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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An Inspirational Woman - Biography Template
Research and complete this Inspirational Woman Profile template during International Women’s Day.
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Dear Future Student – Trifold Template
Use this template with your class to write about interesting grade-level information, experiences, and tips for incoming students.
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Build a Sandcastle-Writing and Craft Activity
Excite your students for the upcoming summer with a narrative writing and craft activity.
- Free Plan
Storyboard Template
A template for use when planning a narrative text.
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'Spaceman' Finger Spacing Template
A 'Spaceman' and 'Spacewoman' template to help children when writing.
- Free Plan
Narrative Writing Planning Template
A template for students to use when planning a narrative text.
- Free Plan
Note-taking Graphic Organizer
A graphic organizer for students to use when taking notes.
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Informative Writing - Animal Research Task
Use a printable animal research organizer booklet for students to record facts about animals when learning to write informative texts.
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"Facts About..." Template
Get a sense of separating fact from opinion in texts with this graphic organizer.
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Procedural Writing Prompt Task Cards
Need some procedural writing ideas? Download these task cards to use as a writing center activity during your procedure writing unit.
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How to Wash Your Hands Flipbook
Use this “How to Wash Your Hands” procedural writing activity to help familiarize your students with the structural elements of procedure texts.
- Free Plan
Rhetorical Devices Word Search
Familiarize your students with the most common rhetorical devices with a fun word search.
- Free Plan
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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Opinion Paragraph - OREO Planning Template
Help your students write well constructed opinion paragraphs using the OREO acronym with these planning templates.
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OREO® Opinion Writing Poster
Help students remember the structure of opinion texts with this fun OREO® acronym.
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Synonyms- Printable Flashcards
Build vocabulary skills with individual Synonym anchor chart flash cards.
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End of Year Writing Craftivity - Summer Plan Gumball Machine
Excite your students for the upcoming summer with a writing and craft activity.
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Grammar Grid Mystery Picture Worksheet-Nouns, Verbs, Adjectives
Follow the color-coded parts of speech guide to fill in the word grid and reveal a mystery image.
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Biography Brochure Template
Help your students organize their thoughts about their biography subject.
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Biography Timeline Template
Use this multipurpose timeline template for a variety of assignments, projects, and more!
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Author Study Flip Book – Editable Template
An editable flip book template that covers a range of topics when studying a particular author.
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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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Parts of Speech Word Cards Sorting Activity
Engage your students with this parts of speech group activity where they sort 112 word cards into categories (nouns, verbs, adjectives, adverbs, coordinating conjunctions or prepositions).
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Persuasive Writing Graphic Organizer Pack
Help students gather their thoughts during persuasive writing with this differentiated set of graphic organizers.
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Persuasive Writing Project (The Best Cookie)
Help students plan out persuasive writing with this ‘The Best Cookie’ persuasive writing project.
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Spelling CVC Words - Worksheets
Develop students’ ability to segment and blend the sounds in CVC words with this set of differentiated worksheets.
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ARMS and COPS Writing and Editing Posters and Checklists
Encourage your students to proofread and edit their writing using the C.O.P.S. and A.R.M.S acronym with a pair of printable writing anchor charts.
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Simple, Compound, and Complex Sentences PowerPoint
A 23-slide editable PowerPoint template that introduces simple, compound, and complex sentences.
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Soccer vs. Football -Differentiated Paired Passage Worksheets
Differentiate reading instruction with nonfiction texts, compare and contrast activities, and response to text writing opportunities.
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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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Color by Parts of Speech - Nouns, Verbs, and Adjectives - Whale
A fun activity to use when learning about nouns, verbs, and adjectives.
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Readers Theater – Play Writing Template
A template for students to use when writing their own Readers Theater script.