The 25 mini-lessons provided in this book are designed to develop students' self-regulated writing behaviors and enhance their self-perceived writing abilities. These foundational writing strategies are applicable and adaptable to all primary students: emergent, advanced, English Language Learners, and struggling writers. Following the SCAMPER…

"Martin's Big Words: The Life of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr." tells of King's childhood determination to use "big words" through biographical information and quotations. In this lesson, students in grades 3 to 5 explore information on Dr. King to think about his "big" words, then they write about their own…

Involving students in drawing activities prior to writing helps them to visualize what they want to express in their writing. Drawing before writing makes writing an easier process. In this lesson, K-2 students learn story elements, use graphic organizers, and access the Internet to gather factual information about frogs and toads. During the two-…

Letter poems make poetry accessible, meaningful, and fun. Letter poems are also an apt medium for exploring a defining characteristic of poetry--line breaks. Students explore letter poems and experiment with writing letters as poems, using the placement of line breaks to enhance rhythm, sound, meaning, and appearance. During the two 40-minute…

In this lesson, grade 6-8 students analyze a variety of poets and their poetry by reading and listening to their work. Students then use information gathered from Internet resources to select a favorite poet and perform one of their poems for the class. During the four 30-minute and five 20-minute sessions, students will: analyze a variety of…

The writing program described in this lesson plan guides students in grades 3 through 8 in composing cinquain poems, a five-line form that uses the syllable count of two-four-six-eight-two. During the two 50-minute lessons, students will: describe the basic conventions of cinquain; interpret examples of cinquain; characterize the relationship…

The quick-writing activity described in this lesson plan guides grades K-2 students to write a simple cinquain as a follow-up to a subject they have been exploring in class. During the one 60-minute lesson, students will: write a poem about another topic, using the cinquain graphic organizer or outline; use words learned in the current thematic…

The writing program described in this lesson plan asks students to look closely at their writing, marking speaking parts, and then to return to the beginning to find any places where the "characters clash." During the one 50-minute lesson, students will: explore paragraphing conventions for dialogue; examine their own writing closely…

The creative writing program described in this lesson exposes middle school student to wordless picture books and helps them to develop story lines orally and in writing. During the four 45-minute lessons, students will: explore various wordless picture books; develop oral story lines for wordless picture books; develop written story lines for…

The lead of a story is the beginning, and yet it can be the end if the reader is not entranced immediately. This lesson examines types of leads in prominent children's literature and asks grade 3 to 5 students to try their own hand at writing leads. During the two 40-minute lessons, students will: discuss their reactions to the leads from the…

The persuasive writing program described in this lesson plan introduces grades 3 to 5 students to the basic concepts of lobbying for something that is important to them, making persuasive arguments, and applying the techniques of persuasive oral arguments to independent persuasive writing activities. During the four 40-minute lessons, students…

The writing program described in this lesson plan guides students to plan an adventure story, write different endings to the story, and create web sites with the parts of the story hyperlinked to each other. During six to eight 50-minute lessons, students will: understand the structure of Choose Your Own Adventure stories; become familiar with the…

This phonics lesson offers a clear instructional format for teaching onset and rime. The "ig" rime is demonstrated through the use of literature, independent and cooperative learning, critical thinking, and hands-on activities. Instruction is conducted in both an explicit and implicit manner. During two to three 40-minute sessions,…

Description can make a piece of writing come alive. This lesson plan combines art and word play, emphasizing writing for an audience while drawing on multiple intelligences. Peer review and feedback reinforces the revision process as students create trading cards by drawing pictures of monsters and describing and categorizing them in detail.…

Students will work in groups to read and analyze fairy tales, brainstorm for events in their lives that could be changed into fairy tales, develop setting, characters, and plot for their fairy tale, write, illustrate, and compile their fairy tales into group books. During ten 45-minute lessons, students will: choose three fairy tales and read them…