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STAAR ECR Mastery Resource Informational Essay Test Prep Grades 6-8 Thesis Claim
By TooBookedUp
Transform your students’ writing skills with this STAAR ECR Mastery Resource, designed to make essay writing both engaging and effective for grades 6-8. This product breaks down the often overwhelming task of essay writing into clear, manageable steps, ensuring that your students feel confident and prepared for the Extended Constructed Response (ECR) section of the STAAR exam. Whether for classroom instruction, intervention, or test prep, this resource delivers everything you need to support your students in writing strong, structured essays.
✅ Thorough Skill Development Across 3 Days
This 3-day lesson plan guides students through each critical step of informational essay writing. Starting with a solid foundation in developing a thesis, students will then practice writing claims, supporting them with evidence, and providing sound reasoning. By the end of the unit, students will have completed a full-length informational essay on a highly engaging topic—Fortnite—a subject that captures their attention while reinforcing essential writing skills.
✅ Engaging and Interactive Resources
To maintain student engagement, this resource includes interactive slides that break down each element of essay writing. These slides are designed to support all learners by making the concepts of thesis development, claims, evidence, and reasoning more accessible and relatable. The step-by-step instructions and accompanying answer keys ensure that students receive clear feedback and can refine their skills with guided practice.
✅ Real-World Topic for Practice
Students will have the opportunity to write a complete essay on Fortnite, a popular video game that they are likely familiar with and excited to discuss. This essay topic makes practicing the skills they need for STAAR ECR a fun, relevant experience, allowing them to see the real-world application of writing techniques.
✅ Key Features of the Resource:
✅ Perfect for Test Prep and Classroom Instruction
This resource is perfect for helping students master the skills needed to succeed on the STAAR Extended Constructed Response. Whether used for whole-class instruction or focused intervention, the STAAR ECR Mastery Resource delivers everything you need to elevate your students' essay writing abilities.
Prepare your students for STAAR writing success with a resource that not only builds essential writing skills but also keeps them engaged and excited to learn. Perfect for middle school teachers looking for practical, engaging ways to improve writing outcomes.
Additional STAAR resources:
ECR Relay Race: Engaging STAAR Writing Prep Grades 5-8 Comprehension 12 Prompts!
Thanksgiving Argument Writing Unit Debate Topics & Lesson Plans 4 STAAR ECRs
By Educate and Create
Shakespeare Ultimate Bundle. Includes resources for the following plays: Hamlet, As You Like It, Julius Caesar, King Lear, Macbeth, A Midsummer's Night Dream, Much Ado About Nothing, Othello, Romeo and Juliet, Taming of the Shrew, The Tempest, and The Twelfth Night. Great for covering Shakespeare at multiple grade levels or multiple plays. Includes different activities, study guides, games, and more. Works great as a school resource.
Synonym Game - Super Star Synonyms
By Clodagh
Introducing Super Star Synonyms – the ultimate Synonym and Antonym game that brings fun to literacy centres! Perfect for Years 3-6, this exciting game transports students onto the red carpet as they learn synonyms and antonyms in an engaging and interactive way. Up level those literacy centres!
As students move along the game board, they’ll land on Hollywood stars, pick up star cards with words, and record their synonyms on the included recording sheet. For an added challenge, they can also write down antonyms to further expand their vocabulary skills. That's right, working in synonyms AND antonyms! The goal is to reach the end of the board while mastering key vocabulary concepts!
Whether you're using it in the classroom or for small group activities, Super Star Synonyms is a fantastic resource for reinforcing vocabulary in your literacy centres. This game not only builds synonym and antonym knowledge but also encourages collaborative learning in a fun, Hollywood-inspired setting.
Key Features:
Add some Hollywood glamour to your literacy centres with Super Star Synonyms and watch your students shine as vocabulary superstars!
Follow along on the blog Captivating Kids blog
Nonfiction Task Cards - Analyzing Author's Craft Using ANY Informational Text
By Sequoia Hill
Inspire your students to think critically about informational texts with this set of engaging, open-ended questions! Perfect for 4th-5th grade, these questions encourage students to explore main ideas, text features, structure, and author’s craft in any nonfiction text they read.
Ideal for:
Aligned with Common Core standards, this resource is a great way to help students build confidence in analyzing texts, connecting ideas, and uncovering the author’s purpose. Make each reading experience more meaningful and memorable!
The Vocab Bundle - Finding Meaning Of Unfamiliar Words Using Context Clues
By Blooming Through High School
Word Meaning with Nonsense Words
Why teach word meaning through nonsense words (context clues only)?
All of these are things we want every student to do! This is something that is already adapted for high and low learners.
Starting with three nonsense words gets students going so they can work in groups or independently to decode the meaning of 7 REAL words (selected from the SAT vocabulary list).
This is a perfect activity for group problem solving and critical thinking!
Finding the meaning of words: in context, with a definition and from the Latin or Greek base. Four teaching pages are included for self-guided learning along with 7 student pages for practice with various shortened reading passages.
INCLUDED:
BUNDLE & SAVE: ELA Test Prep, Study Guide & Activities Bundle
Word Meaning with Greek & Latin
✔️Need to teach Greek & Latin along with Context Clues?
✔️Looking for way to get your students thinking critically & making connections?
✔️Need to integrate vocabulary in a meaningful way?
This activity includes worksheets, task cards and Google Quizzes for vocab practice
Students will use key words from the definitions in the first activity to determine the meaning of the Greek or Latin prefix. By recognizing the prefixes in words they recognize (and some they won't) students will begin making connections to other words they hear and read. This is a natural way to build in vocabulary to daily instruction that includes context clues and the Greek and Latin.
Included:
Vocabulary Starter
NEED TO TEACH VOCABULARY IN YOUR MIDDLE OR HIGH SCHOOL CLASSROOM AND YOU'RE NOT SURE WHERE TO START?
You came to the right place! I have been teaching for 5+ years, I have my Master's in Education with a focus on Literacy and I didn't know where to start.
So, I went back to everything I learned in my graduate program and re-read everything I could find.
I wrote & designed a student-engaging template to help students in my classroom to deeply internalize a word. I gathered key word lists when I didn't have a word from our daily reading, and thought about how to teach vocabulary so my love of etymology and words could be shared with my 10th graders. I've included all that and a guide to help other teachers get started with implementing and teaching vocabulary in THEIR classrooms.
Is this book for me?
Then this book is for you!
Adaptable to every classroom in every situation, this is more than a fill-in-the-blank activity. Your students will have a guide to build a vocabulary for a lifetime of learning.
WHY TEACH VOCABULARY EXPLICITLY?
Generating curiosity and delight in playing with words supports long-term memory, enhances the connection between orthography and meaning, and develops a disposition which stimulates word consciousness. It also builds vocabulary! All of these are a part of a vocabulary rich classroom environment.
Writing Chain Stories Non-Fictional and Fictional Stories
By Beth Hammett
30 non-fictional and fictional story starters with black and white images for coloring and colored images for laminating and re-using. Each handout is lined for writing. Meets Common Core and State Standards. Objectives include: Factual versus Fictional characteristics Genre writing Writing Process Paragraphing skills Transition/relationship words Organization skills Time order Sentence Structures Punctuation Word Choices/Vocabulary Building Problem Solving Directions: Use with small/whole groups. Copy, laminate or place on company desktops or project from overhead projectors Students take turns and add one sentence at a time to build non-fictional and fictional stories. Variations: Set time limits to practice for standardized tests Use as individual writing prompts Use as storytelling prompts for pre-k/k/1/ESL Use with graphic organizers for pre-writing strategies Send home as family activities When finished with writings, do peer workshoppings/whole class edits Revise stories for read-around/publications Display by genre and share with whole school Educational, fun way to enhance students' writing skills
AVID Vocabulary Awareness Chart for Reading Comprehension in Google Sheets
By Teach Savvy Store
Enhance vocabulary in any class or content area with this AVID-inspired vocabulary awareness chart in Google Sheets. This vocabulary awareness chart allows students to check their awareness and knowledge of words found in the content they are learning about.
Directions
What's Included
- Name
- Date
- What the vocabulary is for
- Word
- Students will check a box for the following: know it well & can explain it, heard it or seen it before, no Clue
- Notes/Definitions
*This resource is available for Outschool teachers to purchase without the need for extra licenses.
Check out other AVID resources HERE!
Check out other Reading resources HERE!
Check out Writing Resources HERE!
Check out Collaboration resources HERE!
Check out Public Speaking resources HERE!
Best Interactive ELA Who Wants to Be A Millionaire Greek & Latin Root Affix Game
By zaney laney learning
Who Wants to Be an Millionaire: Prefixes, Suffixes, and Roots (Oh my!) Digital makes it easy! Differentiated learning makes reviewing affixes fun! Animated, automated, with video/audio engagement, this is the best ELA-related Who Wants to Be a Millionaire game experience on this marketplace! Elevate your English Language Arts (ELA) classroom review sessions with this digital, dynamic, and interactive Millionaire game that offers unlimited replay and is designed to make learning about affixes (prefixes and suffixes), base words, and roots (Greek, Latin, etc.) fun and engaging for students of all ages.
This digital Millionaire-inspired game focuses on English Language Arts (ELA), with a particular emphasis on identifying, decoding, and comprehending prefixes, suffixes, base words, and Greek, Latin, and other roots. This differentiated Who Wants to Be a Millionaire game is perfect for test prep, topic review, early finishers, end-of-year review, or just a lively classroom activity.
My Who Wants to be a Millionaire-style game mimics the excitement of the popular TV show while reinforcing what you’ve taught about prefixes, suffixes, base words, and roots, but with animation, automation, and a few fun and engaging twists. If you are ready to take your class through a next-level Who Wants to Be a Millionaire experience, this is the game for you! So let me ask, "who wants to score a million points?"
Suggested Price: $8.99 - $11.99 (AI generated)
Key Features:
Interactive Gameplay: Students advance through one round of 12 increasingly challenging topics. The game includes three boosters — Go Halfsies, Text a Buddy, and Poll the Audience — to help students when they’re stumped.
Differentiated: Learners choose their review:
Engaging: You’ll find learners amazed and sometimes even laughing out loud when they discover that some of the Text a Buddy boosters include school-approved texting lingo, emojis, dad jokes, a working “x” key, diverse buddies, and even occasional reminders from their “teacher”. Also, learners will appreciate the additional opportunity to continue earning points even after they’ve answered a question incorrectly.
No Prep Whatsoever: This game is ready to use right out of the box —simply save the link as a Favorite and share with learners accordingly.
Comprehensive: Check out these categories!
Play the preview version to see this in action.
Benefits:
Perfect For:
Basic Features:
Why Students Love It:
Why Teachers Love It:
Teachers love how this game turns review sessions into a high-energy, student-centered activity. It’s a fantastic way to motivate students and help them retain important information. Plus, with the easy-to-use format, there’s no need to spend hours prepping!
What to Expect:
Please play the preview version before purchasing. This is the best way to understand how the game works and is also the best way to avoid surprises after purchase.
This fully automated game is packed with engaging audio, video, and animations for an immersive experience! To ensure everything runs smoothly, it may take a moment to load depending on your Internet speed—but trust us, it’s worth the wait!
You'll receive a PDF file that includes a link to the online game. This content is not editable. If there is something you would like added, please let me know.
While I'll update the game periodically, I will do my best to retain the same link. After purchasing, you'll be notified about any updates to this product.
Want more? Here's a preview of other learning games.
This product is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or associated with any television game show or any other intellectual property owned by their respective trademark holders. All content has been independently created for educational purposes to provide an engaging and interactive learning experience.
Help Me Get Better:
If you encounter any issues, please email me at zaneylaneylearning@gmail.com before posting a negative review. I have a lot of ideas, and I'm trying my best to present an error-free, high-quality product. Again, please play the preview version before purchasing. This is the best way to understand how the game works and is also the best way to avoid surprises after purchase.
5th Grade Character, Problem, Solution Stories with Questions and Note Catcher
By Ann Stewart
Help your 5th-grade students master the essential reading skills of identifying character, problem, and solution with this thoughtfully crafted resource! This set includes three engaging fiction passages at a Level T reading level, each designed to strengthen students' ability to track character development, analyze the main problem, and understand the solution.
Each passage is accompanied by:
Also included in this set is our popular "Story Detective" Anchor Chart—a visual tool that guides students through the key questions to ask themselves when reading any fiction story. This anchor chart breaks down the process of understanding the character, identifying the problem, and following the solution.
As a bonus, we've included a student note catcher, perfect for independent practice, where students can jot down their observations on the character, problem, and solution of any story they read.
What’s Inside:
3 Level T Fiction Passages with:
Story Detective Anchor Chart: A helpful visual reference for understanding any fiction story.
Student Note Catcher: A worksheet to help students independently track character, problem, and solution in their reading.
Why You'll Love This Resource:
Perfect For:
12 Valentine's Day & Black History Month Resources ELA Bundle Grades 5-8
By TooBookedUp
This bundle includes a great range of activities perfect for grades 5-8 for all of February!
Seven Ages of Man- Monologue Analysis
By Educate and Create
A worksheet with requires students to analyze the famous monologue in Shakespeare's play "As You Like It". Works well on it's own or with the play. Includes an answer key.
Context Clues Worksheets Determining Meaning of Unknown Words
By Blooming Through High School
THIS IS A PDF FILE
Why teach word meaning through nonsense words?
All of these are things we want every student to do! This is something that is already adapted for high and low learners.
Starting with three nonsense words gets students going so they can work in groups or independently to decode the meaning of 7 REAL words (selected from the SAT vocabulary list).
This is a perfect activity for group problem solving and critical thinking!
By Beth Hammett
Every April, students can celebrate Tell-a-Story Day, which occurs at the end of the month. This 16 page handout will help students with organizing and telling fact-based stories. Great for building oral communication, evidence/proof, and re-telling memories. Includes: Finding storytelling topics Graphic Organizers for planning stories in chronological order Setting up a storytelling event Designing advertisements/invitations Peer workshopping stories Links to multicultural, professional, international/national storytelling centers, storytelling videos and websites Can be used any time of the year! Students will enjoy sharing stories while learning how to use fact-based information. Fun and educational!
Ultimate Black History Month Bundle Project Based Learning Digital Resources 4-8
By TooBookedUp
Dive into the rich tapestry of Black history with our Ultimate Black History Month Educational Bundle, meticulously crafted for educators passionate about providing a comprehensive, interactive, and engaging learning experience. This bundle combines a variety of resources, ensuring a well-rounded approach to teaching pivotal moments and figures in Black history. Suitable for grades 4-8, these resources are perfect for integrating into ELA, Social Studies, Art, and more.
Each resource in this bundle is thoughtfully designed to cater to different learning styles and classroom needs, making it the perfect package to explore, celebrate, and honor Black History Month in your classroom. Equip your students with knowledge, critical thinking skills, and a deep appreciation for the contributions and stories of Black individuals with our Ultimate Black History Month Educational Bundle.
Should Schools Ban Soda? - Argumentative prompt, articles, and outline sheet
By Educate and Create
Should schools ban soda? This is an argumentative essay prompt, three articles, and outline sheet. Your kids will all have their own opinions about sugary drinks and whether or not schools should ban soda. This comes complete with rubric.
Google Drive Version can be found here
Looking for more argumentative prompts with articles?
Cell phones in School: Argumentative prompt, articles, and outline sheet
Facebook: Argumentative prompt, articles, and outline sheet
Did Shakespeare write his own stuff?:Argumentative prompt, articles, and rubric.
Minimum Wage: Argumentative Prompt, articles, and outline sheet
Writing Cause and Effect Essay Planning Charts
By Beth Hammett
Need help with organizing cause and effect essays? These 7 charts will guide students through planning and pre-writing cause and effect essays. Step-by-Step graphic organizers with note about cause and effect definitions, paragraph writing tip, and writing challenge to reorganize the essay on each handout.
Excellent for assessment practice, college test prep, standardized test prep, and expository writing. Helps build critical thinking skills. Meets state and federal ELA guidelines.
STAAR ECR Mastery Bundle: Engaging Essay Writing and Test Prep for Grades 6-8
By TooBookedUp
STAAR ECR Mastery Resource Informational Essay Test Prep Grades 6-8 Thesis Claim
This comprehensive resource breaks down the Extended Constructed Response (ECR) process for middle school students. It guides them through crafting a solid thesis, developing claims, and supporting their ideas with evidence and reasoning. The engaging, step-by-step format ensures students master the writing skills they need for STAAR success.
Thanksgiving Argument Writing Unit Debate Topics & Lesson Plans 4 STAAR ECRs
Make argumentative writing fun and seasonal with this resource. Students tackle Thanksgiving-themed debate topics while practicing essential STAAR ECR skills. The unit includes structured lessons, 4 debate topics, guided notes, and activities that focus on developing strong arguments with evidence and counterarguments.
ECR Relay Race: Engaging STAAR Writing Prep Grades 5-8 Comprehension 12 Prompts!
Turn essay writing into a collaborative, competitive game! This relay race-style resource includes 12 engaging prompts and helps students build comprehension and writing skills through interactive learning. Ideal for both individual and group work, this resource is perfect for STAAR test prep and building writing confidence.
Much Ado About Nothing Act 1 Quiz
By Educate and Create
A quiz for Act1 of Shakespeare's play Much Ado About Nothing. Includes 10 multiple choice questions, two short written answer questions, and an answer key. Perfect for checking students understanding after reading Act 1 of the play.
Spelling Confused Words J-W Game and Puzzles with Activities
By Beth Hammett
15 Commonly Confused Words J-W with engaging CCSS activities for students to learn. Includes: J-W game with fill-in-the-blank, definitions, make your own sentences/slides (individual/groups & competitive play) 2 Crossword puzzles with Commonly Confused Words 2 Word Searches with Commonly Confused Words All answer sheets included Directions and Suggestions with Extensions Words used are: 1. jewel joule 2. knew new 3. know no4. lay lie 5. loose lose6. moral morale 7. morning mourning 8. nose knows 9. none no one 10. passed past 11. pole poll 12. principal principle 13. rain reign 14. road rode15. sight site cite 16. stationary stationery 17. their there they’re 18. to too two 19. warn worn 20. weather whether Students will have fun learning these Commonly Confused Words.
STAAR ECR & ELA Test Prep Bundle for Grades 6-8: Reading Comprehension, Essays
By TooBookedUp
This bundle provides comprehensive practice in reading comprehension, essay structure, argumentation, and evidence-based responses, setting students up for success in standardized test preparation.