Welcome to my blog index page featuring posts for upper elementary students who want to improve their writing skills. Teaching writing can be challenging, so I’ve compiled a range of posts to help you with your lessons.
My post categories include writing strategies, writing skills, capitalization and punctuation, narrative writing, teaching text structures with songs, teaching text structures, teaching persuasive techniques with commercials, and parts of speech. You’ll find ideas and free teaching materials to make your lessons more effective and engaging.
You can browse my posts by clicking on the images below or using the search bar on the right. You can also subscribe to my newsletter for updates on new posts and freebies. Whether you’re looking for tips on enhancing your students’ skills, making writing more fun and interactive, or integrating writing with other subjects, you’ll find something worthwhile on my blog.
I hope these posts will support your upper elementary students’ writing development and inspire them to become confident writers. Happy teaching!
Apr 07
Summarizing can be one of the trickiest skills to teach. Getting students to condense information without losing the main idea is a challenge many teachers face. This post will explore six effective strategies you can use to teach summarizing, including general rules, key questions, and examples. You’ll also find practical classroom tips to make summarizing …
Permanent link to this article: https://bookunitsteacher.com/wp/?p=5612
Mar 31
Punctuation can be tricky, especially when deciding whether to use commas, parentheses, or dashes to set off extra information in a sentence. These punctuation marks help clarify nonrestrictive or parenthetical elements, but each serves a slightly different purpose. Understanding when and how to use them will strengthen your students’ writing and enhance their comprehension of …
Permanent link to this article: https://bookunitsteacher.com/wp/?p=100
Dec 02
Teaching students to understand problems and solutions is a breeze with real-life examples, but spotting them in nonfictional texts is much more difficult. This post provides you with strategies, graphic organizers, and practical examples to help your students master this critical reading skill. Grab this PDF for links to free text structure activities and printables …
Permanent link to this article: https://bookunitsteacher.com/wp/?p=3567
Oct 31
Understanding cause-and-effect relationships is an essential skill for students, as it helps them grasp how events are interconnected and how one event can lead to another. This post shows effective ways to teach cause and effect with clear examples and activities. Included is a video lesson that demonstrates these concepts in action. Below, you’ll find …
Permanent link to this article: https://bookunitsteacher.com/wp/?p=526
Oct 07
Understanding how to identify similarities and differences is crucial for students, as it helps them organize and process information more effectively. In this post, I explain four graphic organizers to compare and contrast various elements in reading and writing. I’ve also included a video lesson demonstrating the use of these organizers with a fun and …
Permanent link to this article: https://bookunitsteacher.com/wp/?p=3563
Sep 02
Understanding how to organize information is important for students comprehending nonfiction texts. Teaching them to order information in chronological, sequential, and consecutive order can significantly enhance their grasp of the material. Activity #1 – Go Over Definitions for Chronological, Sequential, and Consecutive Order Before reading the post, please download the organizers and activities. The handout …
Permanent link to this article: https://bookunitsteacher.com/wp/?p=591
Apr 22
Are you looking for a fun way to teach grammar? Check out this idea that uses song lyrics. Double negatives, commonly found in song lyrics and informal speech, often lead to confusion and poor grammar. However, by incorporating students’ love for music into the learning process, you can effectively teach the rules surrounding double negatives. …
Permanent link to this article: https://bookunitsteacher.com/wp/?p=1037
