Curated OER
Essay Writing
Teachers can involve their students in activities that expose them to a variety of essay styles.
Curated OER
Our Poetic Planet : Writing Poems about the Earth
Pupils share their thoughts regarding nature. In this poetry instructional activity, students compose poems in different formats that feature weather and clouds.
Curated OER
Fact or Fantasy Writing
First graders see that some written text is for pleasure and enjoyment while some is for relaying information. They get to experience both types during the lesson. They brainstorm ideas for a story about a new kid in school to write about.
Curated OER
Writing Lesson 9
Fourth graders explore the writing process by responding to a writing prompt. They practice responding to a given writing prompt. Students write about a daydream. They write two or three paragraphs about the topic.
Curated OER
Writing a Narrative
Sixth graders read the short story "Eleven". They write a narrative composition focusing on the use of voice. Students use a computer to create a pre-writing graphic organizer and type their final draft.
Curated OER
Resume Writing
Looking for work? Need a resume? Employment seekers find a job posting for a career that interests them, and fill in the blanks on the provided templates to produce three different types of resumes. Templates for the functional, the...
Curated OER
Choose Your Words Wisely
Improve word choice! Writers use dictionaries and thesauruses to aid them in choosing exciting words to incorporate in their writing. They rewrite sentences and practice identifying words that can be replaced using a better word....
Curated OER
Using Citations in a Research Paper
As a prequel to a research assignment, class members explore writing citations in the modern Language Association (MLA) and American Psychological Association (APA) formats. In pairs, or individually, researchers use books and magazines...
Curated OER
One Event: Different Perspectives
Students watch a video clip from "The Path to 9/11" and write a summary of one of the events depicted. Next, they read the 9/11 Commission Report to compare information from the report to that of the media clip. They chose one more print...
University of North Carolina
Conditionals: Verb Tense in “If” Clauses
"If you give a mouse a cookie, then he's going to ask for a glass of milk." These iconic words from Laura Numeroff's classic tale offer a great example of conditionals, a topic covered in the handout as part of a larger writing series...
Curated OER
Getting Hooked, Introduction for a Narrative
How can you interest your reader? Here is a great lesson on reading and discussing the characteristics of a narrative. Elementary schoolers explore writing techniques to hook the reader. They identify their hook and share their...
Curated OER
Using Different Types of Sentences
In this types of sentences worksheet, students use a variety of sentences to make their writing interesting. Students complete three activities to help them with different sentences.
Curated OER
Interjections
Teach your class that they can use interjections to make their writing more interesting. Individuals read a selection of sentences from their book using great expression and then explain to the teacher how interjections can make their...
Curated OER
Poetry Beyond Words: Creating Poetry with Linguistically Diverse Students
Models of and directions for how to write 20 different types of poems are featured in an NCTE resource. The introduction to each form highlights the embedded concepts. For example, tongue twisters encourage poets to use alliteration and...
Pyro Innovations
Get into Shape
Shapes are so fun! Little ones explore, identify, and create shapes using tangrams or pattern blocks. The activity is intended to stimulate critical thinking while engaging learners through play and shape identification. Each child will...
University of North Carolina
Speeches
A handout on speeches, part of a series on specific writing assignments, helps individuals develop their speech-writing skills. The resource starts with a discussion on audience and purpose and ends with tips to engage the audience.
Virginia Department of Education
Determining Purpose and Audience
Build the writing skills of your junior high wordsmiths with activities that introduce many essential skills of writing. As a class, they develop working definitions of formal vs. informal writing, explore different categories of...
University of North Carolina
Music
Music is a universal pleasure, but writing about it can be a little trickier. An informative handout discusses common types of music writing assignments that one might encounter in a college-level course. Individuals read about musical...
Garden Earth Naturalist Club
Parts of a Flower! Flower Dissection
Sometimes the best way to learn about plants is to see the different parts of a plant yourself. Groups of learners dissect flowers to answer questions about what they observe and what they wonder about their flower.
Prestwick House
Introducing Symbols–The Beach
Looking for a way to introduce class members to the concept of symbolism and multiple levels of meaning? Readers examine two different passages about the beach and consider how the writers use concrete objects, and places to...
University of North Carolina
Annotated Bibliographies
When researchers write a paper, they become curators of information. It's their job to determine the best sources of information on a topic and use those sources to inform their writing. As part of a larger series, a handout on annotated...
Teach-nology
Author’s Purpose
What is the author's purpose in writing a joke book? What about a book about the digestive system? Explore author's purpose with a activity that challenges kids to identify whether ten books are meant to entertain, inform, or persuade.
Poetry4kids
Forced Rhymes and How to Avoid Them
Ready to take your poetry writing to the next level? Use an independent lesson to iron out all those forced rhymes, wrenched rhymes, and near rhymes from first-draft poems.
English Worksheets Land
Compare and Contrast - Popcorn
Discover why popcorn pops and how it found its way to the movie theatre with a learning exercise that reinforces comparing and contrasting skills. Scholars read two brief passages then share through writing the similarities and...