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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Mother's Day Acrostic Poem
Create a special keepsake for mom, grandma, aunt, or another special lady with a Mother’s Day acrostic poem template.
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Simple Sentence Dominoes Printable
Use this set of 30 dominoes to assist your younger students with building and understanding simple sentences.
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Past, Present and Future Tense Escape Room Game
Engage students with this past, present and future game that turns verb tense practice into an exciting escape room challenge where they apply skills to crack a secret code.
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Mother's Day Writing - Letter Template
Write letters to the special women in your students' lives with a printable Mother's Day letter template.
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Simple Sentence Building Activity - Caterpillar
Use this simple sentence building activity in the form of a caterpillar to have students identify the parts of a simple sentence.
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Printable Wanted Poster Template Pack
Use a 'Wanted' poster template to encourage your students to research and write about historical figures and more!
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When I Grow Up - Kindergarten Graduation Writing and Craft Activity
Encourage your kindergarten graduates to write about their dreams while creating a “When I Grow Up” classroom display.
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Narrative Plot Structure - Story Mountain Template
Use a story mountain template to help your students write narrative stories.
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Boston Tea Party - RACES Writing Strategy Worksheet
Integrate reading, writing, and American history with a worksheet about the Boston Tea Party using the RACES writing strategy for text evidence.
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Color by Parts of Speech Worksheet – Chameleon
Practice identifying different parts of speech with this fun color-by-code worksheet.
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Lewis and Clark Worksheet - RACES Writing Strategy
Practice using the RACES writing strategy for text evidence with a Lewis and Clark Passage, graphic organizer, and worksheet.
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Narrative Writing Lesson: Story Leads to Hook Readers
Hook readers with this narrative writing lesson that introduces your students to eleven story starting strategies.
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Narrative Story Starter Worksheets - Writing Prompts
Use our printable narrative writing prompt worksheets to boost your students' imaginative writing skills.
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Opinion Topic Prompt Cards
A set of opinion topic cards designed specifically for lower‑grades.
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Opinion Essay Structure Escape Room – Mission Persuasion!
Teach opinion essay structure with this engaging escape-room game that helps students build a series of strong, convincing arguments.
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Fall Color By Part of Speech Worksheet - Nouns, Verbs, Adjectives, Adverbs
Use this color by part of speech worksheet as a fun fall activity with your students.
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Biography Cube
Research and create an interactive biography for a historical figure.
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4th Grade Writing Worksheets: Tornado Text-Based Writing
Enhance your students' comprehension, vocabulary, and writing skills using 4th Grade writing worksheets and a high-interest reading passage about Tornadoes.
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Plan Your Dream Vacation PDF / Slides Project
Prepare for a summer vacation with an end-of-the-year STEM activity.
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Digraph Handwriting - Worksheets
24 digraph worksheets that focus on handwriting and vocabulary activities.
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List of Adjectives - Words to Describe Mom
Describe the amazing moms in your students' lives with the help of a printable list of motherly adjectives.
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Westward Expansion Reading Comprehension Worksheet Pack
Enhance your students' close reading strategies, vocabulary, and writing skills with a Westward Expansion reading comprehension worksheet pack.
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Stretchy Sentences Worksheets and Poster Pack
Help your students write detailed and descriptive sentences with these Stretchy Sentences Worksheets and Poster Pack.
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Compare and Contrast - Tornadoes and Hurricanes Worksheet Pack
Compare and contrast tornadoes and hurricanes with a set of printable paired passage reading worksheets.
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Letter Formation Worksheets - Uppercase, Lowercase, and Sentence Writing
A set of 26 letter formation worksheets that include uppercase and lowercase letters as well as sentence writing.
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Sequence an Information Text – Cut and Paste Worksheets
Use these informational text examples to teach your students about sequencing facts in a logical order.
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Dotted-Lined Handwriting Paper - Portrait
Use these printable dotted-lined handwriting paper templates to develop your students' letter formation skills in the kindergarten classroom.
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Contraction Worksheets
Help students learn more about contractions with this contraction worksheet pack.
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Information Text Graphic Organizers
Get your students to plan and write informational texts with this set of 6 differentiated graphic organizers.
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Mother's Day Worksheets
Complete these Mother’s Day related worksheets to pop in a Mother’s Day card.
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Verb Tenses Worksheet Pack
Use these verb tenses worksheet pack to help your students identify past, present and future verb forms in a variety of contexts.
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Readers Theater – Play Writing Template
A template for students to use when writing their own Readers Theater script.