Curated OER
Writing Author's Purpose
Write in all three authorial purposes (persuasive, informational, entertaining) with this instructional activity. Young writers consider a time when a friend of theirs helped them out and gave them advice on something. They write a short...
Curated OER
Express Yourself Lesson Seed 19: Synthesis
Wrap up your unit on The Cay with an engaging argumentative writing assignment. Writers must decide if they believe The Cay should be banned. The resource includes links to several articles, which have been addressed and examined in...
United K12
Jan Brett Author Study
Expose young children to the wonderful works of author and illustrator Jan Brett using a few of her stories such as Armadillo Rodeo, The Mitten, or Daisy Comes Home through a unit study.
Open Oregon Educational Resources
About Writing: A Guide
Ever wish writing was as easy as 1,2,3? About Writing: A Guide outlines the steps to successful writing. The guide begins by explaining the types of writing and then takes readers through the process. The guide even includes a section...
Tech Coach Corner
Narrative Writing
A comprehensive presentation on narrative writing, this should be shown to a class before the writing process begins. There are not activities listed, so pupils can take notes on the elements of narrative writing and figurative language....
Curated OER
Painting Places with Words Using John Steinbeck's Of Mice and Men
Useful in an Of Mice and Men unit, or in a unit that focuses on descriptive writing, this activity prompts young authors to impersonate John Steinbeck's writing style in the opening passages of the novel. A Six Trait writing activity...
K20 LEARN
Who's Coming To Dinner? Descriptive Writing
"The Dinner Party" is the anchor text in a lesson designed to encourage writers to use sensory details in their stories. After brainstorming descriptive words and phrases for the five senses, class members read Mona Gardner's stark tale...
Curated OER
Author's Purpose
How do you determine an author’s purpose? You ask the author, of course. Invite a local journalist into the class to respond to scripted student questions about his/her writing process. A review of basic classroom etiquette is also...
Teach-nology
Author’s Purpose
What is the author's purpose when writing a narrative story? Kids read a short narrative passage before answering three questions about author's purpose.
University of North Carolina
Group Writing
Two heads are better than one, especially during the writing process. Sometimes, scholars benefit from participating in group writing assignments, as one of the handouts in a series on specific writing assignments outlines. The process...
National Endowment for the Humanities
Emulating Emily Dickinson: Poetry Writing
High schoolers analyze mood and voice in Emily Dickinson's poem, "There's a Certain Slant of Light." After the analysis, students write a poem of their own emulating the Dickinson poem, and then write a one-page essay describing what...
Curated OER
Putting It All Together: Revision
Use the revision process to polish your writing. Writers prepare works for job portfolios that include cover letters, job applications, resumes, and letters of recommendation. Prepare them for the future!
Curated OER
Text Structure: Organizational Patterns
Explore plot structure by analyzing text samples with writers. They define terms such as problem and solution, cause and effect, and story arc. They also identify the sequences used in modern stories by reading samples and determining...
Carnegie Library
Creative Writing: Middle School Lesson Plan
Enhance a unit on historical fiction with an engaging writing lesson. Learners bring the Industrial Era to life as they compose their own historical fiction pieces based on primary source images of Pittsburgh steel workers.
College Board
2006 AP® English Language and Composition Free-Response Questions
What does your lawn decoration say about you? The 2006 AP® English Language and Composition Free-Response Questions offers three prompts in which scholars express themselves through essay writing. One of these tasks includes analyzing...
Curated OER
Decoding the First Alphabets: Not as Simple as A, B, C
Explore early writing systems and their significance in understanding the development of past civilizations. In groups, learners research early writing systems and then present their findings to the rest of the class. They teach their...
Curated OER
Modeling Our Writing Style After Another Author's Style
Pupils reread "The Senegalese Miracle" from a previous activity. As they read, they must underline as many images related to their senses as possible and share their findings with the class. In partners, they practice chunking...
Curated OER
Analyze Author’s Techniques, Including Figurative Language
Paul Laurence Dunbar's poem "He Had His Dream" is the focus of a quick exercise. Pupils read the poem and answer four multiple choice questions and one short answer question about specific lines in the poem and the author's purpose....
Curated OER
Hawthorne: Author and Narrator
High schoolers examine the difference between a narrator and author. They read Nathaniel Hawthorne's novel, 'The Scarlet Letter,' write a description of the narrator, and research how Hawthorne was impacted by the politics of the time.
Curated OER
Essay Writing
Teachers can involve their students in activities that expose them to a variety of essay styles.
Oakland Writes
Exploring Thematic Motifs in The House on Mango Street
Explore identity and community through an expository essay based on The House on Mango Street by Sandra Cisneros. This two-week unit on writing an essay provides a brief description of each day and all of the worksheets and materials you...
Curated OER
Card Catalog Cards
Prepare students on how to use the library's card catalog system as well as the online version. Author, card catalog, the Dewey system, and so much more is addressed. This would be a great tool to use in the classroom or library.
Curated OER
Newspaper Writing on Flight in History
Students read about important events in history through newspaper articles. For this newspaper lesson, students look at different writing styles and author's bias in different articles about the same event. They write their own articles...
Curated OER
My Antonia: During Reading Strategy
Home in on the quote on this page to explore setting, the author's and character's voices, and plot in Willa Cather's My Antonia. Pupils draw a picture of what is described in the quote, discuss the content, and make connections to their...