Curated OER
Hands on Essays
Third graders relate the concept of individuality of geometric shapes to the individuality of topic sentences. They write and revise a persuasive argument essay using an established rubric.
Carnegie Mellon University
Lab Report
A set of instructions and a 100-point grading rubric have been designed for writing lab reports. Appropriate for middle schoolers, this lays out what to include for each of the six steps in the scientific method: title, hypothesis,...
Curated OER
Shakespeare by Choice
Students identify the most important elements in a scene. In this editing a scene lesson, students decide what elements are absolutely necessary to a scene. Students discuss the main criteria for editing or cutting a scene and decide...
Curated OER
Grammar- Subject-Verb Agreement
Students practice writing sentences in which the subject and verbs are either both singular or plural. They complete worksheets including one highlighting "The 5-Step Subject- Verb Edit Process.
Curated OER
It's a Mystery to Me
Seventh graders produce a mystery story based on a mystery box created by a classmate. They develop the story using appropriate voice and containing a clear beginning,middle and end. They participate in peer editing.
Curated OER
Lesson Plan 11: Beginnings
Every good novel needs a solid beginning! Setting the stage can have your budding authors stumped, so use this lesson to get them thinking. After examining the plot rollercoaster image (included) they consider the four places their story...
Worksheet Works
Compare-Contrast Matrix Maker
Check out this amazing, customizable graphic organizer. You can create as many grids as you'd like with two to five columns and three to seven columns. The title is editable as are the labels for the columns and the rows. The process is...
Museum of the Moving Image
AdMaker, Obama vs. McCain, “Fundamentals” (2008)
Truth is often left on the cutting room floor when political ads are produced. After viewing the 2012 backfire ad, "Fundamentals" that takes John McCain's comments on the US economy out of context, class groups edit the audio and video...
Curated OER
The Scoop Through Desktop Publication
Drafting, revising, and editing is all apart of the publishing process. Using a series of documents as inspiration, young journalists compose a class Newspaper. They work independently and in groups to publish their own articles.
Curated OER
Narrative Writing for Publication
Seventh graders create an original narrative story in a diary or journal format involving a fictional character with conflict, plot, resolution and falling action within the story line. They follow the steps of the writing process with...
US Institute of Peace
Mediating Conflict
Two's a negotiation, but three's a mediation! Demonstrate the differences between the two processes through a role-playing lesson. The activity familiarizes pupils with the role of a mediator and examines the types of situations that...
Curated OER
How To Do an AHAP DBQ
How is an essay like a hamburger? Detailing the "meaty" parts of a well-written essay, this presentation takes students through the process of using a strong thesis statement to write a thorough and engaging response to a Document Based...
Curated OER
Sincerely Yours
Learners write a friendly letter. They write a friendly letter to author, Cynthia Rylant, after reading a number of her books, and watch a presentation by the teacher that describes how to write the letter. They word process their...
Baylor College
What's Is Soil Made Of?
It's time to roll up those sleeves and get a little dirty in the second instructional activity of this series on the science of food. Investigate where plants and animals get the minerals they need to live in this two-part exploration of...
Curated OER
A Research Project and Article For the Natural Inquirer
Get your class to use the scientific process to solve a scientific problem. They utilize the Natural Inquirer magazine to identify a research question which they write an introduction to and collect data to answer. They use graphs,...
Curated OER
Getting to Know You
After going over the five steps of the writing process, pupils fill out "Getting to Know You" worksheets. They trade papers with each other, and have the task of writing a descriptive paragraph about the person whose worksheet they...
Curated OER
The Last Word: Using Critical Thinking and Analysis to Reach a Decision
Want to explore the process of writing a persuasive essay and tie it in with the upcoming elections? Class members use Venn diagrams and the hamburger model of persuasive writing to write a five-paragraph essay on elections and...
Lakeland Central School District
Erosion and Deposition
If you are looking for a straightforward presentation about erosion and deposition with an emphasis on rivers, look no further. While not super flashy or entertaining, vocabulary is presented simply and accompanied by pictures to...
Alabama Learning Exchange
The Big Bang Theory: An Evidence-Based Argument
What evidence supports the big bang theory? Individuals analyze scholarly resources about the the theory and develop arguments backed by evidence. They brainstorm, share ideas, watch a video, and read articles to complete a graphic...
Teaching Tolerance
Journalism for Justice
Roll the presses! Or at least have your class members participate in the time-honored tradition of the student press by creating their own newspapers or journalist pieces on a social problem. After conducting research and collaborating...
Curated OER
The Argument
After brainstorming, middle schoolers write an expository essay for a writing project. They focus on supporting points, organization, and writing conventions to develop a well-integrated paper. In addition, they revise, proofread and...
Curated OER
Writing Fables
Young scholars write their own fables. In this writing fables lesson, students use handheld computers to write a fable. The class designs a spreadsheet to organize common elements of fables. Young scholars also edit each others' work.
Curated OER
The Cell Cycle: Cell Growth, Cell Division
Help your students understand cell division. Explore the topics of mitosis by examining the details of chromosomes at interphase, metaphase, anaphase, prophase, and telophase. Wonderful slides will keep your students' attention while...
Curated OER
Cellular Respiration stage 1: Glycolysis
Ten reactions involved with the process of glycolysis within cellular respiration are summarized here. The aerobic stages and anaerobic interactions leading to fermentation are detailed and wonderful diagrams to support the information...