malibu Unified School District

Parts of Speech Adjectives: Building Blocks of Grammar

For Teachers 6th - 8th Standards
How do you describe a jellyfish? Individuals write adjectives for Nomura's jellyfish, take notes, and check understanding with a formative assessment. Notes include the definition for adjectives, guiding questions to help writers...
Lesson Plan
Digital Writing and Research Lab's – Lesson Plans

Teaching Close Reading through Short Composition/Revision

For Teachers 9th - 12th
This activity may have writers evaluate short compositions, but their subjects are quite tall: great Americans. Pupils read one another's compositions and closely examine how specific phrases and diction contribute to shaping American...
Lesson Plan
ReadWriteThink

A Picture's Worth a Thousand Words: From Image to Detailed Narrative

For Teachers 6th - 8th Standards
A picture's worth a thousand words—and even more inspiration! A visual activity uses photographs to inspire writers. The process teaches aspects of narrative writing, such as point of view and characterization.
Lesson Plan
Art Educators of New Jersey

Exploring Eric Carle’s Painted Collage

For Teachers 8th
Where does inspiration come from? Where do writers get their ideas? What about visual artists? A PowerPoint and a video introduce middle schoolers to children's author and illustrator Eric Carle and how he found inspiration in the work...
Assessment
Fluence Learning

Writing a Narrative: Two Frogs

For Students 2nd Standards
Three options offer young writers the opportunity to read a short story, answer questions, and write a response. A handy language arts resource focuses on reading comprehension and analyziing the story's lesson: look before you leap. 
Assessment
Fluence Learning

Writing an Opinion: Student Council

For Students 4th Standards
A three-part assessment challenges scholars to write opinion essays covering the topic of the student council. After reading three passages, writers complete a chart, work with peers to complete a mini-research project, answer...
Assessment
Fluence Learning

Writing Informative Text: School Days

For Students 5th Standards
A three-part writing assessment challenges scholars to think critically about schools of the past and present. Learners read informative texts, answer questions to prepare for a discussion, research in small groups, complete a Venn...
Website
University of North Carolina

Evidence

For Students 9th - Higher Ed Standards
You can claim that soda rots people's teeth or that dinosaurs were actually birds, but your claim will not stand up if it is not backed by evidence. A handout from UNC Writing Center, the seventh in the Writing the Paper series of 24,...
Website
University of North Carolina

Fallacies

For Students 9th - Higher Ed Standards
All teacher workrooms contain a coffee maker, therefore all teachers must be addicted to coffee. That sentence represents a logical fallacy (although it may be true from some), a topic the seventh installment in the 24-part Writing the...
Website
University of North Carolina

Revising Drafts

For Students 9th - Higher Ed Standards
Don't simply proofread ... revise instead! Revising drafts is the topic of the 17th handout in UNC's Writing the Paper series of 24 lessons. Writers discover the importance of revision, as well as steps to follow during the process.
Website
University of North Carolina

Summary: Using it Wisely

For Students 9th - Higher Ed Standards
Sometimes summarizing keeps a writer from going deeper into their analysis—don't fall into that trap. Learn the difference between summarizing and analyzing using an insightful resource. Focusing on introductions, the lesson shares...
Website
University of North Carolina

Thesis Statements

For Students 9th - Higher Ed Standards
Phrases such as "This paper is going to be about" and "I am going to tell you about" do not make for effective thesis statements. A handout from the UNC Writing Center helps writers break from those phrases to craft effective thesis...
Website
University of North Carolina

Transitions

For Students 9th - Higher Ed Standards
Ideas don't naturally flow from one to another. They need transitions to help them connect. Part of a larger Writing the Paper series, the resource introduces writers to the concept of using transitions in their writing. Topics covered...
Lesson Plan
Ogden Museum of Art Education Department

Literacy and Landscapes

For Teachers 6th - 12th Standards
As the saying goes, art often imitates life ... and literature! A series of activities designed to accompany a visit to the Ogden Museum of Southern Art encourage writers to find inspiration in various landscapes. The lesson includes a...
Interactive
University of North Carolina

Citation Builder

For Students 9th - Higher Ed Standards
Does the publication date come before or after the title? Should there be a comma between the location and year? The answer depends on whether you're using the MLA, APA, Chicago,4or CSE/CBE style guide. A citation builder clears up...
Website
University of North Carolina

Clichés

For Students 9th - Higher Ed Standards
When it comes to writing, cliches are as old as dirt. A handout on tired phrases provides examples of cliches, as well as a description of the negative effects they have on a paper. Writers discover specific words and phrases to avoid,...
Website
University of North Carolina

Conciseness

For Students 9th - Higher Ed Standards
Twitter has helped people learn to express their ideas in as few words as possible, but away from the 280-character limit, writers still struggle with keeping their writing short and to the point. Conciseness is the focus of a writing...
Website
University of North Carolina

Passive Voice

For Students 9th - Higher Ed Standards
Why was the road crossed by the chicken? Because the writer forgot to write in active voice. Many myths surround the use of passive voice. Thankfully, an informative handout explains how to recognize passive voice and when it's okay to...
Website
University of North Carolina

Plagiarism

For Students 9th - Higher Ed Standards
As many unfortunate journalists have learned, taking someone else's ideas and passing them off as your own is never a good idea. It's called plagiarism—and it's a big deal. Thankfully, a handout helps writers learn how to avoid...
Website
University of North Carolina

Quotations

For Students 9th - Higher Ed Standards
According to A.A. Milne, "[A] quotation is a handy thing to have about, saving one the trouble of thinking for oneself." However, as part of a larger series of handouts discusses, quotations also have the ability to enhance a piece of...
Website
University of North Carolina

Style

For Students 9th - Higher Ed Standards
Just like you choose your clothes to ensure they fit the occasion, you should choose your words deliberately while writing. Style, the main topic of one handout in a series on writing skills, involves choosing words carefully and paying...
Website
University of North Carolina

Transitions (ESL)

For Students 9th - Higher Ed Standards
When it comes to comparing and contrasting in an essay, looking at a chart and picking a random transition word may not do the trick. As explained in an informational writing handout, the words writers use to move from one idea to...

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