Class members use an expository essay worksheet to review a peer’s paper. The focus here is on the thesis statement.

The beauty in this resource is the lengthy list of highly charged, controversial-issue research topics. Categories include issues of race, politics, law, environment, education, athletics, gender, and technology. After selecting a topic,...

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...

Three great writing prompts are yours for the taking. Hand this out, and have learners construct answers to questions about the Enlightenment in Europe. They define enlightenment, the contributions of the scientific revolution, and the...

A great writing exercise should have it all. This one requires learners to think critically about cause and effect, compare and contrast, and summarizing. They compose responses to five short answer questions regarding Spanish and...

In need of a writing prompt to accent your next lesson on the scientific revolution? This handout includes three short-answer questions that ask learners to describe the effect of the revolution on religion, what they would do if they...

The French Revolution is the topic for today's worksheet. Young historical analysts write a response to five critical thinking questions. They compare and contrast, define effects, describe the Old Regime, and analyze French...

A great cross-curricular activity pairs the French Revolution with a writing exercise. Have your class consider the economic causes of the French Revolution, the feudal class system, and Napoleon Bonaparte as a bridge between democracy...

Budding historical analysts take to describing the road to Latin American independence. They'll respond to three writing prompts which require them to describe or analyze specific events in Latin American history. 

Can your class describe the roles Porfirio Diaz, Benito Juarez, Pancho Villa, and Emiliano Zapata played in the Mexican Revolution? Can they explain why many Latin American economies depend on a single cash crop? If they can, then...

What were the roles of the Reds and Whites in the Russian Civil War? What were the causes and reactions to the Russian Revolution? These intriguing questions need answers, and your class has just the people to do it! They can answer...

The Chinese Communist Revolution, the massacre at Tiananmen Square, and the market economy under Deng Xiaoping are the focus of this writing prompt. The class will respond to three short-answer prompts related to the Communist Revolution.

A lot has been going on in the Middle East over the past 20 years. Your class can read and then write to describe the US and Soviet involvement in the Iran-Iraq War, the impact of Islamic fundamentalism on world politics, and Egypt's...

Political change in Latin America is the topic of these writing prompts. Critical thinkers will use what they know about Latin American history and politics. They'll respond to three prompts focused on the role of Juan and Eva Peron in...

The effects of changes in the Latin American government are the topic of this writing exercise. Challenge your class to read and respond to three prompts that describe the Sandinistas of Nicaragua, Latin American immigration to the US,...

As your class reaches the end of the book Bullfrog at Magnolia Circle, the seventh lesson in this literary unit helps third graders transition from reading narrative to expository writing. Scholars develop their note-taking skills...

Students analyze a graphic from an article and predict what the article might be about. After reading an article, they discover a journalist's experience of traveling across the United States to compare fast food restaurants. They...

In instructional activity 13 of this unit on colonial trade, young researchers learn about apprentices as they prepare to write help-wanted ads for the specific trade they have been researching. To begin, the class listens closely as the...

Celebrate inventions such as lightning rods, bifocals, and stoves with a Ben Franklin Day. Young historians conduct research and write a paragraph about an accomplishment of Benjamin Franklin including an illustration...

Use the Internet, write an expository text, and have learners share their knowledge of the planets in our solar system. They compose an expository writing piece and publish it to a web page.

Take young scientists on an exploration of the cosmos with this cross-curricular writing exercise. Tasked with producing an expository composition describing a planet of their choosing, students perform research and...

Any teacher with common sense should use the perfect resource to improve composition skills. Perfect for flipped lessons and station rotation, the text details information about genres of writing with guiding questions for readers....

Who is the greatest US president? George Washington? Abraham Lincoln? FDR? Find out the opinions of your young historians with this cross-curricular writing prompt that engages them in researching the accomplishments of these influential...

A three-part writing assessment challenges scholars to think critically about schools of the past and present. Learners read informative texts, answer questions to prepare for a discussion, research in small groups, complete a Venn...