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Teach your students to write powerful paragraphs with this resource. We are excited to introduce the SEE approach to organizing body paragraphs as we believe it holds the key to writing paragraphs that are both organized and detailed. Our goal is for the SEE Method to make as much difference in your students’ writing as we have seen in our classrooms over the past few years! In this package, we have tried to anticipate and include everything you need to learn the SEE Method and to start using

Help students create an ever-expanding, individualized reference tool for writing skills. This interactive notebook resource combines foldables, mini anchor charts, and printables to reinforce the 6 + 1 Writing Traits. Just one of a customizable, interactive writing notebook series, this product gives teachers the flexibility to design writing notebooks that fit the distinct skills/needs of each class. It can be a stand-alone resource or paired with our Year-Long Interactive Writing Notebooks fo

So you want to be an astronaut? This activity is a motivating way to encourage students to write an opinion piece. They read articles about astronaut selection and training and then apply to NASA to become one of the newest astronaut candidates.This project incorporates paragraph structure practice, opinion writing techniques, practice with business letter format, and imagination. At the end of the project, students receive a simulated letter from NASA accepting them into the astronaut training

This middle school resource illuminates the behind-the-scenes story of the presidential inauguration. Full of interesting facts and differentiated articles, this will captivate your students. How many people come to view the inauguration? How does the president get moved into the White House? Why are the five flags on the inaugural platform different? This resource contains: Differentiated articles on presidential moving day at three levels Differentiated articles on Inauguration Day at three

In this lesson, students make an interactive lapbook or an interactive notebook page about characterization techniques. They will use this lapbook to record important moments of characterization from two storybooks, Dex: The Heart of a Hero and Chrysanthemum. Students will also be guided through the structure of an analytical paragraph, and a section of the lapbook will be devoted to this information. As such, this lapbook can be used throughout the year as students attempt various character a

Looking for a way to introduce or reinforce the 6 + 1 Writing Traits in your upper elementary classroom? This package contains: 8 mini posters of the writing traits PowerPoint presentation of each of the writing traits Smart Notebook presentation of each of the writing traits A page of links to other 6 + 1 Writing Traits online free resources The mini posters can also be used as cover sheets for each section of a student's writer's notebook.

Increase students' awareness of a great African-American and improve analytical writing skills simultaneously with this resource. This analytical writing lesson uses an excerpt from The Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass to develop students' understanding of literary analysis. Guiding questions train students to break the evidence down into parts, which helps promote detailed analysis. The corresponding paragraph outline not only explains the structure of a literary analysis, but it als

Have your students ever wondered what happens the morning a newly-elected president wakes up in his bed in the White House on his very first day in office? How does the president order breakfast? How does he find out what is going on around the world? What happens if he needs to leave the White House? Who protects him? Students will follow the president through his first full day in office and learn what a typical day for a newly-elected president is like. Topics include: ordering breakfast, th

Get your students excited about Valentine's Day and writing with our thematic writing pack! This product includes a craftivity and three classroom tested writing lessons that focus on a different genre of writing: narrative, informational, and opinion. These high interest lessons not only reinforce important writing concepts but also generate impressive finished pieces. We feel certain your students will "fall in love" with these Valentine's Day writing assignments! This resource includes: Conn

Are you looking for fun and creative ways to teach your students to identify sensory detail and point of view? This resource does both, and also includes a writing assignment to allow students to demonstrate their understanding of sensory detail and point of view. The foldable pieces included are pre-printed with terms and definitions, making the foldables appropriate for a differentiated classroom. The pieces may be used in either an interactive notebook or a lapbook. Materials for both are inc

In this lesson students will develop both their descriptive writing and critical reading skills. Students will also deepen their understanding of descriptive writing techniques by creating an interactive lapbook or interactive notebook page. This lapbook will also serve as the final presentation tool for the writing assignment. The original monster and descriptive paragraph are surrounded by classmates’ drawings of the originals. We have found that this assignment is especially impressive to par

Using the book "I Love You as Big as the World," students create a lapbook of interactive foldables to not only become familiar with similes, but also to practice creating their own. The lesson concludes with each student writing a poem comprised entirely of their original similes. This lesson is part of a series that creates a writing toolbox for students. Each lesson serves as an interactive tool in the form of a lap book and is perfect for test prep review and for parent conferences. Each

This analytical writing lesson uses Langston Hughes's short poem "Dreams" to develop students' understanding of literary analysis in a short period of time. As the language of poetry is filled with figurative language, one poem can provide multiple opportunities for students to practice important skills. As this two-stanza poem centers around a pair of metaphors, it does not take long to read and discuss. Therefore, the entire lesson can be completed in 1-2 class periods. To facilitate discuss

In this lesson, students make an interactive notebook page or a lapbook about characterization techniques that they will use to record important moments of characterization from different stories they read. The lesson culminates with students using various characterization techniques to write the autobiography of a well-known villain. While there are many children’s books that do a masterful job of bringing a character to life, we have frequently used Dex: The Heart of a Hero By Carolyn Buehner

Increase students' awareness of a great African-American and improve analytical writing skills simultaneously with this resource. This analytical writing lesson uses short quotations from Dr. Martin Luther King’s “I Have a Dream” speech to develop students' understanding of literary analysis. Guiding questions train students to break the evidence down into parts, which helps promote detailed analysis. The corresponding paragraph outline not only explains the structure of a literary analysis, but

Provide your students with a quick reference guide to Close Reading Strategies. Students will assemble a tabbed book which includes strategies for each of the three reads, plus a page of symbols used for annotating any article. Its compact size will fit in interactive composition notebooks as well. Included in this product: Tabbed Book Title page (color and black and white) Page outlining strategies for the first read of any piece Page outlining strategies for the second read of any piece Page

This PowerPoint lesson sends children home with something to tell their parents about what they learned on the very first day of school. The lesson includes 6 unique vocabulary words students can use to impress and amaze their family and friends.