Assess your new learners' writing abilities and knowledge of literary terms with these diagnostic activities. Part of a back-to-school unit, this is meant to provide the teacher with information about the ability levels of their class....

Imagine using narrative essays to encourage change. This multi-week unit plan does just that. After reading a series of articles from Tyson Miller's Dream of a Nation: Inspiring Ideas for a Better America, class members examine the...

A powerful introduction and conclusion can really pack a punch. Using the resource, scholars first read and discuss a model essay. Then, as part of the end of unit assessment, they draft the introductory and concluding paragraphs of...

Review many different types of essays with this presentation. Each slide gives a short description of an essay such as narrative or persuasive. Makes for a good overview of various formats.

Use this presentation to introduce a class or lecture about writing organization. The slide show is the first part in a five-part series, titled "What is an Essay?" The slideshow is short and could use more detail, but functions as a...

Are you teaching a high school language arts class and stumped for writing topics? Five pages of writing prompts for all kinds of writing should help you out. Many of these prompts refer to texts that are not included in this resource,...

Help your young writers use logic in their persuasive writing. Discuss the characteristics of a persuasive paper, and have pupils work together to explore and solve a syllogism. They will write a short persuasive paper which includes a...

Sixth graders experience the stages of process writing, work cooperatively, to critique and to incorporate software tools to enhance writing and problem solving skills.

Narrative essay writing is the focus of a series of exercises that model for learners how to not only read a narrative, but how to also examine the techniques fiction writers use to create a setting, develop their characters, represent...

Sometimes, it's fun to follow the rules. Using their drafts of an evidence-based essay from previous lessons, scholars write their final informative essays about rules to live by. Next, they choose and share quotes from their essays that...

Anybody can write a body paragraph! Pupils analyze the development of ideas in a body paragraph from a model essay. Next, using what they've learned, they draft the body paragraphs of their My Rule to Live By informative essay. 

Scratching your head when it comes to engaging writing prompts? Check out a list of prompts designed for middle school classes, which includes topics for persuasive writing, expository writing, how-to essays, personal narratives, and...

Whether you are teaching mainstream, advanced, or intervention language arts classes, you will find something helpful in a thorough writing packet. It includes prompts, rubrics, responses, helpful hints, graphic organizers, and many...

Does pride really goeth before the fall, or can it be essential to one's development? Second graders read two of Aesop's fables that refer to pride in their morals, and write a short essay about whether pride is good or bad, based on...

After researching an issue introduced in Tyson Miller's Dream of a Nation: Inspiring Ideas for a Better America, writers develop an original thesis statement and craft an analytic essay using evidence collected in their research.

The Grapes of Wrath. The Jungle. Native Son. The Things They Carried. The Absolutely True Diary of a Part Time Indian. To address a current social, political, economic, or environmental issue, class groups pair the reading of a...

Is your essay coherent? Does it make sense? Is it formatted correctly? Does it adhere to standard English conventions? This helpful and informative slide-show walks learners step by step through the editing and proofreading process. Each...

An excellent, in-depth resource would be an asset to your unit on writing an argument essay. It provides an explanation to each part of the essay as well as examples of transition words to strengthen your kids' writing. Additionally, the...

Of these five slides, two consist of the title and directions; the other three list the parts of an essay and their purpose, as well as how to best begin an essay. In essence, this is a very brief PowerPoint that can be used as a...

Using the analogy of the human body, writing an essay is described in these slides. An overall look at writing, the analogy is meant to have writers consider how their paper functions as a whole. Details and instructions for writing are...

Focusing on writing an introduction, this presentation provides a variety of techniques for how to begin. Although the question marks on slide six obscure the writing, the other slides are clear and legible and display good examples for...

Introduce your class to various forms of writing. As the title states, this is a short PowerPoint, giving brief, but accurate descriptions of what each type of writing is used for. Pictorial representations are also helpful.

Though this presentation is designed for the Texas Academic Skills Program's (TASP) writing assessment, it could work for any class that is preparing to write a five-paragraph persuasive essay. Slides take intermediate writers through...

Reinforce persuasive and argumentative writing skills with this lesson, which utilizes SchoolNet News Network's website/SNN Monthly magazine. Young writers review journalism writing styles that help them explain that writing a persuasive...