College Board
Evaluating Sources: How Credible Are They?
How can learners evaluate research sources for authority, accuracy, and credibility? By completing readings, discussions, and graphic organizers, scholars learn how to properly evaluate sources to find credible information. Additionally,...
Better Lesson
Better Lesson: W.3.2: Write Informative/explanatory Texts to Examine a Topic
Links to 56 lessons and activities that build student skills in standard W.3.2: Write informative/explanatory texts to examine a topic and convey ideas and information clearly.
Better Lesson
Better Lesson: Writing a Topic & Concluding Paragraph for the Essay
This lesson is a final step towards supporting young scholars to practice writing an informative/explanatory paragraph conveying complex ideas and presenting information clearly and accurately. Second-grade students can usually write a...
Other
Grade 1 Informative Writing Lessons
Authored by the Tsehai Russell and Della Wright, CLR fellows, this resource provides a 5-day unit of informative writing lessons. Focus lessons related to facts and opinions and paragraph writing. This series is supported by the Academic...
CPALMS
Cpalms: Structures and Skeletons
In this interactive learning module, students read informational text about dinosaurs and examine paragraph structure. They will learn about different types of text structure for informational paragraphs, identify the most effective...
ReadWriteThink
Read Write Think: Text Features: Non Fiction [Pdf]
Compare the printed page to an electronic web page and use this activity to discuss the similarities and differences. A cross-curricular tie-in with ecosystems. Could easily be adapted to another subject area.
Lumen Learning
Lumen: Writing Process: Organizing
This lesson focuses on the organization of your paper including how to write a thesis statement, the elements of an effective paragraph, patterns of organization, transitions, and conclusions. It also provides a video of the Toulmin...
ReadWriteThink
Read Write Think: Creative Writing Through Wordless Picture Books
Need help planning ways to creatively teach your students chronological order? Here's a great place to start. While the site is specifically geared toward the middle school student, it is a teaching idea which could easily be adapted for...
ReadWriteThink
Read Write Think: Draw a Story: Stepping From Pictures to Writing
Help young young scholars move from drawing pictures into writing simple stories. Good plan for having students put pictures in sequential order and teaching them about sequential order.
Capital Community College Foundation
Guide to Grammar and Writing: Principles of Organization
In writing and reading organization is the key to a reader's understanding. A great site for those of you who are looking for some further explanation of organization in writing. There is instruction, an example text, and specific...
ReadWriteThink
Read Write Think: Animal Study From Fiction to Facts
Contains plans for five 50-minute lessons that ask students to compare and research information about animals from fiction and nonfiction texts. In addition to student objectives and standards, these instructional plans contains links to...
ReadWriteThink
Read Write Think: Playing With Genre Through Newspapers and Short Stories
Contains plans for three lessons that ask students to compare narrative writing (short stories) to expository writing (news articles) in order to understand what makes each genre unique. In addition to objectives and standards, this...
University of Sydney (Australia)
The Write Site: Constructing a Working Thesis
Students will find a thorough definition of a thesis. Non-examples of thesis statements are also provided.
Texas Education Agency
Texas Gateway: Synthesize Ideas in Informational/expository Text
[Accessible by TX Educators. Free Registration/Login Required] In this lesson, you will expand on your ability to read texts, synthesize them, and make choices based on the information you read. Finally, you will learn how to use textual...
CPALMS
Cpalms: Graphic Organizers for Science Reading/writing
This resource provides multiple graphic organizers for reading and writing in the science content area. [Registration is required.]
Other
Grays Harbor College: Writing Essays: Four Tips
This resource explores four tips for writers: "Center Your Thinking," "Organize Your Thinking," "Specify Your Thoughts," and "Present Your Thoughts Clearly." The information is presented in an easy-to-follow outline with examples given...
ReadWriteThink
Read Write Think: Background for the Graphic Novel Persepolis: A Web Quest on Iran
This lesson focuses on students researching and learning about Iran's culture, society, and leadership before and after the 1979 Revolution in preparation for reading the graphic novel Persepolis. Students work in small groups to...
ReadWriteThink
Read Write Think: Oral Storytelling and Dramatization
Students begin this lesson by discussing what makes a good, vivid story and creating a working checklist of the criteria for a good story. They explore background information about the Mercury Theatre production of the "War of the...
ReadWriteThink
Read Write Think: A Picture's Worth a Thousand Words: Image to Narrative
This lesson, which can be adapted to fit with any picture you choose, works for students of all levels.
University of Wisconsin
University of Wisconsin: Writing Center: Mla Documentation
This site outlines the basics of the MLA (Modern Language Association) style of documentation and includes links to handouts about in-text citations, the works cited page, and how to cite electronic sources. Several sample citations and...
EL Education
El Education: Meet Local Scientists
Students learn about local scientists through research, interviews, and brief internships. Then students create pages for a class book containing digital photographs and information about the scientist and his/her field of study.
ReadWriteThink
Read Write Think: Guided Comprehension: Summarizing
Lesson that introduces young scholars to the comprehension technique of summarizing. Students learn using the QuIP (questions into paragraphs) method which involves organizing information and putting it in writing.
ReadWriteThink
Read Write Think: m.l. King, Jr.: Identifying With a Hero
Lesson that attempts to help younger learners understand and identify with Martin Luther King, Jr. through reading, writing, listening, and speaking activities. Encourages students to attempt to live out King's "Dream," in their own lives.
Better Lesson
Better Lesson: A "How To" Lesson for the Gingerbread Loose in the School
Learning to follow directions is an essential skill needed for success in school as well as in life. Through participation in this lesson, kindergartners will learn the importance of following directions in a specified sequence. Included...