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.
- Free Plan
Roll to Create a Creature - Drawing Game
Use a die and a chart to create a creature to include in a narrative text or a comic strip.
- Free Plan
Narrative Plot Structure - Story Mountain Template
Use a story mountain template to help your students write narrative stories.
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Write About It! Pumpkins - Differentiated Writing Prompts
Differentiate writing instruction in primary grades with a group of leveled fall writing prompts about pumpkins.
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Lewis and Clark Expedition - RACES Writing Strategy Worksheets
Practice using the RACES writing strategy for text evidence with a Lewis and Clark Passage, graphic organizer, and worksheet.
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Halloween vs. Dia de Los Muertos - Differentiated Paired Passages
Integrate reading, writing, and celebration of world cultures with differentiated paired passages comparing Halloween and Dia de los Muertos.
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Grammar Practice Worksheets - Vocabulary Cut and Sort
Review parts of speech and word usage skills with a pack of cut-and-paste Grammar Sorting Worksheets.
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Roll to Create a Spooky Halloween Scene
Create a spooky scene to include in a narrative text using a die and a chart with this fun, hands-on Halloween activity.
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Escape from Pete's Pumpkin Patch - Halloween Escape Room
Escape the evil witch who turns children into pumpkins at Pete’s Pumpkin Patch using inferencing, problem solving, and grammar skills
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Boston Tea Party - RACES Writing Strategy Worksheet
Integrate reading, writing, and American history with a worksheet about the Boston Tea Party using the RACES writing strategy for text evidence.
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How Do Rocks Form? – Informative Text Structure Sequencing Activity
Help students learn about informative text structure and how rocks are formed with an engaging cut-and-paste sorting activity.
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Common Adjectives for Kids - Printable Adjective List
Print your students a list of adjectives to keep at hand when writing to help them use descriptive language.
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Editing Worksheets - Spelling, Grammar, and Punctuation
Use these sentence correction worksheets to add daily editing practice to your lesson plans.
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Roll to Create a Haunted House Halloween Activity
Have some spooky Halloween fun with a Roll-to-Create Halloween Art activity.
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Amelia Earhart Constructed Response Worksheet
Use this passage, second grade writing prompt, and worksheet to help students write a constructed response paragraph about Amelia Earhart.
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Spooky Adjectives - Halloween Activity Sheets
Bewitch your students into learning about adjectives with Halloween printables for first and second grades.
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Simple, Compound and Complex Sentences Worksheets
Use this set of five grammar worksheets to teach about the structures of simple, compound and complex sentences.
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Narrative Writing Planning Template
A template for students to use when planning a narrative text.
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Properties of Materials Beanbag Toss Game - Describing Matter
Explore and describe the properties of materials with an exciting beanbag toss game.
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Better Verb Choice Words Pack
Help your students during their writing with this set of visually appealing verb posters and verb word mat.
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Halloween Finish the Picture - Preposition Exercise
Finish the picture and create a fun Halloween scene with a set of preposition worksheets.
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Verb Past Tense Worksheet
A worksheet with simple and irregular past tense verbs added to complete the sentences.
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Free Printable Lined Paper Templates
Use this free printable lined paper pack to encourage students to write and publish their work in your classroom writing station.
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Election Day Writing Craftivity
Learn about Election Day, the voting process, and procedural text with an election-themed writing and craft activity.
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Roll and Write - Simple and Compound Sentences
Practice writing simple and compound sentences with our Roll and Write activity.
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Halloween Grammar Practice Worksheets - Apostrophe Practice
Practice using apostrophes of possession and in contractions with a set of spooktacular Halloween Apostrophe worksheets.
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Haunted Preposition House - Halloween Worksheet
Practice using prepositions and prepositional phrases with a a fun and spooky Halloween worksheet!
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Biography Timeline Template
Use this multipurpose timeline template for a variety of assignments, projects, and more!
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Snakes and Ladders Game Board Template
Create a fun activity for any subject area with this black-and-white board game template.
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Said is Dead List - Dialogue Tags
Help your students choose a variety of dialogue tags when writing with a fun ‘Said is Dead’ Dialogue Tag List.
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Roll to Create a Magical Story – Dice Game
Get your students writing magical stories with this engaging and interactive “Roll to Create” dice game.
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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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Halloween Prepositions Interactive Game
Use this interactive Halloween preposition game to review some spooky grammar skills.