Types of Writing Teacher Resources

How can you help your class improve their writing? Start by showing a student example on the overhead. Read through the paragraph in a think-aloud format, commenting on areas that need improvement. Then, as a class, work together to make...

What's the best way to start a story? Learners write a memoir using effective openings. They research the process and work through a list of hooks to use in their writing. They use at least two hooks to begin their personal memoir. A...

Connect literature to narrative writing by researching descriptive writing techniques. Elementary and middle schoolers identify the importance of a narrator and voice in the storytelling process. They read writing samples and identify...

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 lesson, students review the parts of a composition and discuss was to elaborate. ...

Explore writing techniques by analyzing newspapers and magazines with middle schoolers. They will collaborate in small groups to read local news stories and identify the main ideas and author's intent. They also utilize an information...

Students discover effective writing techniques to create persuasive essays. In this writing lesson, students investigate ways to express facts and points of view through persuasive essays. Finally, the students write their own persuasive...

Sometimes it's hard to get your English language learners speaking in a natural manner. Print out this board game to provide learners with several opportunities to speak. Everyone gets a chance to participate in this game! 

Test your middle schoolers on their knowledge of common abbreviations. Abbreviations such as PS, RSVP, PM, and AM are discussed. I suppose you could use this as a bell-ringer or a time-filler. There are 12 questions listed. 

Students read African folk tales to learn about story elements and writing techniques. In this writing and reading skills lesson, students listen and retell African folk tales about Anansi the spider. Students complete four lessons to...

Sixth graders explore language arts by writing basic paragraphs. In this writing techniques lesson, 6th graders define an "example" paragraph and discuss techniques to prove a point in one paragraph. Students practice writing their own...

Sixth graders explore writing techniques by reviewing sample sentences. In this writing subject lesson, 6th graders examine a list of sentences in which they identify both the subject and predicate. Students complete a subject and...

Students explore writing techniques by reading a children's book with their classmates. In this topic selection lesson, students read the story Pancakes for Breakfast and identify the themes and topic by completing an anchor chart....

How do you write an interesting beginning, middle, and end of a story? With this lesson, young writers look to other stories as examples. Then, they use some of the attached graphic organizers to help them create their own story. Note:...

Pre-writing activities are covered to help your students examine topics and personal experiences. Your class will discover how to choose topics which create a strong piece of writing and incorporate personal knowledge.

Clichéd and repetitive introductions got you down? Try this activity on for size! Start off by instructing your class members on techniques for writing introductions and what types of introductions they should avoid. Several general...

Explore language arts by completing a worksheet with class. They read the story Owl Moon and discuss the rhythm of the writing and how action verbs are used appropriately. Then complete a writing worksheet which discusses writing...

Examine foreshadowing with your emerging writers. First, define the technique, and then search the first three chapters of Barbara Haworth-Attard's Home Child for examples. 

Determine the author's purpose in writing a memoir. Eighth graders work in groups  to elicit author's purpose in memoirs, taking care to note how subtle the message can be hidden throughout the work. This lesson is a good way to...

Discuss the life of Franklin D. Roosevelt. This story, called "Franklin D. Roosevelt" by Laura Hamilton Waxman, is used to explore comprehension skills. Some of these skills include identifying prefixes and suffixes, making comparisons,...

Encourage young learners to identify persuasive writing techniques in a text with this resource, which includes two multiple-choice worksheets with advertisements for students to analyze.

This lesson about writing can be taught in small groups or large group settings. They examine basic writing techniques and practice using them to improve their writing.

Explore how photographs can represent a whole story to a viewer. Middle schoolers work on narrative writing techniques in this lesson, focusing on photographs from the New York Times to write first-person descriptive narratives....

Katherine Paterson’s young adult novel Lyddie is the foundation of a differentiated instruction unit that not only explores the rise of industrialization and labor but women’s rights issues as well. After learners read the novel, they...