Writing-Essays Resources (by date, oldest first)

Looking to help your students master the passive voice for standardized tests like the STAAR? This 16-page resource is your go-to guide for teaching passive voice with a gradual increase in complexity.

Start with the basics of identifying subjects and verbs in sentences, then progress to understanding direct objects and other key components essential for a full grasp of passive voice. This packet is designed to make learning passive voice engaging and effective.

Included are:

• 5 Pages of handouts to make sure to make sure students understand each part of passive voice.
• Practice pages that progressively challenge students, ensuring they can identify and use passive voice with confidence.
• Exercises in evaluating and revising sentences, crucial for mastering the revising sections of tests.
• 2 editing passages for applied practice, perfect for honing skills in a test-like environment.

Ideal for both classroom use and independent practice, this resource is an excellent tool for students in middle and high school.

The ultimate STAAR test writing prep for high school, designed to supercharge your writing skills and propel you towards success!

This file includes everything you need to excel in your STAAR test, from fiction passages to non-fiction passages, paired passages, and multiple writing prompts.

This exercise will enhance your student's ability to synthesize information and develop well-rounded arguments. To help you tackle the writing prompts with confidence, differentiated student rubrics are included that outline clear expectations and criteria for success. These rubrics will guide your students in crafting well-structured, coherent, and persuasive essays.

What's Included:

• Fiction Passages
• Non-fiction passages
• Paired passage
• Multiple writing prompts
• Differentiated Student Rubrics
• Writing Checklist
• Student Resources
• PDF & Word Files

A guide for writing in the classroom, this is a comprehensive booklet designed specifically for teachers who aspire to enhance their students' writing skills and foster a love for language.

Key Features:

1. Research-Backed Strategies
2. Practical Implementation Tips
3. Student-Centered Approaches
4. Assessing Writing Progress
5. Engaging Supplementary Resources

This is for educators seeking to elevate their teaching practice and transform their students' writing abilities.

Check out these other resources!

• ELA Test Prep, Study Guide & Activities Bundle (new)
• All Things English For Middle & High School Students (best seller)
• Once Upon A Crime
• Revising & Editing Workbook
• Revising & Editing for Group Lessons
• Bell Ringers for the Semester

Elevate your students' short response writing skills and prepare them for success on the STAAR test with this comprehensive Extended Constructed Response (ECR) lesson designed for middle and high school classrooms. This engaging PowerPoint lesson offers educators a valuable tool to assess and guide student learning effectively.

Key Features:

1. Sample Response Evaluation: Dive into three sample extended constructed responses and guide your students through the process of critically analyzing and scoring each one. This lesson provides detailed criteria and rubrics to help teachers accurately assess student work.
2. STAAR Test Practice: Prepare your students for the rigor of the STAAR test with targeted practice exercises. This lesson includes a variety of short stories and prompts that mirror the format and style of STAAR test questions, allowing students to familiarize themselves with the expectations and requirements of the exam.
3. Interactive Learning: Engage your students with interactive activities and discussions that encourage active participation and deeper understanding.
4. Teacher Resources: Empower educators with comprehensive teacher guides, answer keys, and additional resources to support lesson implementation and facilitate classroom instruction. These lesson materials are user-friendly and adaptable, making it easy for teachers to integrate them into their existing curriculum.
5. Skill Development: Foster critical thinking, analytical reasoning, and writing proficiency in your students as they practice crafting concise and well-supported extended constructed responses. This lesson emphasizes essential skills such as citing evidence, structuring responses, and addressing prompt requirements effectively.

Why Choose This Lesson:

• Rigorous and standards-aligned content designed to meet the needs of middle and high school students.

• Engaging and interactive activities that promote student engagement and academic growth.

• Easy-to-use resources and materials for seamless lesson implementation and classroom management.

• Comprehensive preparation for the STAAR test, ensuring that students feel confident and capable on exam day.

Empower your students to excel in short response writing and conquer the challenges of the STAAR test with this dynamic and comprehensive lesson. Elevate your teaching and ignite a passion for learning with these innovative instructional materials. Download this lesson today and watch your students thrive!

What's Included:

• Student lesson with 42 PowerPoint slides
• Checklists for 3 sample ECRs
• Scaffolded response template
• Templates for in-class scoring (stars)
• 2 Texts to read & write about
• Multiple opportunities for students to speaking, listening, thinking, creating, and evaluating
• Included in Word and PDF

An easy to read format to get your students writing!

And check out these other resources!

• All Things English For Middle & High School Students
• Defending Disney Villains
• Revising & Editing Workbook
• Revising & Editing for Group Lessons
• Bell Ringers for the Semester
• Everything Writing

• Do you need help getting your students to understand how text is structured and how authors craft their writing?
• Do you want them to practice aligning ideas and writing their own?

Help your students master paragraph structure with this comprehensive resource designed for middle and high school learners. "Building Strong Paragraphs" focuses on key writing skills such as identifying topic sentences, supporting details, and crafting thesis statements. This ready-to-use packet includes practice worksheets, engaging exercises, and thesis sentence-building activities that will enhance your students' writing abilities.

Ideal for both informational and argumentative writing, this resource walks students through the entire process of constructing well-organized, coherent paragraphs. Whether you're teaching how to develop supporting sentences, transition between ideas, or conclude effectively, this resource covers it all!

What's Included:

• Graphic Organizer for understanding structure
• Identification exercise
• Two Unique Passages per skill: topic sentences, thesis statements, supporting sentences & concluding sentences
• 9 Passages
• 20 Pages
• Available as a PDF and a Word Document

Perfect for:

• Grades 6-10
• English Language Arts (ELA) Teachers
• Writing Workshops
• STAAR Writing Prep
• Argumentative and Informational Essay Practice

Benefits of this Resource:

• Aligned with Common Core Standards and TEKS for writing.
• Great for differentiated learning in classrooms with ELLs and students needing extra practice.
• Supports critical thinking and writing clarity.

Who is this for?

• Middle and High School Teachers: Perfect for educators looking to strengthen their students’ paragraph-writing skills with structured, step-by-step activities.
• ELA Teachers: Aligned with TEKS and Common Core standards, this resource is ideal for anyone teaching informational and argumentative writing.
• Students Preparing for Standardized Tests: Great for test prep, including STAAR writing, helping students improve clarity, coherence, and overall writing structure.
• Special Education & ELL Support: Easily adaptable for differentiated instruction, making it an excellent tool for classrooms with diverse learners, including English Language Learners and students with varying writing levels.
• Homeschool Educators: A valuable resource for guiding students through the fundamentals of paragraph writing at home.

Get ready for argumentative units with this engaging activity centered around persuasive techniques in rhetorical devices, and logical fallacies.

Teacher students what makes a good and bad argument with a short lesson and 5 practice paragraphs to evaluate for effectiveness. Afterwards, students can practice rhetorical devices in advertisements and analyze why the device was chosen (author's purpose).

ALSO INCLUDED IS AN EXTENSION ACTIVITY where students can get creative and make their own ads.

- Teacher directions

- Grading Rubric

- Student instructions

- Research and Brainstorm document

(no templates for creation are included)

PROVIDED IN WORD/POWERPOINT & PDF

Elevate your students' short response writing skills and prepare them for success on the STAAR test with this comprehensive Short Constructed Response (SCR) lesson designed for middle and high school classrooms. This engaging PowerPoint lesson offers educators a valuable tool to assess and guide student learning effectively.

Key Features:

1. Sample Response Evaluation: Dive into three sample short constructed responses and guide your students through the process of critically analyzing and scoring each one. This lesson provides detailed criteria and rubrics to help teachers accurately assess student work.
2. STAAR Test Practice: Prepare your students for the rigor of the STAAR test with targeted practice exercises. This lesson includes a variety of short stories and prompts that mirror the format and style of STAAR test questions, allowing students to familiarize themselves with the expectations and requirements of the exam.
3. Interactive Learning: Engage your students with interactive activities and discussions that encourage active participation and deeper understanding.
4. Teacher Resources: Empower educators with comprehensive teacher guides, answer keys, and additional resources to support lesson implementation and facilitate classroom instruction. These lesson materials are user-friendly and adaptable, making it easy for teachers to integrate them into their existing curriculum.
5. Skill Development: Foster critical thinking, analytical reasoning, and writing proficiency in your students as they practice crafting concise and well-supported short constructed responses. This lesson emphasizes essential skills such as citing evidence, structuring responses, and addressing prompt requirements effectively.

Why Choose This Lesson:

• Rigorous and standards-aligned content designed to meet the needs of middle and high school students.

• Engaging and interactive activities that promote student engagement and academic growth.

• Easy-to-use resources and materials for seamless lesson implementation and classroom management.

• Comprehensive preparation for the STAAR test, ensuring that students feel confident and capable on exam day.

Empower your students to excel in short response writing and conquer the challenges of the STAAR test with this dynamic and comprehensive lesson. Elevate your teaching and ignite a passion for learning with these innovative instructional materials. Download this lesson today and watch your students thrive!

• Student lesson with 41 PowerPoint slides
• Checklists for 3 sample SCRs
• Scaffolded response template
• Templates for in-class scoring (stars)
• 2 Texts to read & write about
• Multiple opportunities for students to speaking, listening, thinking, creating, and evaluating
• Included in Word and PDF

DEEP DIVE into literature with Edgar Allan Poe's "The Tell Tale Heart"

Perfect for Horror/Gothic Literature units in English

8 activities focusing on skills for fiction with this masterful text. Students will have the opportunity to practice comprehension, questioning the text, engage in class discussions, and respond.

What's Included:

1. Powerpoint Guide for each activity
2. Pre-reading activity to activate prior knowledge
3. Two Word Documents that allow students to form questions while reading, or make their own annotations (with the abridged text)
4. A guide to facilitate class discussions after reading
5. Summarizing activity and questions
6. Examining Story Elements page with plot diagram
7. Analyzing Characters practice
8. Inferencing
9. Constructed Responses

**All documents are in Word with a PDF - Also translated for Spanish speaking students - Answer Keys included (including sample responses for the constructed response)**

Depth not Breadth

The benefits of 'depth not breadth' are seen in many scholarly journals. When teachers & students spend more time with a text, they have more opportunities to interact and respond to literature.

• Deep Understanding: When students delve deeply into a text, they gain a thorough understanding of its themes, characters, and nuances. This deep engagement allows them to appreciate the complexities of literature, fostering a richer and more meaningful reading experience.
• Critical Thinking: Depth encourages critical thinking. Students learn to analyze, interpret, and evaluate texts, which enhances their ability to think critically about what they read. This skill is crucial not only for academic success but also for making informed decisions in everyday life.
• Skill Development: Engaging deeply with a few texts helps students develop essential literacy skills, such as close reading, analytical writing, and evidence-based argumentation. These skills are foundational for success in higher education and beyond.
• Connection and Retention: Students are more likely to form connections with the material and retain information when they study it in depth. This approach allows them to see the interconnectedness of themes and ideas, making the learning experience more cohesive and memorable.
• Personal Engagement: When students spend more time on a text, they have the opportunity to relate personally to the material, fostering a greater sense of engagement and motivation. Personal connections to literature can inspire a lifelong love of reading.
• Addressing Complexity: Many literary works are complex and require time to unpack fully. By focusing on depth, students can explore these complexities, enhancing their understanding and appreciation of literature's multifaceted nature.
• Application of Concepts: A deep dive into a text allows students to apply literary concepts and theories in a meaningful way. They can practice applying various analytical lenses, which deepens their understanding and prepares them for more advanced literary study.
• Quality Over Quantity: The quality of learning is often more important than the quantity. By focusing on a few key texts, teachers can ensure that students are engaging with high-quality literature and getting the most out of their reading experience.

Elevate your students' short response writing skills and prepare them for success on the STAAR test with these comprehensive Extended Constructed Response (ECR) and Short Constructed Response (SCR) lessons designed for middle and high school classrooms. The engaging PowerPoint lessons offer educators a valuable tool to assess and guide student learning effectively.

Key Features:

1. Sample Response Evaluation: Dive into three samples per constructed responses (6 total) and guide your students through the process of critically analyzing and scoring each one. This lesson provides detailed criteria and rubrics to help teachers accurately assess student work.
2. STAAR Test Practice: Prepare your students for the rigor of the STAAR test with targeted practice exercises. This lesson includes a variety of short stories and prompts that mirror the format and style of STAAR test questions, allowing students to familiarize themselves with the expectations and requirements of the exam.
3. Interactive Learning: Engage your students with interactive activities and discussions that encourage active participation and deeper understanding.
4. Teacher Resources: Empower educators with comprehensive teacher guides, answer keys, and additional resources to support lesson implementation and facilitate classroom instruction. These lesson materials are user-friendly and adaptable, making it easy for teachers to integrate them into their existing curriculum.
5. Skill Development: Foster critical thinking, analytical reasoning, and writing proficiency in your students as they practice crafting concise and well-supported extended constructed responses. This lesson emphasizes essential skills such as citing evidence, structuring responses, and addressing prompt requirements effectively.

Why Choose This Lesson:

• Rigorous and standards-aligned content designed to meet the needs of middle and high school students.

• Engaging and interactive activities that promote student engagement and academic growth.

• Easy-to-use resources and materials for seamless lesson implementation and classroom management.

• Comprehensive preparation for the STAAR test, ensuring that students feel confident and capable on exam day.

Empower your students to excel in short response writing and conquer the challenges of the STAAR test with this dynamic and comprehensive lesson. Elevate your teaching and ignite a passion for learning with these innovative instructional materials. Download this lesson today and watch your students thrive!

What's Included:

• Student lesson with 83 PowerPoint slides
• Checklists for 6 sample ECRs
• Scaffolded response templates
• Templates for in-class scoring (stars)
• 4 Texts to read & write about
• Multiple opportunities for students to speaking, listening, thinking, creating, and evaluating
• Included in Word and PDF

Graphic organizers can be helpful in being visual aids when students are writing.

• Helps students focus on their thoughts for planning, decision-making, and writing an essay

• Helps students see the connections, patterns, and relationships between facts, concepts, and ideas 

• Organizers provide a visual depiction for writers by showing them where each piece of the essay is placed within an essay

Bubble maps are used to display two different main ideas, their similarities, and their differences.

I hope your students/children enjoy this bubble map by understanding the importance of why a graphic organizer is needed, as well as understanding the variables of a bubble map.

Bubble map is in Google Slides, Powerpoint, and PDF formats.

Happy Writing!

Tina Arozena

Big Easy Homeschooling Mom

Follow me on social media:

Social Media Links

Graphic organizers can be helpful as a visual aid when students are writing.

• Helps students focus on their thoughts for planning, decision-making, and writing an essay

• Helps students see the connections, patterns, and relationships between facts, concepts, and ideas 

• Organizers provide a visual depiction for writers by showing them where each piece of the essay is placed within an essay

Narrative plot graphic organizer:

• Starts with the introduction or exposition
• Followed by the rising action of the story
• Rising action hits a climax
• After the climax is the falling action
• From the falling action, we come to the conclusion

I hope your students/children enjoy this concept map by understanding the importance of why a graphic organizer is needed, as well as understanding the variables of a concept map.

The Narrative Plot Graphic Organizer is in Google Slides, Powerpoint, and PDF formats.

Happy Writing!

Tina Arozena

Big Easy Homeschooling Mom

Graphic organizers can be helpful in being visual aids when students are writing.

• Helps students focus on their thoughts for planning, decision-making, and writing an essay

• Helps students see the connections, patterns, and relationships between facts, concepts, and ideas 

• Organizers provide a visual depiction for writers by showing them where each piece of the essay is placed within an essay

Venn Diagrams show the relationship between two ideas. A venn diagram can have two or more circles. When the circles overlap, the venn diagram shows the similarities between the two or more ideas. In the spaces where the circles do not overlap, it shows the differences between the two or more ideas.

I hope your students/children enjoy this compare & contrast by understanding the importance of why a graphic organizer is needed, as well as understanding the variables of a Venn Diagram.

Venn Diagram Graphic Organizer is in Google Slides, Powerpoint, and PDF formats.

Happy Writing!

Tina Arozena

Big Easy Homeschooling Mom

Follow me on social media:

Social Media Links

This word sleuth will provide your students/children with a fun journey in writing ELA Essays with key vocabulary words. It can be done in class, centers, or as a fun homework assignment.

Word sleuth is in PPTX format along with the answer key.

If you and your students/children, enjoy this activity, please go to your purchases and let me a review.

Please follow me on social media: linktr.ee/tidewindacademy

Tina

Big Easy Homeschooling Mom

Graphic organizers are helpful as a visual aid when students are writing.

-Helps students focus on their thoughts for planning, decision-making, and writing an essay

-Helps students see the connections, patterns, and relationships between facts, concepts, and ideas

-Organizers provide a visual depiction for writers by showing them where each piece of the essay is placed within an essay

Opinion Writing Graphic Organizer:

-Introduction

-1st, 2nd & 3rd reason you disagree

-Counterargument with 3 opposing views

-Rebuttal to opposing views

-Conclusion

I hope your students/children enjoy this concept map by understanding the importance of why a graphic organizer is needed, as well as understanding the variables of a concept map.

The Opinion Writing Graphic Organizer is in Google Slides, PowerPoint, and PDF formats.

Happy Writing!

Tina Arozena

Big Easy Homeschooling Mom

Graphic organizers can be helpful as a visual aid when students are writing.

• Helps students focus on their thoughts for planning, decision-making, and writing an essay

• Helps students see the connections, patterns, and relationships between facts, concepts, and ideas 

• Organizers provide a visual depiction for writers by showing them where each piece of the essay is placed within an essay

Spider maps are used to display the main concept or idea in a circle in the middle of the map and supporting ideas branch off from the main concept circle.

I hope your students/children enjoy this concept map by understanding the importance of why a graphic organizer is needed, as well as understanding the variables of a concept map.

The Spider Map is in Google Slides, Powerpoint, and PDF formats.

Happy Writing!

Tina Arozena

Big Easy Homeschooling Mom

Graphic organizers can be helpful as a visual aid when students are writing.

• Helps students focus on their thoughts for planning, decision-making, and writing an essay

• Helps students see the connections, patterns, and relationships between facts, concepts, and ideas 

• Organizers provide a visual depiction for writers by showing them where each piece of the essay is placed within an essay

Persuasive essay maps are used as a visual aid to map out points and arguments for a persuasive essay or debate.

• 1st - determine your claim or thesis
• 2nd - identify three (3) reasons to support the claim or thesis
• 3rd - identify three (3) facts or examples to validate each reason

I hope your students/children enjoy this concept map by understanding the importance of why a graphic organizer is needed, as well as understanding the variables of a concept map.

The Persuasive Essay Map is in Google Slides, Powerpoint, and PDF formats.

Happy Writing!

Tina Arozena

Big Easy Homeschooling Mom

Graphic organizers can be helpful in being visual aids when students are writing.

• Helps students focus on their thoughts for planning, decision-making, and writing an essay

• Helps students see the connections, patterns, and relationships between facts, concepts, and ideas 

• Organizers provide a visual depiction for writers by showing them where each piece of the essay is placed within an essay

Concept maps are used to display a main idea within the concept and the different ideas that branch out from the main idea.

I hope your students/children enjoy this concept map by understanding the importance of why a graphic organizer is needed, as well as understanding the variables of a concept map.

Concept map is in Google Slides, Powerpoint, and PDF formats.

Happy Writing!

Tina Arozena

Big Easy Homeschooling Mom

Graphic organizers are a powerful, visual tool that helps students to brainstorm, map and organize their ideas.

The Writing Graphic Organizer Bundle includes:

-Bubble Map

-Compare & Contrast Venn Diagram

-Concept Map

-Narrative Plot Diagram

-Opinion Writing

-Persuasive Essay Writing

-Spider Writing Map

You are getting 7 graphic organizers for the price of 5 - this is a $4.00 savings!!!!

If your children/students enjoy these graphic organizers for their writing projects, please feel free to leave me a review so other buyers can your opinion of this bundle.

I appreciate your support!!!!

Tina - Big Easy Homeschooling Mom

This engaging Adopt a Pal trendy activity designed specifically for upper elementary students grades 3-5. This captivating end-of-year adventure will have your students immersed in a world of storytelling and imagination using narrative writing. It's the perfect way to get your students excited about writing again. You can scaffold for your students by providing them writing prompt starters or choose the Create Your Own path and let them write a story from scratch. Everything you need is included and ready to use, just add a little but of student imagination. Beat the end of the year slump with a fun activity!

What's Included:

☑ Pal Booklet: A comprehensive guide for students to chronicle their Peep's unique journey.

☑ Black and White & Color Versions: Choose between black and white or vibrant color options.

☑ Narrative Prompts: Inspiring story starters to ignite creativity and enhance narrative skills.

☑ Narrative Planning Sheets: Differentiated Structured worksheets to aid students in organizing their Peep's story.

☑ Babysitting Ad Template: Craft a convincing ad to seek the ideal babysitter for their Peep.

☑ Birth Certificate: Personalize a birth certificate for their newly adopted Peep.

☑ "Coming Soon" Poster: Generate anticipation with a teaser poster for the Peep adoption event.

☑ Teacher Tips: Clear, concise guidance for teachers

This delightful activity was a resounding success in my own fourth-grade classroom, providing a fun and meaningful way to conclude the school year. Students will relish the opportunity to adopt and nurture their very own Pal character while refining vital writing and planning abilities.

Whether you seek an end-of-year project, a creative writing exercise, or a distinct classroom activity, "Adopt a Pal" is the ideal addition to your curriculum.

Need Help or Have Questions?
If you have any questions or need assistance with this product, feel free to reach out to me at ashlee@msgamification.com. I'm here to help!

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