One way that writers of all kinds begin a piece of writing is by creating a contrast between what has happened in the past and what is happening now. When writers do this, they aren’t trying to write about history, but rather they are beginning by creating context for the ideas they are about to reveal. This little history-corner-moment provides a dynamic beginning in any content area -- from art to economics to ecology!

The Big6 is a six-stage model to help anyone solve problems or make decisions by using information. Students can use this model to guide them through the research process. This resource is a writing organizer that utilizes the Big6 model.

This lesson plan meets the secondary requirements for The Engish Language Arts Standard Reading: Literature Grades 7-12 with the option of meeting the additional standard of Speaking and Listening. This lesson offers specific details with flexibility for implementation in the classroom. Students can work independently or in groups and be able to create their final book project using technology. 

What is a biography? Who are the people who represent Americans in Congress? How do you compose a biography about one of the representatives?

In elementary school, someone may have taught you to “hook a reader” by starting an essay with a definition. This has become pretty cliched and not engaging. But readers do need to have things defined for them. And while definitions may not help us start a piece of writing, they can help us structure a writing by bridging the introduction and the body. In this video, You’ll learn a move writers in all genre use -- the definition hinge structure -- to provide crucial context for readers while moving them from the introduction into the main ideas of your writing.

Students will engage with primary source documents to explore the reasons behind memorializing people in public art. Students will craft written or oral statements to support an argument in favor of installing a statue of Dr. Martha Hughes Cannon, Philo T. Farnsworth, or Brigham Young in National Statuary Hall.

Mentor Texts:
“The question of humanness troubles the clones, as well as sympathetic individuals like the guardians. On Hailsham’s mission, one of the guardians Miss Emily proclaims, “Most importantly, we demonstrated to the world that if students were reared in humane, cultivated environments, it was possible for them to grow to be as sensitive and intelligent as any ordinary human being.” The liberal-minded guardians invested in the students’ cultural education not only with the aim of improving their quality of living, but also to establish that their lives were worth saving. Working against the rationalization of science, the guardians looked to the students’ creativity as the truer measure of their being human.” -Mimi Wong, “Kazuo Ishiguro’s Never Let Me Go is a Masterpiece of Racial Metaphor”, Electric Lit

When students are given the opportunity to express themselves, they need creative options and a variety of formats available to meet their needs. See how AI supports the student's content through design and publishing process in tools like Sway and Stream to allow students to share professionally designed work without wasting time and energy on executive tasks.

Well known for addressing social issues in the world through her poetry, Maya Angelou's moving poems serve to teach historical topics in this lesson. To understand the world that surrounded her, students practice their visual literacy skills as they first examine photographs from the Library of Congress. These primary sources illustrate some of the events that affected her life and thus her writing. Next students research these events in order to create trading cards using the ReadWriteThink Trading Card Creator Student Interactive. While reading Angelou's poems, students share the trading cards to better understand the background for her writing.

Direct quotes are the first thing that comes to mind when we think about text evidence. But more often than not, writer paraphrase their evidence -- putting it in their own words. In this video, we’ll look at cross-curricular examples of authors paraphrasing text, looks for patterns, and learn a method for paraphrasing ourselves.

Punctuating different kinds of titles is super back-to-basics, but it’s something student writers often mistake. In this video, we’ll talk about why we punctuate titles the way we do, consider broader rules that govern title punctuation, and learn the basics. This video is perfect for assigning to small groups or individual students who need some refreshing!

Writing complete sentences is harder than you might think, and it’s a fundamental writing skill that’s worthy of review. In this video, you’ll learn about what makes a complete sentence, tips for making sure your sentences are complete, and circumstances in which writers break this rule effectively.

The lesson provides an opportunity for students to not only read and view the importance of choosing career choices now, but gives them an opportunity to write about their future career goals and think about the best way to achieve them starting now.

Have students practice internal citation for their sources in essay writing with this quick and energetic activity.

When we need to quickly summarize an event, idea, or text, a 101-level synopsis won’t always do the trick. Sometimes the text is more complicated -- it contains a central tension or conflict that needs to be addressed. In that case, a Pivot Synopsis will do the trick. It’s the more nuanced cousin of Synopsis 101 that allows a writer to say something more sophisticated while still summarizing quickly.

In our first series of the 2022-2023 school year, we're getting back to the basics. Every Tuesday and Thursday, we'll release a new video that reviews a core writing move or strategy.

In this co-taught 80-minute face-to-face lesson (assessment is homework or given time in a second class session) students will rotate through stations to make personal connections with the book, A Long Walk to Water by  Linda Sue Park. (Stations can be removed or customized to allow for time, budget, or supervision constraints.) Please note, this lesson works best when you have several adult volunteers to run stations. This lesson is best co-taught with an ELA teacher who will be reading and discussing the book with their students. (It can be slightly adapted to fit similar stories.) It is also an effective way to deepen understanding and connections after the class has read the book. Thumbnail Image: Woodwayne, CC BY-SA 4.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0>, via Wikimedia Commons

Each Mini Moves for Writers video teaches you how to use one professional writing move that will enhance your writing style|argumentation|voice|grammar|or organization. Check out just one to help you master a specific move|or watch multiple videos to make your writing into a professional masterpiece.

One of our goals at Mini Moves for Writers is to teach you multiple ways to hack a writing skill. In this video, we'll build on the standard way you've probably been taught to weave text evidence into your writing in both English and social studies classes.