Curated OER
Essay Project Syllabus
A traditional syllabus for a traditional expository writing course that produces the traditional five paragraph essay.
EngageNY
The Painted Essay: Developing a Conclusion and Adding Linking Words
In conclusion ... this essay is the best! Scholars continue working on their painted essays by creating the conclusion. They work in groups to analyze the concluding paragraph in the model painted essay, The Electric Motor. After...
EngageNY
End of Unit On-Demand Informational Writing: Philo Farnsworth’s Invention of the Television and How It Changed People’s Lives, Part 2
Scholars complete the unit by finishing their end of the unit assessments. They arrange sentences for an introductory paragraph in the correct order, provide evidence for their thinking, and write a conclusion paragraph. They then...
Bulgarian Creative Writing Competition
Creative Writing Prompts For Every Season and Month
Winter, spring, summer, and fall! Every season is covered in a 14-page list of writing prompts. Included are story starters, reflection questions, poetry topics, and more.
Curated OER
Tornado Brainstorming
While the focus of this lesson is on writing about tornadoes, any topic could be substituted. The lesson provides a well-thought out overview of the writing process. Learners come up with a thesis statement, supporting details, and a...
EngageNY
Claim, Reasons, and Evidence: Planning the Body Paragraphs
Planning is the key to success. Scholars continue planning their essays by adding reasons to their Planning My Argument graphic organizers. Additionally, pupils analyze a body paragraph from a model position paper, identifying the...
Curated OER
Thesis Statements
At 32 slides, one would think this presentation on thesis statements is a bit too long, but it is the most important component of a well-written essay! Help your developing writers craft concise, interesting theses with this PowerPoint....
EngageNY
Writing an Introduction and Body Paragraph That Support an Opinion: Jackie Robinson’s Role in the Civil Rights Movement
It is all in the introduction. Class members first learn to write an introduction paragraph and body paragraphs to support it. They then work to create a Criteria for Writing Opinion Essays anchor chart.
EngageNY
Mid-Unit Assessment: Completing My Draft Position Paper
What's the difference? Scholars analyze the similarities and differences between introductory and concluding paragraphs. Then, using a model essay as a guide, they write their draft position papers.
Curated OER
Contemporary Civic-life Issue Research Based Essay
Seventh graders write a five paragraph persuasive essay on a contemporary civic-life issue.
Curated OER
Seedfolks Final Writing Assessment
Wrap up a study of Seedfolks with a final essay. Writers can draft their essays by following the steps and filling in the organizer provided here. The packet begins with a prompt, includes a few basic requirements, and provides an...
Curated OER
Essay Writing
Teachers can involve their students in activities that expose them to a variety of essay styles.
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...
Trinity University
Explain Yourself: An Expository Writing Unit for High School
Introduce expository writing with a unit that asks writers to craft an essay to explain a belief, value, or priority that is important to them. Mini-lessons within the unit focus on crafting thesis statements and conclusions, selecting...
Curated OER
Formal Writing Introduction
Give your class tips on formal writing. A paragraph format is outlined along with specifics for writing a conclusion sentence. A few transitions are listed to vary sentences and sentence structure. Pull this resource back out whenever...
Curated OER
Analytical Essay
What is an analytical essay? Introduce this type of thinking to your young writers. First, discuss what it means to analyze something. Then, identify the different components of an essay and what details are embedded in each component....
EngageNY
The Painted Essay for Opinion Writing: Developing a Conclusion and Adding Linking Words
Let's get colorful! Scholars use the Painted Essay technique to analyze and color code the conclusion of a model essay. Working in small groups, pupils then write a conclusion paragraph for their draft editorials about offshore drilling.
Curated OER
Organizing by Writing
Middle schoolers analyze how to use writing for generating and organizing their thoughts before communicating them. They use the questions on the first handout to organize a three-minute introduction of themselves to their small group....
Dream of a Nation
Writing an Analytic Essay
After researching an issue introduced in Tyson Miller's Dream of a Nation: Inspiring Ideas for a Better America, writers develop an original thesis statement and craft an analytic essay using evidence collected in their research.
Curriculum
Expository Writing
The beauty of the way this expository writing resource is structured is that the units can be presented as a complete writing workshop or sequenced throughout a course of study
Nancy Fetzer's Literacy Connections
Expository Paragraph
Upper elementary and middle school writers learn how to craft an expository paragraph by following the six steps detailed in a 48-page instructional guide. Learners learn how to write six different types of informational paragraphs: to...
Dream of a Nation
Writing Interdisciplinary Essay
The Grapes of Wrath. The Jungle. Native Son. The Things They Carried. The Absolutely True Diary of a Part Time Indian. To address a current social, political, economic, or environmental issue, class groups pair the reading of a classic...
jc-schools
The Expository Essay
Did you ever create an awesome graphic organizer only to find that your class was completely baffled by how to use it? This resource not only provides you with a great graphic organizer for a standard five-paragraph essay, but also...
Curated OER
The Five Paragraph Essay
Students investigate the concept of writing a five paragraph essay. They go through the steps to develop an essay from prewriting to a final draft using a writing prompt of Olauda Equiano. The handout for the assignment has questions for...