Browse lesson plans

The ABCs of the Three Little Pigs

This lesson uses a familiar fairy tale to teach writing. It is designed to emphasize using varied sentence patterns in writing.

Format: lesson plan (grade 6–7 English Language Arts)

By Penny Canipe.

Analyzing author style using sentence combining

This activity should be completed before reading the essay “Beach People, Mountain People” by Suzanne Britt. Students will combine three sets of kernel sentences based on the first paragraph of Britt's writing. They will then compare their sentences to Britt's. The class will discuss what sentence combining strategy or strategies they used and observe how Britt varies her sentences.

Format: lesson plan (grade 9–10 English Language Arts)

By Vickie Smith.

Highlighting revisions, glossing changes

By highlighting their revisions and explaining (i.e.,glossing) the changes they have made to a draft of their work, students will not only become more proficient writers but will also become more conscious of the process of revision and thus more reflective writers. Further, teachers will find it easier to monitor and evaluate student revisions.

Format: lesson plan (grade 9–10 English Language Arts)

By Peter Bobbe.

The life and works of Edgar Allan Poe

Students will evaluate a sampling of literary selections by Edgar Allan Poe and assess the influence of Poe's life on his works.

Format: lesson plan (grade 8 English Language Arts)

By Peggy Stanley.

Maya Angelou: Study and response to "Still I Rise"

Students read biographical information on Maya Angelou and her poem, "Still I Rise." Students identify support and elaboration in poem, then respond by either writing a letter to the author or his/her own poem in response.

Format: lesson plan (grade 7–8 English Language Arts)

By Barbara Groome and Jo Peterson Gibbs.

Sentence carousel

Adjectives, adverbs, and precise language help construct descriptive sentences. In this lesson, students will learn to construct more elaborate sentences that will enliven their writing

Format: lesson plan (grade 3–4 English Language Arts)

By DPI Writing Strategies.

Sentence combining

This lesson is designed for students who write short choppy sentences. Students will learn to combine short choppy sentences that develop their ideas and involve the reader in the action of the story.

Format: lesson plan (grade 3–4 English Language Arts)

By DPI Writing Strategies.

Sentence combining and decombining

Students will focus on stylistic choices and sentence fluency by combining, decombining, and recombining sentences in professional writing, peer writing, and their own writing.

Format: lesson plan (grade 9–12 English Language Arts)

By Peter Bobbe.

Slow motion replay

Students will learn to use slow motion replay of a moment in a narrative to make it easier for the reader to feel that he or she is actually experiencing the event.

Format: lesson plan (grade 3–4 English Language Arts)

By DPI Writing Strategies.

Stop that run-on!

Run-on sentences inhibit understanding and weaken someone's writing. In this lesson, students will learn to identify run-on sentences and how to fix them. They will then apply those skills to their own writing.

Format: lesson plan (grade 2–4 English Language Arts)

By DPI Writing Strategies.

Story surgery

As early as first grade, children can begin to revise their stories using "Story Surgery." In this lesson, students learn how to use scissors to perform "story surgery" by cutting their stories apart at the point where more information can be added.

Format: lesson plan (grade 2–4 English Language Arts)

By DPI Writing Strategies.

Teaching "style"

This exercise works best as a review at the mid-point or end of a literature course. Paired students describe the style of ten authors ranging from "ornate" to "plain," and then compare the authors' styles through a designated series of metaphors.

Format: lesson plan (grade 11–12 English Language Arts)

By Charlotte Osterman.

Understanding audience

This activity is designed to help students identify their audience and determine appropriate language use based on the audience.

Format: lesson plan (grade 9–10 English Language Arts)

By Bonnie Mcmurray and Julie Joslin.

Using extended similes to elaborate and add style

Students will analyze a series of extended similes, develop criteria for strong and weak extended similes, and begin using extended similes as a tool for elaboration in their own writing.

Format: lesson plan (grade 9–10 English Language Arts)

By Jennifer Smyth.

The very hungry teacher

After reading The Very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle students will use the writing process to write their own version of a Very Hungry story. They will use a flow map for pre-writing. Students will write a rough draft that will be revised and edited with a partner and a teacher.

Format: lesson plan (grade 1 English Language Arts)

By Kelly Zumwalt.

Resources on the web

Style: Defining and exploring an author's stylistic choices

This lesson, used in collaboration with Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston, explores how authors use specific stylistic devices in novels. In small groups, students look for examples of stylistic devices in... (Learn more)

Format: lesson plan (grade 9–10 English Language Arts)

Provided by: ReadWriteThink

Style: Translating stylistic choices from Hawthorne to Hemingway and back again

This lesson that focuses on stylistic devices can be taught in conjunction with the literature of Nathanial Hawthorne or Ernest Hemingway. After the teacher discusses how Hawthorne's and Hemingway's styles are distinctive, students are encouraged to find... (Learn more)

Format: lesson plan (grade 9–11 English Language Arts)

Provided by: ReadWriteThink