The engagement is in the details. Young scholars learn the benefit of weaving descriptive and sensory details into the fabric of their writing through the activities in this instructional activity. As their hands explore items concealed...

Words carry baggage. In addition to their literal, denotative meaning, words also carry the weight of the associations and connotations attached to the word—the connotations of words writers use to create the tone of a piece. An...

Young scholars learn how to distinguish between the mood of a piece of writing (how the work makes the reader feel) and the tone (the writer's attitude toward the material) in the sixth activity in a poetry unit. After watching two very...

It's important that writers leave their readers with a strong and satisfying conclusion. Help your young writers develop the skills to compose a concluding sentence with the steps outlined here. After class members have had a chance to...

Get young writers thinking about how to write a great beginning for their narratives. After examining examples of solid beginnings in literary text, young writers discuss the criteria for a compelling introduction. Then, independently,...

How do writers introduce and develop the central ideas in a text? To answer this question, ninth graders closely examine "The Age of Honey," the opening chapter in Marc Aronson and Marina Budhos' Sugar Changed the World: A Story of...

As writers continue to revise their argument essays, the focus shifts to editing grammatical conventions, parallel structure, and varying syntax to add interest. After examining model sentences that demonstrate sentence variety, writers...

The second instructional activity in a unit about how writers develop their central ideas and use evidence to support their arguments focuses on the role that scholars at Jundi Shapur, "The World's First True University," played in the...

Let's join together and make a sentence. Scholars take the next step in revising their argumentative essays by combining independent clauses to make complex sentences. Writers use a Colon and Semicolon Handout to practice different ways...

Writers work to create drafts of their end-of-unit assessments relating to A Mighty Long Way and Little Rock Girl 1957. Using computers to create the first versions of their essays, writers emphasize ideas and evidence before focusing...

Copy that! Writers carefully analyze a model essay to gain a better understanding of their upcoming essays about A Long Walk to Water. They begin by circling unfamiliar words in the model as teachers read it aloud. They then pinpoint...

Some things are complicated. Scholars continue to look at the model essay and rubric related to A Long Walk to Water. This time, they focus only on row three of the rubric because it is a more complicated portion. Writers think about the...

Show me the evidence. Writers analyze the Command of Evidence row of the rubric for A Long Walk to Water essay. Pupils work in pairs to determine how the writer of a model essay meets the demands of the rubric. They then use a Forming...

Stories by Edgar Allan Poe and Ambrose Bierce provide readers with an opportunity to investigate unreliable narrators. The lesson plan begins with an activity about different types of point of view and continues as scholars apply their...

Just what did Ben Franklin read? By juxtaposing Ben Franklin’s reading material as a young man with an analysis of his developed ideas, learners gain the opportunity to see how the influences of his youthful reading played out. Roman,...

Scholars discuss the many ways they use persuasion in their everyday lives and brainstorm specific ideas for encouraging someone to do something. With the list of persuasive techniques they made, young writers complete a graphic...

O. Henry's "The Gift of the Magi" is the classic example of irony in literature. Teach young writers about the ways irony can engage their readers with an activity in which they write scripts using dramatic irony, situational irony, and...

Benjamin Franklin may be known as a Founding Father, but he was also a prolific writer. Scholars examine his better-known pieces to learn about genre, voice, and early American history. The resource includes options for various...

Nothing makes junior high and high school teachers more frustrated than plagiarism. Instruct young writers about copyright laws and the correct ways to paragraph information without copying the exact words. A set of secondary-level...

An engaging and quick presentation on writing topic sentences is sure to grab the attention of your elementary writers. The PowerPoint can be modified and includes relevant visual examples.

With the help of six graphic organizers, writers share their opinion on a bad habit, the greatest city, a desirable pet, a recommended book, and the importance of education. Using their supporting reasons and facts, pupils...

Create a sense of accountability among scholars with a lesson that focuses on making and keeping New Year's resolutions. Writers compose a five paragraph essay focused on three resolutions—promises to self improvement, to...

Celebrate National Handwriting Day with a variety of worksheets that feature tracing exercises to prime young writers' hands. Tracing moves include curves, spirals, waves, and more.

Celebrate National Handwriting Day with a variety of worksheets designed to warm up young writer's hands. Learners work on tracing figures such as curves, ellipses, mounds, and more.