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Writing a Letter of Recommendation
Students compose letters of recommendation. In this written communication lesson, students read sample letters of recommendation and then write their own letters.
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"How To Build A Snowman" Expository Writing
Fourth graders write a "how to..." or an expository essay on building a snowman. They practice giving directions by explaining how to draw a person using shapes without mentioning that it's a person being drawn. They revise through the...
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ESOL Personal Information
Students view different vocabulary cards with personal information words. They match pairs of cards with personal information vocabulary. They complete an information form and read their information to the class.
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Writing to Argue
Students write an argument using a clear structure and argumentative techniques. In this persuasive writing lesson, students brainstorm, write, and peer edit an argumentative essay. Worksheets include the prompt, facts and quotes, and a...
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Writing to Learn History: Annotations and Mini-Writes
Students use their critical thinking skills to write about historical events. In this historical perspectives instructional activity, students read documents about historical events and make annotations and marginal notes. Students then...
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That Was Then - Persuasive Essay
Student explain how geographic and cultural settings influence a person's identity. They compare and contrasting Esmeralda Santiago's Puerto Rican self with her American self by participating in a close reading of the text and writing a...
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Sentence Revision
High schoolers review the procedures for revising sentences. After viewing a PowerPoint presentation, they read a handout of common wordy phrases and discover how to jazz up their writing. They complete a worksheet in which they revise...
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Basic Letter Response to a Writing Prompt
Students respond to a writing prompt using appropriate letter format. In this letter writing lesson, students discuss the format for letter writing and use the worksheet format to write the heading, inside address, and salutation....
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Brochure Writing
Students identify the attributes of informative brochures. In this written communication instructional activity, students examine sample brochures to investigate the layout and the information presented. Students then select topics to...
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Evaluating Information Resources
Students identify at least five aspects to be examined in determining the validity of information presented on a website. They classify websites into highly trustable, trustable or questionable information sources. In addition, they...
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Pre Writing Strategies
Second graders review story mapping along with characters, setting, problem, events, and solution. They view pictures and tell the story of their picture orally then they write rough drafts and final copies of their stories in the...
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Storyboard for Persuasive Text
Middle schoolers demonstrate their knowledge of the main elements of a story by creating a storyboard. In this persuasive writing lesson students create storyboards that are intended to persuade a director to make a movie out of...
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What's the Purpose Anyway?
Examine author's purpose in newspaper articles, comic books, cookbooks, encyclopedias and other forms of written materials. Working in groups, middle and high schoolers read teacher-selected articles and write an explanation of the...
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Venn Diagram for Compare/Contrast
Use this instructional activity to focus on a compare and contrast writing structure in your middle school language arts class. Here, young writers compare and contrast two texts using graphic organizers. They use a double bubble format...
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Check it Out...Nonfiction Can Be Fun!
Organizing information gathered for a research topic can be a challenge. Read aloud notes you have collected on a topic and use suggestions offer by the class to categorize and sort this information. Partners then follow this pattern,...
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Joyful Noise: Poems for Two Voices by Paul Fleischman
Do your young readers know that poems can be performed as a team? They listen to a few examples from Paul Fleischman's book Joyful Noise: Poems for Two Voices, paying attention to how the how readers work together....
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ELA - Literacy.CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RH.9-10.1
Do your pupils know what a primary source is? How about a secondary source? Provide them with the information here about different types of documents and then test their knowledge with a brief quiz. The quiz is made up of two documents....
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A Letter Home
Students review the text of The Spirits of the Alamo part of the site, and each assume the identity of one person at the Alamo. They write a letter home describing his/her experience at the Alamo.
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Aloha From the King
Through this activity pupils learn about King Kamehameha I, and letter writing. It begins with an overview of Hawaiian history, with an emphasis on King Kamehameha I, and then goes on to a letter writing activity. Each person writes a...
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Prom king...or not?
Students conduct research on issues and interests by generating ideas and questions and by posing problems. They gather, evaluate and synthesize data from a variety of sources (e.g., print and non-print texts, artifacts, people) to...
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That Is Not My Opinion!
Being an informed citizen requires distinguishing fact from opinion and understanding persuasion methods. Secondary learners evaluate newspaper editorials. They read opinion pieces, identify the writer's purpose and position on an issue,...
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Email Buddies
Collaborate with another class (or school) and have your learners share ideas about their reading through the use of email. Perhaps you'll create a specific question or a few questions for writers to choose from. Not only will they...
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Who's Your Hero/Heroine?
Students use research skills on the Internet and write a biographical report and present it to the class. They utilize a worksheet that's imbedded in this plan to guide them in their research. students come to school dressed up as their...
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From Formal To Slang
Tenth graders define the term slang, explaining its various social, historical, and racial contexts, so as to articulate when it can be appropriately used as a means of effective communication. They use their own personal slang lexicon,...