This mystery-writing lesson focuses on the structure of a short story and the elements of a mystery in particular. Middle schoolers complete the entire writing process: prewriting, drafting, revising, editing, and publishing. Students...

In this lesson plan, If You Give a Mouse a Cookie, by Laura Numeroff, is used as a mentor text to highlight the trait of organization. The content focus of the lesson is to highlight that authors' story structures can be imitated. Story...

Do your learners' minds go blank when they confront a blank piece of paper? Speedwriting can help them get started with writing as well as come up with topics to write about. They can then incorporate their key ideas and phrases into a...

This reading resource provides vocabulary words with definitions. All words are related to the elements of narratives. A link to associated review activities is included.

Many students are used to writing narratives - stories, description, even poetry, but have little experience with analytical writing. This article is an introduction to six analytical text structures, useful across content areas. See...

After studying the structure of narratives through fairy tales, students will plan and write their own fairy tales using a narrative planning sheet (see learning task 2). Children will write their own fairy tale, stopping to share,...

This site provides two graphic organizers. The first graphic organizer provides all parts of a personal essay, of a college essay. The second graphic organizer serves as a planning tool for a student's personal essay. W.9-10.3,3a...

A lesson plan in which students read a narrative text and complete a graphic organizer to illustrate and write characteristics of one of the characters. Materials are included.

A lesson plan in which students read a narrative text and write the main events of the story on sentence strips. Materials are included.

Defines and describes a major form of Puritan writing, the jeremiad. Provides an outline of the jeremiad literary structure. Includes information on conversion narratives.

Writing a Paper? Here at the Capital Community College is everything you could ever ask for while preparing your essay. This site includes the writing process, structure, thesis statement, transitions, the computer as a writing...

Literacy Education Online (or LEO) is a great place to start if you need help with your writing. The homepage is organized around kinds of problems or questions you might have concerning your writing. Find your problem, click on the...

Acclaimed literary critic Dana Gioia analyzes Longfellow's classic narrative poem, "Paul Revere's Ride," encouraging readers to see beyond the story into the rationale for the structure and style of the poem.

Young scholars use trading cards to examine fictional characters in a story.

This resource from Kim's Korner for Teacher Talk defines various patterns of text organization and provides a brief essay example of each pattern.

[Free Registration/Login Required] This SMART Notebook resource can be used as a warm-up activity. Each slide will stimulate verbal responses on ways to begin sentences. Students will then start their own sentences with nouns, verbs,...