Curated OER
The "Write" Stuff: Third Grade Strategies and Conventions
Students analyze the writing process through the ten lessons of this unit. The expository lessons address topic and detail sentences, paragraph organization and development, note taking, reports and letter writing.
Curated OER
Research Writing-4th Grade Multiple Choice
In this research writing worksheet, students solve a total of 25 multiple choice problems related on research writing. An answer key is included.
Curated OER
Organizing Paragraphs
Students brainstorm transition words, and utilize word list to order paragraphs and multi-paragraph essays.
Curated OER
Three Reasons Why I Want To Be...
Learners investigate the process of writing an expository paper. The purpose of the paper is established in the introduction and the supporting details are sequenced in a logical order. The paper possesses punctuation and grammatical...
Curated OER
Shared Writing (Whole Group)
Students participate in a whole class shared writing activity. They create an original text while examining the thought process of writers.
Curated OER
Revision Activities
In this revision activities activity, students plot the development of tension throughout the book, answer seven questions about plot, analyze characters and theme, and discuss the writing style of the author. Students answer ten short...
Starfall
Not too Little to Help
In this language arts activity, students write two short paragraphs: one about how they could help someone bigger than themselves and one about how someone littler could help them. A picture of a lion and mouse is on the page; this could...
Curated OER
Reviewing Proper Writing Techniques
Students use proper writing techniques to write an effective description of the best or worst meal they have ever eaten. In this proper writing techniques instructional activity, students review the parts of a composition and...
Curated OER
A Little Mystery and Intrigue in Writing Short Detective Stories
Pupils read and analyze the twelve short stories in the novel "The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes." They create their own detective that has to solve a new kind of crime, and write and edit a short story with their original detective as...
Curated OER
Civil War Essay
Upper graders explore equality by writing an essay. They read the story Pink and Say by Patricia Polacco, and discuss the meaning of the story and its relevance to Civil War events. Learners investigate the five writing process steps and...
Curated OER
Descriptive Prompt: Precise Language
Incorporate sensory details into a piece of descriptive writing. First, elementary and middle schoolers improve a piece of writing by using precise, vivid language, as well as appropriate word choice. They then listen to a variety of...
Curated OER
Run On Sentences
Explore run-on sentences with your language arts class. There is a SMART Board presentation included, but even if you don't have access to this technology, there are several useful pieces here. Provide your learners with the "student...
Curated OER
Space Food
What do astronauts eat in outer space? Kids can read an informational passage to learn about space food. The passage includes prompts that have learners identify the main idea and key details, then write a paragraph summarizing the text....
Curated OER
Writer's Craft: Foreshadowing
Track instances of foreshadowing in any text with a straightforward graphic organizer. In one column, learners note down the events that happened, and in the other they list the clues that indicated that those events would happen. Some...
Curated OER
Studying the Life of Henry Bibb
After reading primary and secondary source materials about the life of Henry Bibb, individuals identify a core democratic value Bibb demonstrated and give examples drawn from their readings.
K12 Reader
The Prince and the Pauper
A passage from Mark Twain's The Prince and the Pauper provides readers with a chance to demonstrate their ability to select evidence that shows the contrasts between the setting of Tom's real life and that of his dream life.
Curated OER
The Learning Network Fill-In: When the Food Writer Is a Ghost
Introduce your class to ghostwriting while practicing comprehension. From The New York Times' The Learning Network, this article covers the topic of ghostwriting for cookbooks. There are blank spaces and a word bank. Learners can use the...
Museum of Tolerance
Cultural Research Activity
Class members explore cultural diversity through a variety of texts that showcase the importance of traditions. Then, they interview their family members to research their own cultural background and write their findings on quilt...
Curated OER
“Self Reliance” by Ralph Waldo Emerson
“Nothing is at last sacred but the integrity of your own mind.” Readers not only identify aphorisms in Emerson's "Self Reliance," but also find evidence of transcendental elements contained in the essay. They also demonstrate consistency...
Curriculum Corner
8th Grade ELA Common Core Checklists
How close are your eighth graders to mastering the ELA Common Core standards? Keep an eye on progress with these charts, which include every eighth grade identifier and full standard text. As you move through the year and teach,...
Museum of Tolerance
Oral History Activity
Oral history has brought a multitude of lessons, stories, and factoids to our current knowledge of the past. Let us continue to use oral history traditions through a lesson that encourages pupils to discover and appreciate...
K12 Reader
Find the Main Idea: The Wonderful Wizard of Oz
Readers are asked to use the provided graphic organizer to list the main idea and supporting ideas in a passage from L. Frank Baum's The Wonderful Wizard of Oz.
Curated OER
The Metamorphosis: DR-TA
Guide class members through Franz Kafka's The Metamorphosis with a series of questions designed for before, during, and after reading. Readers consider Gregor's situation and his options. In addition, they...
District 158
Plan an Adventure
For kids, taking a vacation is all fun and games, but after completing this pre-algebra project, they'll have a whole new appreciation for the planning that makes these trips possible. Given a budget of $5,000 to spend on purchasing the...