Jul 28
Need a quick way to teach writer’s voice that actually sticks? Between quirky mentor texts, engaging examples, and one hilariously earnest Ed Sheeran commercial, this post gives students real insight—and it’s ready for Monday. Plus, grab the free handout to make lesson planning easy. It includes the printables you need to complete the activities mentioned …
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Jul 21
We all know teaching author’s purpose is more than just PIE (persuade, inform, entertain)—though pie does sound delicious. In this post, you’ll find four student-approved activities that go beyond the basics, including a hands-on foldable, a PowerPoint with matching cards, a free Boom Learning practice, and an awesome doughnut-themed writing project. Because nothing motivates writing …
Permanent link to this article: https://bookunitsteacher.com/wp/?p=325
Oct 23
Before students begin their informative essay writing journey, they must learn the necessary skills. One such skill is the art of writing hooks, which captivates readers and makes their writing stand out. This blog post will explore four activities to help your upper elementary students master the art of writing hooks. With some practice, their …
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Sep 25
Firsthand and secondhand accounts are one of those things that are easy to say but a little trickier to teach reading skills. Before we dive in, here’s a little story from my family archives. My dad was a genealogy buff. The kind of guy who had color-coded binders and could connect us to people like Frances Scott Key. …
Permanent link to this article: https://bookunitsteacher.com/wp/?p=3097
Feb 27
Students should use different ways to start sentences. Teaching students to use a variety of sentence structures can greatly improve their writing. This post contains a step-by-step lesson plan with printables for teaching students this very important skill. The activities in this lesson can easily be divided across multiple days into mini-lesson or taught as …
Permanent link to this article: https://bookunitsteacher.com/wp/?p=3446
Aug 10
For some students, knowing when to use formal or informal language comes naturally. For others, it is a skill that must be taught in steps. This post offers six teaching ideas from recognizing what is formal and informal to creating formal and informal texts. Start by getting the handout Formal vs Informal Language using the …
Permanent link to this article: https://bookunitsteacher.com/wp/?p=3960
Aug 03
Writing compare-and-contrast essays is an activity that students need to repeat over and over. Comparing Fictional Texts – The Idea In Chapter 2 of The Secret Garden, Mrs. Medlock tells Mary about her uncle. This reminds Mary of a French fairy tale called “Riquet a la Houppe.” This fairy tale is new to me, so I …
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