Curated OER
"How To Build A Snowman" Expository Writing
Fourth graders write a "how to..." or an expository essay on building a snowman. They practice giving directions by explaining how to draw a person using shapes without mentioning that it's a person being drawn. They revise through the...
Curated OER
Organizing Writing/Composing a First Draft
Seventh graders access an organizer from an earlier lesson and transition sentences to begin a new essay. In this organization and composing lesson, 7th graders work in small groups to create a draft of an article about...
Have Fun Teaching
Compare and Contrast (3)
Sometimes the way a topic is presented in fiction can be very different from how it is in reality. Compare and contrast a topic from both a fiction and nonfiction source with a graphic organizer that prepares kids to write about what...
Curated OER
Write Your Own Cultural Connections
Students write a cultural narrative. In this multicultural writing lesson, students create an expository narrative to teach others about their lives. Students complete the narrative and use a buddy editing strategy to revise their papers.
Curated OER
15 Seconds of Fame
Students write an autobiographical essay. In this writing lesson students read a narrative, Panic in Paris, and review the elements of a narrative as a class discussion. Well-known stories are used as examples for writing their own...
Curated OER
Research Activity: Grades 10-12
Students discuss the war in Iraq, Adam Michnik's essay "We, the Traitors," and the notion that we bear a collective responsibility to rise up against oppression, within a modern geo-political context. They each write a research report on...
Curated OER
What is Framing?
Students practice framing issues. For this writing skills lesson, students participate in a classroom activity that requires them to look at specific topical issues by framing them. Students then create collages on current issues and...
Curated OER
Introductions and Conclusions
The format of the introduction and conclusion paragraphs in an expository essay are the focus of short presentation that details how to craft these all-important sections of a paper. No specific examples are included.
Curated OER
What Kind of Student Do You Want to Be?
Third graders write an essay which answers the question, "What kind of student do you want to be?"
Curated OER
Learning About Hurricanes
Students write an outline of facts about hurricanes to include in an essay. In this research essay lesson, students use science books and research hurricanes to gather the information for their essay.
Curated OER
Writing a Resume
Ninth graders research a future career and write a resume for the job. In this job skills lesson plan, 9th graders work in groups to identify future job skills and duties. Students then write a resume for the job.
Novelinks
Lord of the Flies: Outlining and Begin Drafting
Help young writers with the daunting prospect of a five-paragraph essay. Using William Golding's Lord of the Flies, learners work through a short process to shore up their brainstorming and prepare to write a longer essay.
EngageNY
End of Unit 1 Assessment: On-Demand Analysis of a Human Rights Account
The last instructional activity in this unit about human rights consists of a final assessment. To demonstrate the skills your class has acquired throughout this unit, they will work with a new article entitled "From Kosovo to the United...
University of North Carolina
Argument
What elements make up a successful argument? A helpful resource describes aspects of an argument such as the claim, evidence, counterargument, and audience. Perfect as an individual assignment for a flipped lesson or collaborative work,...
Anti-Defamation League
Sexism and the Presidential Election
Young historians investigate how sexism impacted the 2020 United States presidential election. They examine media coverage of the six women candidates, engage in a four-corners debate reacting to statements about gender and the...
University of Delaware
Constructing Text-Based Arguments About Social Issues
Eighth graders take a stand on a variety of controversial topics with a lesson on argumentative writing. As they view an informative presentation and work with collaborative groups, they decide which side of each argument they want to...
Curated OER
Amos and Boris: Text Study
Twenty insightful questions follow a read aloud of the story, Amos and Boris by William Steig. Scholars then show what they know through completion of a cause and effect chart, reading fluency assessment, and a written...
University of North Carolina
Honors Theses
For those enrolled in a college honors program, four years of hard work culminate in one paper—an honors thesis. A handout outlines the steps to writing the paper, beginning with a sample timetable and time management instructions. Once...
University of North Carolina
Evaluating Print Sources
Not all sources are created equal, so how do you evaluate them? Writers learn how to evaluate print sources based on elements such as audience, tone, and argument in the sixth handout of 24 in the Writing the Paper series from the...
Elizabeth Murray Project
Colonial Women During the Revolution
Young researchers use the Internet or books to find out about colonial women during the American Revolution. They organize information in a graphic to demonstrate their understanding of the research they gathered before writing a...
EngageNY
Structuring The Search: Categorizing Our Research
What can you contribute? Scholars read text to determine how ants contribute to the rainforest. First, they categorize and sort facts gathered from reading. Next, readers focus on specific terms in each paragraphs of the text Ants by...
City University of New York
Urban Politics: Machines and Reformers
Take a trip to the turn of the twentieth century with a resource about industrialism in America. With primary source documents and focus questions, learners think about the ways that government groups and organizations paved the way...
Eastconn
Women of the California Gold Rush
The California Gold Rush was not just an opportunity for the male gold miners sifting for shiny nuggets. Small groups read accounts of the ways women took advantage of the influx of workers to run hotels, bake pies, and wading out into...
Curated OER
Can History Be Rewritten?
Can history be rewritten? Or, more precisely, is history documented accurately? High school juniors and seniors compare primary source material with secondary sources. For example, they compare President Roosevelt's December 29, 1940...