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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End of Year Memory Book
Reflect on the past year by responding to end-of-the-year writing prompts.
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End of Year Scavenger Hunt
Use your investigation skills to complete this end-of-the-year scavenger hunt.
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First Grade Informational Writing – How To Prompt Worksheets
Help your first graders learn how to write an informational piece using these handy writing prompt worksheets
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Opinion Writing for 1st Graders - Worksheet Bundle
Help your first graders learn how to write an opinion piece using these handy writing prompt worksheets.
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Where is the Dinosaur? - Positional Words - Differentiated Worksheets
Use this set of differentiated worksheets to practice positional words (prepositions).
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Where is the Dinosaur? - Positional Words Velcro Book and Interactive Activity
Practice using position words (prepositions) with this combination match-up activity and differentiated worksheets.
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100 Day Mini Book
Create a mini-book by completing the 100-item writing prompts and illustrating each page.
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Search and Find – Family Outing
A fun, search and find activity with a family outing scene.
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My Nobel Peace Prize – Lower Grades
Encourage students to think about how they could make the world a better place with our Nobel Peace Prize drawing template.
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Ending Punctuation - Cut and Paste Worksheet
A cut and paste worksheet to practice adding the correct punctuation marks.
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Building Sundaes - Noun Categories
Read and sort nouns while crafting deliciously decodable sundaes.
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Alphabet Posters - Letter Formation with Instructions
A set of letter formation alphabet posters with simple instructions to display in the classroom.
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Capitalization for Beginners - Worksheet
Practice capitalizing the first letter of sentences and proper nouns with this 1-page worksheet.
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Punctuation Parking Lot Game
Practice recognizing and using end punctuation with our set of punctuation cards and matching game board.
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Search and Find – At the Beach
A beautifully illustrated beach scene containing everyday items that need to be found.
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Fixing Capitalization Worksheet
Reinforce capitalization rules with this capital letters worksheet that features 10 sentences with missing capitalization.
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Types of Sentences Scoot Activity
Reinforce understanding of the 4 types of sentences with this set of 20 task cards.
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Primary Weekly Poetry Guide - Weeks 4 and 5
Use this weekly poetry guide to celebrate National Poetry Month in your primary classroom.
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Punctuation BINGO
A set of 20 BINGO game boards and cards to practice recognizing and naming end punctuation.
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Supplemental Aids - Learning From Home Pack
A collection of supplemental aids for parents to use with their children or teachers to send home with students during school closures.
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Lowercase Letter Formation Task Cards
A set of task cards for younger students to learn how to accurately form all lowercase letters.
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Uppercase Letter Formation Task Cards
A set of task cards for younger students to learn how to accurately form all uppercase letters.
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Ladybug Beats Poem - Simple Rhyming Poetry Poster
A simple rhyming poem to develop vocabulary, reading, speaking, and listening in the early years.
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Preposition Practice
Practice prepositions with our 2-page worksheet that prompts students to identify and use prepositions in sentences.
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Primary Weekly Poetry Guide - Week 3
Use this weekly poetry guide to celebrate National Poetry Month in your primary classroom.
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Positional Language Activity – The Campground
An activity to use when teaching younger students about positional language.
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Primary Weekly Poetry Guide - Week 2
Use this weekly poetry guide to celebrate National Poetry Month in your primary classroom.
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Color Rhyming and Poetry Worksheet
A worksheet to help students form rhyming words and create a rhyming poem.
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Primary Weekly Poetry Guide - Week 1
Use this weekly poetry guide to celebrate National Poetry Month in your primary classroom.
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Concrete Poem Poster
A poster providing a definition and example of a concrete poem (or shape poem).
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Punctuation in a Pouch - End Punctuation Sorting Center
A fun, marsupial-themed activity to help your students with editing and punctuation.
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Back to School Tracing Skills
Practice tracing and fine motor skills with this set of 8 back-to-school tracing worksheets.