Middle School
Writing Traits
IDEAS AND DEVELOPMENT
Building the Basic Essay
Building the Essay: Blueprint to Housewarning - ppt.
How to Write the Multiparagraph Essay - ppt.
Modes of Writing
Modes of Writing - ppt.
Writing Prompts - Lots and lots of writing prompts for classroom practice
How to Avoid Plagiarism
Plagiarism Statement of Authenticity
Writing Fix and the 6 + 1 Traits - National Writing Project website provides students and teachers with writing ideas in all of the trait areas.
What is good writing? - From "Teaching That Makes Sense" www.ttms.org - Steve Peha's guide to writing is lively and exciting! The traits come alive with great ideas, meaningful examples, and clever illustrations.
Four Square - Four Square is a developmental tool to help writers organize information logically into paragraphs. Elementary and middle school students have used it successfully, and it may be an ideal organizational tool for many freshman students.
Four Square Introduction - ppt.
Four Square: Be There! - ppt.
4 Square: Writing Inside the Box - ppt.
4 Square x 6 Traits - ppt.
Blank Four Square
Four Square Grid
Four Square - How to Write Better Introductory Paragraphs
Four Square - How to Write Better Concluding Paragraphs
Four Square - Brainstorming the Topic Before You 4-Square It
Four Square - Brainstorming the Topic "How to Study and Learn"
Four Square - 4-Squaring the Topic "How to Study and Learn"
Four Square - 8th Grade Essay - "Learning to Learn"
Four Square Expository "How To" Organize
Four Square "Have a Healthy Life" Expository Essay
Chunky Writing - Chunky Writing is a developmental writing formula that helps writers organize information into concrete details (facts) and commentary (opinion). A fairly rigid writing formula, it works well for literature analysis.
Prewriting - Columns
Prewriting - Outline
Prewriting - Spider Diagram
Prewriting - Bubble Cluster
The Multiparagraph Essay - Terminology
Shaping the Essay
Thesis Sentences
Commentary and Concrete Detail
Writing Commentary
ORGANIZATION, UNITY, AND COHERENCE
National Writing Project (NWP) Resource Topics for Teaching Writing - This page features a long list of resources to help teachers examine different instructional methods for teaching writing.
Read Write Think - Choose the "Web Resources" tab to find a list of web sites dedicated to reading, writing, and/or the reading/writing connection; choose the "Lessons" tab to find a list of actual teacher-created lessons for reading/writing across the curriculum -- complete with directions, activities, links, etc.
Transitional Words
Cause/Effect OrganizerProblem/Solution Organizer
Words for Comparison and Contrast
Comparison/Contrast Chart
Comparison Table
Comparing and Contrasting
Research and Documentation
MLA Documentation Guides
A Guide for Writing Research Papers Based on Modern Language Association (MLA) (Recommended by College Board)- CCC Foundation's detailed research guide for MLA documentation
Using MLA Format - Purdue Online Writing Lab
MLA Citation Style Handbook (Recommended by College Board)- University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign Writer's Workshop
WORD CHOICE
Alternative Vocabulary Words
Vivid Verb List
Verb vs VIVIVERB
Roget’s International Thesaurus of English Words and Phrases - Word Choice is simple if you have some new words to choose!
SENTENCES AND PARAGRAPHS
Sentence Variety - Mix It Up - An easy-to-use list (including examples) of sentence patterns for writing
How to Use Sentence Variety to Strengthen Your Writing ppt.
Superb Sentences - How to write fabulous sentences
Sentence Patterns - Sentence types, explanations, and examples
Don and Jenny Killgallon's Sentence Composing Website - Learn about sentence composing and how it helps to integrate grammar and writing. Edmond teachers - To order Killgallon's Sentence Composing for Middle School or the new Grammar for Middle School: A Sentence Composing Approach, go to the Killgallons' website.
Manipulating Sentences - Watership Down
Imitating Sentence Variety in Literature - Learn to recognize sentences with appositives, participial phrases, adjectives out of order, etc. as you read; then, use these sentence patterns in your own writing.
Common Conjunctive Adverbs and Transitional Expressions: What Do They Mean? - A one-page at-a-glance chart matching the sometimes confusing conjunctive adverbs/transitional expressions with simple meanings such as and, but, or, and because
GRAMMAR, USAGE, AND MECHANICS
Edmond Grammar Guide
Gr. 6 Benchmark Grammar, Usage, Mechanics PowerPoints - B-mark 2, B-mark 3, B-mark 4
Gr. 7 Benchmark Grammar, Usage, Mechanics PowerPoints - B-mark 2, B-mark 3, B-mark 4
Gr. 8 Benchmark Grammar, Usage, Mechanics PowerPoints - B-mark 2, B-mark 3, B-mark 4
Commas w/Compound Sentences - Not Compound Verbs
Commas w/Compound Sentences - Not Compound Verbs (Answers and Explanations)
Misplaced and Dangling Modifiers
Misplaced and Dangling Modifiers (Answers and Explanations)
Participial Phrases - Introductory, Essential, and Nonessential
Participial Phrases - Introductory, Essential, and Nonessential (Answers and Explanations)Participles and Participial Phrases - Professor Whiskers at the Lazy Cat Learning Center
Participles and Participial Phrases - Professor Whiskers (Answers and Explanations)Prepositional Phrases
Prepositional Phrases (Answers and Explanations)
Participial/Gerund Phrase Composing Clause/Phrase and Mythology ReviewComplements and Mythology ReviewParts of Speech, Pronoun Case, and Mythology ReviewSubordinate Clause Review
Who/Whoever, Whom/Whomever Review
Grammetry - How to Do It - Brush up on your grammar usage through writing poetry
Grammetry Poems for Middle School Students;
Grammetry Activities #1, #2, #3, #4, #5, #6, #7.
Subordination! - How to Do It - Sentence Combining with Adverb Clauses
Subordination Activities #1, #2.
The Exquisite Corpse - How to Do It - A sentence writing activity involving an introduction to Surrealism, fun with parts of speech, and strengthening of syntax.
Exquisite Corpse Activity and Example
American Heritage Dictionary - 90,000 word entries with word roots
Common Errors in English - A comprehensive list of common errors in English - Click on any of the words and/or phrases to find a concise, succinct explanation of the proper standard English usage. Paul Brians also includes a list of "non-errors" -- those usages people keep telling you are wrong but which are actually standard in English.
Patty Foster
Language Arts Curriculum Content Specialist
Edmond Public Schools
1001 W. Danforth, Edmond, OK 73003
(405) 340-2208
patty.foster@edmondschools.net