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Writing
Curated OER

Protest Letter

For Students 3rd - 5th Standards
What a fantastic resource to guide youngsters in persuasive letter writing. They read a brief letter to the editor and answer question about the author's purpose, word choice, and structure. Next, scholars draft their own letter by...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Choose Your Words Wisely

For Teachers 2nd - 8th Standards
Improve word choice! Writers use dictionaries and thesauruses to aid them in choosing exciting words to incorporate in their writing. They rewrite sentences and practice identifying words that can be replaced using a better word. Flip...
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Worksheet
Curated OER

Fast Fact-Finding

For Students 4th - 5th Standards
Ever wonder why the sky changes color so often? Readers examine an informational excerpt from John Farndon's How the Earth Works. They underline key points as they read and then answer five response questions. Prompts review main points,...
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Worksheet
Curated OER

Reading a Classic Novel

For Students 4th - 5th Standards
Charles Dickens offers an excellent example of sensory writing in this reading comprehension worksheet. Learners read excerpts from the novel Hard Times in which he describes the New England industrial city of Coketown. They consider why...
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Lesson Plan
Pennsylvania Department of Education

6 Traits: Word Choice

For Teachers 3rd - 5th
Pupils explore language arts by participating in a vocabulary usage activity. In this word choice lesson, students read examples of great word usage in literature and discuss with the class why some words appear stronger than others....
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Website
University of North Carolina

Sciences

For Students 9th - 12th Standards
Science writing follows many of the same principles as writing in language arts, but some structural details differ. Individuals read an online science handout that covers how to write with precision, choose appropriate details, and use...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

If I Could Have Lived in Another Time or Culture

For Teachers 3rd
Third graders develop multi-paragraph compositions. They include an introduction, first and second level support, and a conclusion. They use a variety of sentence structures (e.g., simple, compound/complex) and sentence types (i.e.,...
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Interactive
Curated OER

English: Level B Lesson 21

For Teachers 3rd - 5th
In this on-line language arts worksheet, students complete 20 multiple choice questions that cover many grammatical rules. Answers are available to the student at the end of the worksheet.
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Interactive
Curated OER

English: Level B Lesson 34

For Teachers 2nd - 4th
In this on-line language arts worksheet, students complete 15 multiple choice questions that cover many grammatical rules. Answers are available to the student at the end of the worksheet.  
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Interactive
Curated OER

English: Level C Lesson 30

For Teachers 3rd - 6th
In this on-line language arts worksheet, students complete 20 multiple choice questions that cover many grammatical rules. Answers are available to the student at the end of the worksheet.
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

The Sound of…Poetry!

For Teachers 3rd - 4th
Scritch, scratch, scritch. It's the sound of pupils writing poetry! Focus on sensory language and onomatopoeia with a writing lesson. After listening to some sounds, learners examine a couple of poems that include sound words and then...
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Lesson Plan
EngageNY

End of Unit Assessment, Part 1: On-Demand Essay “What Makes A Hurricane A Natural Disaster?”

For Teachers 5th Standards
It's time to refine writing and word choice. Learners work on Part 1 of their end of unit assessment by creating an essay titled What Makes a Hurricane a Natural Disaster? They use glossaries and graphic organizers from previous lessons...
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PPT
Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Sentence Structure of Technical Writing

For Students 9th - Higher Ed Standards
Most teachers and scholars look for a way to simplify information. Informational how-to slides simplify the process of technical writing into a step-by-step process. Learners gather information on what to do, as well as what to avoid....
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Writing and Presenting a Fable Using Research

For Teachers 4th - 8th
Elementary and middle schoolers research animal facts and use them in a fable. First, they pair-share to find animal traits to use in writing a fable. They then complete a prewriting worksheet. After going through the writing process,...
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Interactive
Curated OER

Word Choice: Lose and Loose

For Students 3rd - 6th
In this word choice instructional activity, students fill in blanks in a set of 20 sentences with the appropriate choice: lose or loose. Online version link available.
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Worksheet
Curated OER

Comma Splices and Fused Sentences

For Students 6th - 7th
In these comma splices and fused sentences worksheets, students read the sentences and the three underline parts for each. Students then fix the comma splices or fused sentences for each example.
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Borrowing Narrative Skills from Mr. Fletcher: Using a "Prompts in Reverse" Technique to Inspire Your Writers

For Teachers 3rd - 8th
Help your class find their writing voices with this instructional activity which uses the work of Ralph Fletcher to guide a "Prompt in Reverse" activity. Using the chapter "First Pen" from Fletcher's Marshfield Dreams, learners decipher...
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Lesson Plan
BBC

The Sound Monster - Words That Make Sounds

For Teachers K - 1st
There are words in the English language that actually make sounds, such as vroom, and, buzz. Here is a clever lesson which introduces young readers to these sound-making words. They play an interactive game on the computer that has them...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Changing Seasons

For Teachers 4th - 9th
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...
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Worksheet
Curated OER

Vocab-u-lous! Build a Fabulous Vocab

For Students 9th - 10th
In this vocabulary worksheet, students decipher the best word choice to complete the sentence. All words begin with the letter Z.
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Worksheet
Curated OER

Be Used To -- Grammar Worksheet

For Students 4th - 5th
In this language arts learning exercise, students learn the correct use of the "be used to" phrases by first studying an information chart. Students then complete sentences using "be used to" in the correct form. Example: Moving men (are...
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Unit Plan
Curated OER

Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass an American Slave, Written by Himself

For Teachers 7th - 9th Standards
 The narrative works of Frederick Douglass engage learners in the topic of slavery. They will experience American history in a new way, a Douglass expresses his thoughts in his own words. Pupils then interpret this literary work.   
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Propaganda

For Teachers 9th - 12th Standards
How does word choice affect the reading of a text? Compare two headlines that were written about the same event. Is one biased? Discuss how word choice often reveals the author's feelings about a topic. Then look at different techniques...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Using Onomatopoeia to Tell the Story of an Imaginary Field Trip

For Teachers 2nd - 4th
Students explore language arts by utilizing word choice to compose a paragraph. For this phonetics lesson, students discuss the importance of a "voice" in their writing as they read the book Rattletrap Car. Students write paragraphs...