Who is the greatest US president? George Washington? Abraham Lincoln? FDR? Find out the opinions of your young historians with this cross-curricular writing prompt that engages them in researching the accomplishments of these influential...

A collection of writing prompts are so fun, you'll want to finish them yourself! Learners practice narrative prose and poetry skills with prompts that twist traditional structure, provide wild vocabulary, and encourage pupils to...

Encourage your young writers to thoughtfully plan and organize their work. First, model how this is done and vocalize your thought process as you work. Next, create a class list of strategies that they can use during independent writing...

Using a helpful resource, pupils watch a TED Talk of an opinion speech as they consider the criteria for a high-quality introduction. Scholars then engage in a shared writing process with the teacher to practice writing the introduction...

With nine pages of different sentences, you wont run out of practice writing, reading, and drawing. Learners read jumbled words, put the in the correct order to create a comprehesable sentence, and then write it, say it, and draw it.

Explore the structure of narrative writing with this fun, collaborative instructional activity. Start by reading aloud a short story, asking small groups of learners to fill in key events on a large story board prepared on the class...

Learn to write right. Scholars analyze the model essay Adversity Faced by Townspeople in the Middle Ages. They discuss the essay and make annotations working with an elbow partner. Learners then take another look at the essay using a...

1,2,3,4 score! Writers use the grading rubric to score the model essay. After comparing and discussing their scorings, the individuals begin the end-of-unit assessment.

Organize your thoughts! Scholars work on the drafts of their position papers about sustainable water management. The draft serves as their mid-unit assessment. Before beginning, the class discusses the prompt and then learners work...

You can't read Roald Dahl's Charlie and the Chocolate Factory without craving the rich treats described in Dahl's vivid prose. Young writers try their hands at sensory language with a lesson plan that prompts them to write about...

Students complete sentence structure activities. In this sentence structure lesson, students discuss ways to piece together a sentence using the given words from the teacher. Students may also participate in related activities that range...

Students gain a strong foundation for reading, writing, and using nonfiction through this lesson. They gain an awareness and general understanding what text structures are. Students also identify and interpret what clues they can use...

Buildings often have decorative components and furnishings that can pose a hazard during an earthquake. Learners examine the classroom for such non-structural features. They consider fictional scenarios and discuss what actions...

It seems that this presentation was designed for future educators, particularly those teaching a foreign language. Basic reading, writing, and organizational skills are presented, encouraging a discussion of strategies amongst your...

Young writers compare writing a paper to building a barn. They write a thesis statement using parallel construction and use transitions to hold the paper (walls of the barn) together. A barn raising video link is included; great for...

I came, I saw, I conquered! Parallel structure, employed by writers even before Julius Caesar, is the focus of a lesson that teaches young writers the power of this rhetorical device. Class members analyze speeches by Dr. Martin Luther...

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...

Use a hot dog as a metaphor for good reading, and make your class drool! Writers identify the parts of a paragraph, linking them to parts of a hot dog. Then, they translate this knowledge into a well-written paragraph. While a check-list...

This PowerPoint highlights the steps one should follow to craft an organized essay. It addresses the purpose, audience, and format, and briefly touches on prewriting and organizing. This presentation is designed to review the very basic...

Use a quick bell-ringer to interest your class in the art of persuasion. They brainstorm where they find examples of persuasion in their lives and identify who is trying to persuade them. Then they either fish through magazines or look...

William Shakespeare: a writer, a poet, a fake? For their mid-unit assessments, scholars read an excerpt from the article "The Top Ten Reasons Shakespeare Did Not Write Shakespeare" by Keir Cutler. Next, they analyze the author's argument...

Everyone is good at something. Scholars receive their mid-unit assessments with feedback. They look over their papers and write their strengths as a writer and goals on index cards. The class then has a mini lesson in using sentence...

Class members analyze the model essay to determine the given claim and the evidence to support it. They use an Analyzing Evidence in the Model Essay sheet to help guide their work. They then begin to analyze the structure of the essay by...

Responding to a question on the Machiavellian principle of a ruler's need for power and ruthlessness, young historians are given writing tips and a framework for constructing a well-developed essay in 25 minutes. The given structure of...