Teaching Writing: Lessons and Activities for Grades 3-5

Teaching writing got easier for me when I stopped asking students to do everything at once. A seed idea, a stronger hook, one revision move, a mentor text to imitate: small pieces that add up to real writing. Here are the writing lessons and activities I used with my upper elementary students, from getting reluctant writers started to revising, opinion and persuasive writing, dialogue, and descriptive writing.

Teaching writing: lessons and activities

Winter read aloudsMentor texts for January.Read the postHow to teach revisionTurn “make it better” into moves students can use.Read the postWriting dialogue from picturesPoint of view practice with speech bubbles.Read the postFix weak leadsFour ways to write a stronger hook, with a free poster.Read the postNonfiction writing mentor textsMentor sentences woven into informational writing.Read the postPoint of view mentor textsFirst-person mentor sentences woven into writing.Read the postPersuasive writing mentor textsBooks and mentor sentences for persuasive writing.Read the postFigurative language mentor textsMentor sentences for figurative language in writing.Read the postOpinion writing mentor textsSix picture books and the lesson I use with each.Read the postDescriptive writing mentor textsModel descriptive writing with I Need My Monster.Read the postGrinch writing ideasThree Grinchy ideas for writing and adjectives.Read the postHigher order thinking questionsQuestions that push thinking in grammar and writing.Read the postFigurative language snow globeA winter craft that becomes a word bank for writing.Read the postShow, don’t tellThe Which Cake Is Mine? descriptive writing lesson.Read the postSnow globe writingTrapped in a snow globe, with a free organizer.Read the postRainbow editingA free color-coded checklist for editing and revising.Read the postTrue Story of the Three Little PigsIs the wolf lying? Students decide and prove it.Read the postIf You Find a RockSeed ideas, memory jars, and a first writing piece.Read the postPersonal narrative ideasTwo lessons that help students find seed ideas.Read the postReluctant writersFour simple ideas that got my reluctant writers writing.Read the postIdioms and punsBooks and activities my students loved.Read the post

Writing resources for your classroom

Free writing conference guide

Make revision conferences easier

If you’re teaching writing, this free three-page guide gives you a read-as-a-reader checklist, a chart of questions to ask instead of writing “make it better,” and a revision check for students. Enter your email and I’ll send it to you.

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