Curated OER
Aztec Myths: Writing Editorials
Middle schoolers write an editorial giving an opinion of whether or not Quetzalcoatl has arrived and if so, what the Aztecs should do. They discuss whether or not they believe Quetzalcoatl is a god or a man, and use an Editorial...
Curated OER
All Quiet On The Western Front
Students create a poem on the subject of war. In this All Quiet on the Western Front instructional activity, students create poetry using phrases or lines that they brainstorm during a pre-writing session. Students enhance their poetry...
Little Stones
How Can Poetry Make People Think and Care?
Can beautiful words change the world? Literary scholars discover how to paint their visions of change using poetry in a series of three workshops. Each independent topic gives participants a chance to examine their feelings about...
Curated OER
Writing: Planning and Organizing
Twelfth graders examine the five step prewriting process used before writing essays. They select a common topic and determine the purpose,and audience for the essay. They list examples in daily life where planning and organizing are...
Curated OER
Preschool Lesson: Guinea Pigs
For this Guinea Pig themed lesson, students hear the story, Guinea Pigs Add UP! and then engage in several themed learning activities. Each activity fosters skills in letter/number recognition, art, math or writing.
Curated OER
Writing Process
Introduce primary graders to the writing process. After reviewing the steps, they practice using the process by writing a book report. Before writing the draft, they complete a graphic organizer. The completed draft is reviewed by peers....
Curated OER
I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings
Students write a literary response essay to Maya Angelou's novel, I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings. In this literary response lesson, students complete pre-writing activities, discuss the rubric for the essay, and visit the given websites...
Curated OER
Narrative Writing
Students create a studenT book based on their knowledge of writing stories. They must complete a pre-writing activity and provide illustrations for the book.
Curated OER
Getting to Know You
After going over the five steps of the writing process, pupils fill out "Getting to Know You" worksheets. They trade papers with each other, and have the task of writing a descriptive paragraph about the person whose worksheet they...
Curated OER
Do Heroes Have to Wear a Cape?
Young writers choose a person from American history, their community, or their family to use as the subject of a persuasive essay. The process begins with a discussion of the characteristics of a hero, the completion of a prewriting web,...
Curated OER
Spider "How To" Make a Spider
Young chefs follow the set-by-step instructions of a recipe and use their prior knowledge of the body parts of a spider to make edible spider cookies. After completing a pre-writing graphic organizer they then write a "how to" paragraph...
Curated OER
Determining Ideas and Adding Details
A handy TFDC (topic/fact/detail/conclusion) graphic organizer (included) allows young writers to outline and record their main ideas and supporting details in the prewriting phase. They then continue to add details to the topic sentences...
Curated OER
Have a Backone
Students create a visual organizer that describes different groups of vertebrates in this pre-writing activity. They view and discuss a video on descriptive writing and then form small groups to research vertebrate classes using the...
Curated OER
Reading/English Language Arts/ Instructional Strategies
Students are given a line drawing that only that students sees. They are asked to describe the drawings to the reset of the class to see if they can draw it as the teacher describes it. Students work with a partner, and they are given a...
Curated OER
In the Winter
Students are read a book about winter activities. They create a drawing of their favorite activity to do in the winter and practice copying a sentence telling what it is.
Curated OER
Creative Writing
Fourth graders participate in an observation hike in this lesson. They orally share observations from their hike, and develop a paragraph in a shared writing exercise. Finally, the write their paragraph about process writing in their...
Curated OER
Trace the Flower
In this tracing worksheet, students will use a pencil or crayon to trace over the dotted lines. The students will create a flower that can then be colored.
Curated OER
A Goldfish is the Best Pet
Provide your class with a list of possible topics (three are included here, but they're not exactly gripping), and polish their persuasive writing skills. This plan really emphasizes the prewriting process, and several graphic organizers...
Curated OER
Tree Brains
Seventh graders use a tree as a graphic organizer for a prewriting strategy. Some of the "trees" are used to create verbal paragraphs for practice.
Curated OER
Writers Workshop
Students work together to brainstorm using a software program. Individually, they decide on a topic to write about and begin their pre-writing activities. They write about their topic using the pictures they previously drew and...
Scholastic
Presenting Persuasively (Grades 6-8)
Teens and pre-teens are a prime target for advertisers, so how are they doing it? An interactive lesson highlights the strategies used by advertisers, such as visual imagery and verbal clues. Then, a short writing assignment puts those...
Curated OER
Self-Portrait
Build a sense of self while honing prewriting and fine motor skills by having your learners with autism draw a self-portrait. The lesson is intended for younger pupils but could be used with learners of any age in need of motor and...
Curated OER
The Girl Who Loved Wild Horses
Second graders use literature journals and discussion groups to summarize and improve their reading comprehension. In this reading skills lesson, 2nd graders discuss animals they've loved and read the story The Girl Who Loved Wild...
Curated OER
Persuasive Elements
Investigate letters to the editor and their persuasive qualities. Break your class into reading groups and give each one a different article. As they read, they complete a graphic organizer to record their thoughts and opinions. There is...