Writing Teaching Resources
Teaching writing strategies and the writing process this school year? Explore a comprehensive collection of teacher resources for elementary and middle school ELA teachers — all created by teachers!
Stocked with graphic organizers, writing prompts, templates, worksheets and so much more, this collection of printable and digital activities is designed to help you as you help your students become more effective communicators and unleash their creativity and imagination.
Save time on lesson planning with resources that have been through a careful review process by an expert member of our teacher team to ensure they're ready for your classroom and your students!
Are you looking for tips and tricks to add to your teacher toolkit this school year? Read on for a primer from our teacher team, including engaging activities for teaching writing in elementary and middle school and a look at some of the different writing strategies your students will need to learn.
11 Writing Strategies Kids Should Know by the End of Middle School
We can't talk about teaching kids to write without talking about the different writing strategies that can help them do just that!
When it comes to teaching our students to become confident writers who articulate their ideas effectively, here are some of the strategies our teacher team prioritizes:
1. Brainstorming
Brainstorming is something we often do in the classroom, and it's a crucial part of learning to generate the ideas that will drive students' writing as they progress through their educational journey. Kids should know how to create a list of potential topics or points related to a particular writing assignment.
With younger students, this is often done as a whole group by writing ideas and points on chart paper. In upper grades, students transition over to using text-based materials to generate ideas and talking points.
2. Outlining
Before diving directly into any assignment, our students should be able to create a structured framework or outline. Teaching students how to create this outline will help them organize their thoughts and arguments for penning their essays, reports and research papers.
3. Using Graphic Organizers
Technically graphic organizers are classroom tools, so you may not think of their use as a writing strategy per se. However, learning to use these tools is another means of providing kids with the tools they need to organize their ideas and information before they sit down to write.
These organizers are particularly useful for expository writing — students can use them to outline main ideas, supporting details, and transitions.
Students can also take advantage of story maps when they are working on narrative writing to plot the key elements of a story, such as characters, setting, conflict, rising action, climax and resolution.
Graphic organizers such as the OREO strategy and hamburger paragraph are also great tools for students to use when working with opinion and persuasive texts.
4. Freewriting
Writer's block is the enemy of creativity, and it can easily frustrate young students who don't know where to begin.
When students freewrite, they write continuously without worrying about grammar or punctuation. This writing strategy can be extremely freeing — hence the name! — and helps frustrated writers move past that writer's block, generating fresh ideas.
5. Peer Editing
Learning to review and provide constructive feedback on each other's work is a great writing strategy to employ in your classroom to help students improve their writing quality and enhance their editing skills.
The strategy allows your students to learn from one another, and it arms them with an important tool they can use well into the future — calling on peers to provide a critical eye to a piece of writing.
6. Using Sensory Language
Working on descriptive writing? With this writing strategy, students engage the reader's senses through vivid and sensory language to create a more immersive experience.
7. Including Transitions and Connectives
As students become more proficient in the writing process, learning to use transitional words and phrases allows them to create smooth transitions between sentences and paragraphs. This strategy makes their writing more coherent and polished.
8. Incorporating Evidence
In persuasive, opinion, and expository writing, students are taught to support their claims with evidence and examples to strengthen their arguments.
It takes some practice to train your students to use evidence in their writing, so it's often a good idea to start with something simple, like the R.A.C.E.S. strategy.
9. Crafting a Thesis Statement
In expository, opinion, and persuasive writing, crafting clear and concise thesis statements that summarize the main point or argument of their essay helps students be more focused and organized in their writing. This strategy can also have the effect of empowering students to express their ideas confidently and persuasively.
10. Incorporating Introductions and Conclusions
With this strategy, students practice crafting effective introductions and conclusions that grab the reader's attention and leave a lasting impression.
11. Following a Revision Checklist
Teaching your students to use a revision checklist is a strategy that will help them be more self-reflective, evaluating their own writing against the checklist criteria and becoming more aware of their strengths and weaknesses.
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Paired Passage Worksheets-Mammals vs. Reptiles
Compare mammals vs. reptiles and add to your reading instruction with leveled nonfiction, compare and contrast passages, and worksheets.
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Reading and Writing Nonfiction Text: Earth Day Close Read Worksheets
Enhance your students' comprehension, vocabulary, and writing skills with this nonfiction Earth Day passage and accompanying activities.
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Lewis and Clark Expedition - RACES Writing Strategy Worksheets
Practice using the RACES writing strategy for text evidence with a Lewis and Clark Passage, graphic organizer, and worksheet.
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Roll to Create a Creature - Drawing Game
Use a die and a chart to create a creature to include in a narrative text or a comic strip.
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Noun, Verb, and Adjective Sort - Worksheet
Help students learn the difference between nouns, verbs, and adjectives with this cut-and-paste sorting worksheet.
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How to Brush Your Teeth Flipbook
Use this “How to Brush Your Teeth” procedural writing activity to help familiarize your students with the structural elements of procedure texts.
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Procedural Writing Flipbook
Get your students to write a procedure text using this easy-to-compile flipbook scaffold.
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Procedural Writing Templates – "How to" Prompts
Get your students to write procedural texts with this set of differentiated procedure writing prompt templates.
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Procedural Writing Graphic Organizers
Get your students to write procedural texts with this set of 10 differentiated graphic organizers.
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Build a Procedure Text – Cut and Paste Worksheets
Use these different examples of procedure writing to teach your students about the structural features of procedure texts.
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Sequence a Procedural Text – Cut and Paste Worksheets
Use these procedural writing examples to teach your students about sequencing instructions in a logical order.
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Nouns, Proper Nouns, Verbs, Adjectives, Adverbs and Conjunctions Posters
Enhance student understanding of the 8 parts of speech with these colorful, informative, and easily-referenced grammar wall posters for the classroom covering nouns, verbs and more!
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Describing Animal Adaptations - Informative Writing Prompt Worksheets
Write to describe animals and their adaptations with a printable pack of informative writing worksheets.
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Developing Narrative Writing Skills - Grade 3 and Grade 4
An 18-slide editable PowerPoint template to use when teaching your students about the structure and language features of narrative texts.
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Busy Binder - Kindergarten Morning Work Activity Book
Review daily calendar, math, literacy, and fine motor skills with a printable kindergarten Busy Binder workbook!
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Packing in Meaning with Noun Groups Worksheet
Explore the concept of noun groups with this 2-page worksheet.
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Animal Characteristics - Write the Room Activity
Help your young students read and write about features of animals with a printable Animal Characteristics Write the Room activity.
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Polar Bear Craft Template
Pair a polar bear craft and informational writing to create a fun winter animals bulletin board.
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Dogs Make The Best Pets - Reading Comprehension PDF
Assess 3rd grade reading comprehension skills with a printable Reading Comprehension Test using an opinion text.
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'If I Were a Bowerbird...' Writing Stimulus
Get students thinking and writing about what they would collect, or what they would do if they were a bowerbird.
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Penguin Craft & Writing Template
Research and write about penguins and their adaptations, then create a fun penguin craft to display student work.
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Emotive Language Task Cards
Get students exploring emotive language examples with this set of task cards perfect for your persuasive writing unit.
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Rainforest Bird Craft & Writing Template
Pair a fun bird craft and informational writing to create a fun jungle-themed bulletin board.
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Rhetorical Devices Crossword
Familiarize your students with the most common rhetorical devices with an engaging crossword puzzle.
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Rhetorical Devices Word Search
Familiarize your students with the most common rhetorical devices with a fun word search.
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Days of the Week - Months of the Year Word Search
Practice spelling the days of the week and months of the year with printable Day and Month Word Search worksheets.
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Free ABC Tracing Sheet Bundle Pack
Use ABC Tracing Worksheets to help your students develop their handwriting and fine motor skills.
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Cursive Writing Worksheets PDF - Alphabet
Practice writing the alphabet in cursive with a pack of printable cursive alphabet worksheets.
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Analyzing Persuasive Techniques Worksheets
Get students analyzing persuasive techniques and their effects on audiences with this set of three texts with accompanying questions.
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Exaggeration and Hyperbole Sorting Activity
Explore examples of hyperbole with your students using this set of 24 sorting cards perfect for your reading centers.
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Exaggeration and Hyperbole Interactive Activity
Explore hyperbole examples with your students using this digital game perfect for lesson warm-ups or lesson wrap-ups.
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Modal Language Sorting Activity
Explore examples of modal language with your students using this set of 24 sorting cards perfect for your persuasive writing unit.