Curated OER
Recounts: Writing a Summary
Have your class review how to summarize a story. Learners discuss the way to write a summary and talk about the use of sequence words. The presentation uses a graphic organizer. This helps to make it a visually appealing presentation.
Curated OER
Harmony and Expression in Writing Form
How do you write an interesting beginning, middle, and end of a story? With this activity, young writers look to other stories as examples. Then, they use some of the attached graphic organizers to help them create their own story. Note:...
Curated OER
Number the Stars: KWHL Graphic Organizer
Class members use a KWHL graphic organizer to record what they know, want to know, and what they need to learn as they read Lois Lowry’s Newbery Medal winning novel about a Danish Jewish family.
Polk Bros Foundation
Topic Report Learning Organizer
If you'd like to quickly access a simple graphic organizer designed for a class to divide and conquer a larger subject, then check out this resource. Assign class members to study a specific topic within a historical theme or event, and...
Curated OER
Introducing the Hamburger Model or Persuasive Writing
A one-page template provides primary writers with a graphic organizer to assist them in drafting a persuasive paragraph. Labeled the “Hamburger Model” because of its appearance, the worksheet asks pupils to craft an introduction, provide...
Curated OER
Compare and Contrast Nonfiction Texts
Explore nonfiction writing by comparing and contrasting two different texts. After reading two nonfiction books, articles, or magazines, young scholars utilize a graphic organizer to record their similarities and differences. They answer...
Center for History Education
Road to Revolution: How did Actions and Responses Lead to an Independent United States?
Using primary sources, maps, and an interactive M&M game, young historians examine the American revolution as if they were detectives trying to solve a crime. Resource includes graphic organizers and a final writing prompt to aid...
Curated OER
Out of This World Writing!
Miss Frizzle's class provides the inspiration for your young learners! Read "The Magic School Bus Explores Outer Space," and discuss the solar system. First learners will complete a KWL chart about a planet they're assigned to. Then, as...
Curated OER
Zoo's Clues!
Young scholars determine the difference between major and minor details after researching animals and completing graphic organizers. They write descriptive paragraphs for classmates to guess what animal is being described.
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...
EngageNY
Paragraph Writing About Waiting for the Biblioburro
Ask your learners to synthesize what they know about Waiting for the Biblioburro by writing a well-organized paragraph. Young writers focus on using transition words and including specific details in their paragraphs. The plan allows for...
EngageNY
Writing a Summary: “Middle Ages” Excerpt 2
What is the big idea? Scholars use Middle Ages Excerpt 2 to complete a summary graphic organizer. They then use the information from the organizer to write a summary of the text on lined paper. Learners share summaries with the class.
Have Fun Teaching
Predict and Infer (22)
Encourage close reading and critical thinking with a learning exercise that asks readers to select an event from a story, predict what they believe will happen, and list clues from the story that support this prediction. After...
Curated OER
Tell It to the Judge - Persuasive Essay
Students write a persuasive essay that compares and contrasts a classic fairy tales with a fractured one. They use the writing process to complete and publish the essay.
Curated OER
Organizing Writing/Composing a First Draft
Does your language arts class have a hard time with writing transitions? Use this organizational writing lesson to create three effective transition sentences that middle schoolers will use in their research of renewable resources.
Curated OER
Walk Two Moons: Word Frame
Middle schooler practice their dictionary and thesaurus skills with this vocabulary assignment. Using the provided graphic organizer and the word list from Walk Two Moons by Sharon Creech, readers define each word, and find a...
EngageNY
Writing an Argument Essay: Planning the Essay
Pupils use a helpful resource to begin a Writing Improvement Tracker, developing awareness of their writing strengths and challenges. Additionally, they continue planning their argument essays about Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's...
Student Handouts
Medieval Life Chart
What were the benefits and drawbacks of being a serf/knight/lord/lady/king/queen/etc. in the Middle Ages? Consider all the comparisons with your young historians using this graphic organizer.
EngageNY
Mid-Unit Assessment: On-Demand Writing – Conflicting Interpretations of the 13th and 14th Amendments
The authors of the court's decision and the dissenting opinion on Plessy v. Ferguson disagreed on their interpretations of the Thirteenth and Fourteenth Amendments. Scholars set out to show how with an on-demand writing prompt. They...
EngageNY
Paragraph Writing, Part II
Come up with a list of requirements for this expository essay on Esperanza's character in Esperanza Rising as a class and use the list to guide class writing. Here, learners will complete the first paragraph, discuss their notes for the...
EngageNY
Stretching and Shrinking Graphs of Functions
Why is that graph wider? Pupils learn about stretching and shrinking graphs of square root, absolute value, cubic, and quadratic functions. They study both vertical and horizontal stretches and shrinks in addition to reflections.
EngageNY
Writing: Drafting Body Paragraphs and Revising for Language
This is a formal affair. Scholars take a look at using formal writing in essays. They analyze the model essay Are We Medieval?: Opportunities in the Middle Ages and Today? They then begin working on the first draft of their own...
EngageNY
Revising the Informative Consumer Guide: Sentence Structure, Transitions, and Works Cited
Transitions are the glue that link paragraphs together. Pupils listen to a mini lesson plan on sentence structure and transitions and use what they learned to revise their informative consumer guides. Next, they self-assess their writing...
Laura Candler
Bio Poems Made Easy
A creative way bring autobiographical writing to your poetry unit or back-to-school curriculum, this lesson plan guides you through a bio poem activity. Kids use the graphic organizer to describe themselves using adjectives, things...