Follow the steps outlined in an excellent presentation to create graphic organizers and write persuasive essays with your class. The graphic organizer is effective and translates easily into a final written product. The lesson focuses in...

A three-day assessment challenges scholars to read a passage from an informational text then complete two activities that lead to a writing assignment. Day one and two begin as readers independently read a passage and tag the most...

Keep track of constitutional principles with a graphic organizer. Pupils define, describe the origins of, and note down the location of the following terms: checks and balances, federalism, individual rights, limited government, popular...

Shark! Scholars read about sharks in Facts about Sharks by Susanna Batchelor. They then pretend they are shark scientists and choose a shark they want to study. Learners research their sharks and record information in graphic organizers...

Start at step one with this straightforward graphic organizer! Learners write down five steps in a process to complete the worksheet. Arrows point from one box to the next to show the relationship between steps.

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...

Looking for guides to help make teaching writing easier? Then this book is worth reading! Writing That Works is a complete guide for teaching technical writing. The guide begins with the what and why of technical writing and ends...

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...

Introduce middle schoolers to playwriting and the elements of drama with a six-session storytelling unit that encourages kids to expand their acting and writing skills. The 12-page packet includes overviews of the lessons,...

Bridge to Terabithia is a story about friendship that brings magic into ordinary life. Study guides may not be magical, but the guided questions, graphic organizers, extension activities, vocabulary, and discussion questions help...

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...

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...

Writers work on creating a plan for their end-of-unit essay of Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass using a Frederick Douglass Essay Planner to help guide their thought process. They then regroup as a class to...

In this multiple use flower power graphic organizer worksheet, students use a flower shaped black line picture in a number of ways. They put a picture in the middle circle and place describing words in the petals. They place a prefix or...

Fourth graders who are studying life in colonial America engage in an instructional activity that has them create a "Help Wanted" ad that would have been written by a master craftsperson from back in the day. They utilize a graphic...

Explore expository writing and using precise language in this descriptive paragraph writing lesson. Learners brainstorm prior knowledge about the changing seasons in Ohio. They describe seasonal items, view seasonal pictures from...

Is Phoebe a good friend to Sal or not? After reading chapters twenty-five and twenty-six of Walk Two Moons, class members use the provided graphic organizer to develop an argumentative piece. Writers must decide if the two...

A short story is only as strong as its characters, development, and conflicts. Encourage the young authors in your class to plan their stories based on the elements of narrative writing, all provided in brainstorming graphic organizers.

Assign this narrative essay after finishing Puddn'head Wilson. Learners write about their own experiences with overcoming obstacles. A five-step process is laid out on this assignment page.

Eeny, meany, miny, moe. It's time to choose a side. Scholars learn about taking a position by watching a video of a speech about local organic food. Next, pupils use graphic organizers to plan their speeches about which food chain is...

The best sandwiches aren't always edible. Pupils use a Quote Sandwich graphic organizer to plan paragraphs two and three of their position papers about the best food chain. Next, they begin drafting their body paragraphs for the mid-unit...

Strong persuasive essays are the result of careful planning. Give your writers a leg up on the planning process with a graphic organizer that models the format and asks them to provide their thesis, main points, evidence they will use,...

Team up! Scholars begin working with their research teams to review the components of an effective poem. They then move on to independent work by beginning the end-of-unit assessment. Writers complete the draft of their "Back Again"...

A little adversity is good for writing. Scholars review narrative-based monologues and concrete poems and choose which genre to use to express their own theme of adversity. Pupils also consider how to structure their narratives by...