All Lessons

This writing strategies lesson focuses on using transitions between sentences to unify important ideas. The lesson includes research-based strategies and strategic questions that prepare students for assessments. In this lesson, students read a paragraph and identify comparing and contrasting, cause and effect, add or sequence ideas within the sentence or paragraph. Using the transition table (word bank), students select the appropriate transition to place between sentences. In addition to the lesson, there are four pages of Independent Practice and review with questions modeled after current adaptive testing items.

This writing strategies lesson focuses on clarifying text by creating outlines. The lesson includes research-based strategies and strategic questions that prepare students for assessments. In this lesson, students read a passage and fill out a corresponding outline. They identify the missing main topic, subtopics, and details and fill them into the correct places on the outline. Eventually, the student will fill in an entire empty outline. In addition to the lesson, there are four pages of Independent Practice and review with questions modeled after current adaptive testing items.

This writing strategies lesson focuses on revising writing to improve word choice. The lesson includes research-based strategies and strategic questions that prepare students for assessments. In this lesson, students read the question and paragraph, looking for the words to be revised. Then, students replace the word with a more precise word from the word bank and re-read the sentence in the paragraph with the new, more precise word. In addition to the lesson, there are four pages of Independent Practice and review with questions modeled after current adaptive testing items.

This writing strategies lesson focuses on writing a multi-paragraph narrative composition. The lesson includes research-based strategies and strategic questions that prepare students for assessments. In this lesson, students create a graphic organizer that describes the introduction, the body, and the conclusion of their composition based on a given prompt. Then, they use the organizer to write a four-paragraph composition. In addition to the lesson, there are eleven pages of Independent Practice and review with prompts and organizers provided.

This writing lesson covers how to revise writing by adding or deleting sentences based on how they support the main idea. The lesson includes research-based strategies and strategic questions that prepare students for assessments. In this lesson, students will learn how to change written text to improve it by determining which details support the main idea and which don’t.

This writing lesson covers how to plan an opinion piece. The lesson includes research-based strategies and strategic questions that prepare students for assessments. In this lesson, students read the topic and decide their position about it. Then they identify three appeals for their position, focusing on logical, emotional, and ethical. They also restate their position for a summary. In addition to the lesson, there are four pages of new topics for review.

This writing lesson covers how to write an opinion piece. The lesson includes research-based strategies and strategic questions that prepare students for assessments. In this lesson, students write an introduction that introduces the topic and states their position. Then, they write paragraphs that use logical, emotional, or ethical appeals to the audience. Finally, they write a summary paragraph that restates their position. These sentences are based on the planning charts created in the Plan an Opinion Piece lesson. In addition to the lesson, there are four pages of new topics for review.

This writing lesson covers how to write informative text. The lesson includes research-based strategies and strategic questions that prepare students for assessments. In this lesson, students write at least one complete sentence for each section of the planning chart completed in the Plan Informative Text lesson. Then, they use an editing checklist to identify and correct any errors. In addition to the lesson, there are four pages of topics for review and extended thinking.

This language lesson covers the use of context clues to determine the meaning of unknown words. The lesson includes research-based strategies and strategic questions that prepare students for assessments. In this lesson, students will read a paragraph, identify context clues that help explain the meaning of bolded words, and then reread the sentence replacing the word with its meaning.

This language lesson covers how to distinguish between connotations of words with similar denotations. The lesson includes research-based strategies and strategic questions that prepare students for assessments. In this lesson, students will analyze sentences for context clues that suggest which of three similar words can be used in the sentence based on each word’s denotation and connotation.

This reading vocabulary lesson focuses on identifying idioms. The lesson includes research-based strategies and strategic questions that prepare students for assessments. In this lesson, students read the sentence and underline the idiom. Then, they determine the meaning of the idiom using context clues and select the correct answer. In addition to the lesson, there are four pages of Independent Practice and review with questions modeled after current adaptive testing items.

This reading vocabulary lesson focuses on determining the meaning of words using roots and affixes. The lesson includes research-based strategies and strategic questions that prepare students for assessments. In this lesson, students read the sentences and identify the root in the bold word. Then, they use context clues along with the meaning of the root and affix to determine the best meaning of the bold word. In addition to the lesson, there are six pages of Independent Practice and review with questions modeled after current adaptive testing items.

This writing conventions lesson focuses on identifying complex sentences. The lesson includes research-based strategies and strategic questions that prepare students for assessments. In this lesson, students read the sentence and identify the dependent clause, labeling the conjunction and punctuation. then, Identify the independent clause and if it is a complex sentence, students identify what type (cSV, SV, or SV cSV). Finally, they write how the clauses are related. In addition to the lesson, there are four pages of Independent Practice and review with questions modeled after current adaptive testing items.

This writing conventions lesson focuses on analyzing compound sentences. The lesson includes research-based strategies and strategic questions that prepare students for assessments. In this lesson, students identify the relationship between two independent clauses (addition, cause, difference, result, choice). Then, they write the correct coordinating conjunction for the compound sentence. In addition to the lesson, there are four pages of Independent Practice and review with questions modeled after current adaptive testing items.

This writing conventions lesson focuses on identifying compound sentences. The lesson includes research-based strategies and strategic questions that prepare students for assessments. In this lesson, students read the sentence and label and independent clauses, and transitions. Then, they determine if it is a compound sentence and how the sentences are related. In addition to the lesson, there are four pages of Independent Practice and review with questions modeled after current adaptive testing items.

This Common Core language lesson covers misplaced and dangling modifiers. The lesson includes research-based strategies and strategic questions that prepare students for Common Core assessments. In this lesson, students will learn to identify the unclear modifier, determine if it’s dangling or misplaced, and then rewrite the sentence to correct the problem. In addition to the lesson, there are four pages of Independent Practice with questions modeled after the Common Core assessment items.

This language lesson covers how to explain the function of adverbial phrases. The lesson includes research-based strategies and strategic questions that prepare students for assessments. In this lesson, students will identify the adverbial phrase, and then determine what information it gives about the bolded verb (such as how, when, where, and why).

This language lesson covers how to express ideas with precise verbs. The lesson includes research-based strategies and strategic questions that prepare students for assessments. In this lesson, students read a sentence and instructions for a more specific verb that is needed in the sentence. Then, they choose the most precise verb from a list of possibilities.