LitDocs

This handout is ready to print or display for student to use while writing constructed responses. Organized by text type (non-fiction, fiction, and poetry) it provides a list of sentence starters to support students in introducing and explaining evidence in their responses. This is best fit for middle and high school students as they begin to move away from the cookie-cutter sentence frames learned in earlier grades and begin to use a more sophisticate style in their written responses.

This bundle includes a slide deck and paired student handout/worksheet which help teach students the key skills of writing in a formal style. The activity is inquiry-based: students first brainstorm, individually or in groups, what formal writing does and does not look like. Next, they review sample sentences from a student essay comparing two familiar texts ( The Boy Who Cried Wolf and The Tortoise and the Hare). The sentences feature common style errors such as vague wording, informal languag

This printable can be used as students read a new poem for the first time. Answering the basic questions of Who, What, Where, When, Why, and How, the worksheet guides students through a basic analysis of any poem.

This goal tracker allows students to track their writing goals throughout the school year, categorized into the three types of writing in the CCSS (Narrative, Argumentative, Informative/Explanatory). Each time students write, they will look at their previous writing task and document glows and grows in their writing. Based on those glows and grows, students will write a specific, achievable writing goal for their next writing task.

This Slide Deck is designed to complement a student facing worksheet (included in the bundle) and helps teach students the key skills of writing in a formal style. The activity is inquiry-based: students first brainstorm, individually or in groups, what formal writing does and does not look like. Next, they review sample sentences from a student essay comparing two familiar texts ( The Boy Who Cried Wolf and The Tortoise and the Hare). The sentences feature common style errors such as vague wor

The first sentence of a narrative is key to hooking the reader and to helping a writer gain momentum in the drafting process. This worksheet is designed for middle and high school students to use before beginning a first draft. I’ve found that when students complete this organizer first, they face less writer’s block, and I rarely hear the dreaded, “I don’t know where to start.”

Use this checklist as students decode the NJSLA released rubrics and sample prompts for all three writing tasks: Informative/Explanatory, Narrative, and Argumentative. This can be used throughout the year, or as a review of key terms and elements used in each type of writing.