1 Writing Alternative Plots for Robert C. O'Brien's Z for Zachariah Resource Type: Lessons Discipline: Reading Grades: Grade 7 Professional Commentary: After reading and discussing Z for Zachariah, students apply their knowledge of cause and effect to create alternative plots for the story. First, students select a part of the story where the main character makes a critical decision and then rewrite the remaining portion of the plot based on the predicted effect of different choice.... 2 Journal Writing with Virginia Hamilton Resource Type: Lessons Discipline: Reading Grades: Grades 3–5 Professional Commentary: This resource, part of Scholastic's Writing With Writers series, provides strategies to teach descriptive journal writing. Designed for implementation within a writing workshop format, this resource includes a sample journal entry, writing tips, strategies, and challenges to help students develop their own journal writing.... Resource Type: Lessons Discipline: Reading Grades: Grades 6–10 Professional Commentary: This lesson prompts students to consider the appropriateness of different writing styles based on purpose and audience. Students begin by discussing the influence text messaging has had on academic writing.... 4 Imagine That! Playing with Genre through Newspapers and Short Stories Resource Type: Lessons Discipline: Reading Grades: Grades 6–8 Professional Commentary: While middle school students typically understand narrative structure, they are not as familiar with expository text structures. In this introductory lesson, students compare and contrast narrative and expository structures.... 5 Persuasive Essay: Environmental Issues Resource Type: Lessons Discipline: Reading Grades: Grades 6–10 Professional Commentary: Critical stance and development of a strong argument are key strategies when writing to convince someone to agree with your position. In this lesson, students explore environmental issues that are relevant to their own lives, select topics, and gather information to write persuasive essays.... 6 Writing with Writers: Biography Resource Type: Lessons Discipline: Reading Grades: Grades 3–5 Professional Commentary: This promising practice, part of a Scholastic's Writing with Writers series, provides strategies for teaching students to write biographies. Designed for implementation within writing workshop, this resource includes a warm-up exercise, genre-specific tips for biography writing, and an example of a biographical sketch.... |