Curated OER
What Happens to Our Bodies When We Get Sick?
Seventh graders explore ways in which they become sick. They find out ways that there bodies fight off bacteria. Students watch a video from the Magic School Bus series:"Inside Raphie." After reviewing video students can openly discuss...
Curated OER
Rule of 3 Web
Students create a web with the writing topic in the center of the web. They extend three branches from the center of the web, write the main ideas that support and develop the topic. They draw three branches that extend from each main...
Curated OER
Skeletons
In this science worksheet, students investigate the human skeletal system. Students read factual paragraphs with details about the bones in the human body and in some other species as well. Students complete a crossword puzzle.
University of North Carolina
College Writing
No matter how difficult high school writing may seem, college writing presents challenges of its own. The fourth in a series of 24 handouts from The Writing Center at UNC breaks down the expectations for college writing. Scholars learn...
Curated OER
Comprehension: Create a Summary from an Expository Text
Children can learn to analyze expository or informational texts at nearly any age. This scaffolded and scripted resource provides teachers with the support needed to facilitate a thoughtful lesson on summarizing informational text...
Curated OER
The Body Part of Cells
Eighth graders are introduced to cell organelles and their functions and the they define the differences between animal and plant cells. They write a paragraph explaining the difference between plant and animal cells and students...
Curated OER
How to Write A+ Essays!
This instructional activity, 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...
Do2Learn
Brainstorming Map Clusters
Get your class thinking with a graphic organizer made for brainstorming. Pupils note down a topic in the middle and then branch out to write down more ideas in each of the three circles that form the cluster around the topic.
Curated OER
Five Paragraph Essay
Eighth graders are introduced to the mechanics of writing a standard-form essay. They draft, edit and polish a five-paragraph essay about spending the day as an animal of their choice.
Education World
Every Day Edit - Ederle Swims English Channel
In this everyday editing instructional activity learners correct grammatical mistakes in a short paragraph about the first woman to swim the English Channel. The errors range from punctuation, capitalization, spelling, and grammar.
Curated OER
"I Never Knew That!"
Incorporating To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee, narrative writing, and friendly letters, this lesson plan is ideal for any number of units in your classroom. First, read chapter 10 of the novel, noting Scout and Jem's reactions to...
EngageNY
Launching the End of Unit Assessment: Drafting Literary Analysis
Is there a connection? Scholars work to write a summary and theme to connect The Lightning Thief and myth of Cronus. They begin by looking at a model essay and then work on their own drafts.
Curated OER
Fahrenheit 451: Social Criticism
Students write a four paragraph essay that tells about two things in society that Ray Bradbury criticizes in the book, Fahrenheit 451. In this social criticism lesson, students develop a thesis based on their reading of the book and...
EngageNY
End of Unit 3 Assessment: Draft Opinion Speech: How Should Aid Be Prioritized Following a Natural Disaster in a Neighboring Country?
Put it to the test. With the cumulative resource, pupils complete the End of Unit 3 Assessment. Using everything they've learned in the unit, they write a draft of an opinion speech about how to prioritize aid after a natural...
Curated OER
All Aboard! All Aboard! The Essay Train
Third graders enjoy a train ride with The Little Engine That Could and discover how to create a five-paragraph essay train. This clever instructional activity has students use each boxcar of the train as a template for a paragraph.
Curated OER
Feed Your Cells
Middle schoolers examine and research the human digestive system and what happens to the food we eat. They read the article, The Passage of Food, participate in an experiment with crackers, and write a paragraph summarizing the function...
East Stroudsburg University
In Your Own Words... Paraphrasing
How can you put a passage in your own words without changing the meaning of the original text? That is the question facing many young researchers. The advice modeled in this presentation is that writers read the passage carefully,...
Curated OER
Endocrine And Reproductive Systems
Learners investigate the hormonal levels that are created with the endocrine system and tie it to the act of sexual reproduction. The lesson discusses how the respiratory system is organized as a comparison to the endocrine system which...
Curated OER
Developing Student Web Pages for Showcasing Research
Students employ information literacy skills to research topics. They develop topics using a graphic organizer. They draft, revise and edit research projects. They write an expository essay. They create a web page in Microsoft Publisher.
Curated OER
Character Sketch
Students view a PowerPoint presentation about Character sketches, and write a four paragraph character sketch. Emphasis is placed on topic sentences having one main idea per paragraph and elaborating. They study and discuss ways to write...
Read Works
Writing a Research Report
Transfer information from an outline into a well-developed research report. Using an already-written outline, model how to write an introductory paragraph and a body paragraph. Work through the conclusion as a class before allowing time...
Curated OER
Using Transitions
Transitions, words that reveal the relationship between two ideas, are the subject of a presentation that provides color-coded illustrations to show viewers how this part of speech functions in sentences. The PowerPoint concludes with an...
Curated OER
Approaching the Regents' Essay Exam
Prepare your scholars for the Regents' Essay Exam with these helpful tips. Advice from what one will need to bring, to how to develop a thesis are included. Writers are given a suggested timeline and sample questions as well. Reduce test...
Curated OER
"Size 6: The Western Women's Harem" by Fatema Mernissi
Intended for a mature, advanced placement audience, this set of questions accompanies an essay by Fatema Mernissi regarding clothing size and the possible implications for not fitting in with what is considered the norm. A very...