Used in over 1,600 districts.

CCSS ELA Standard: 6.L.3.a

Vary sentence patterns for meaning, reader/listener interest, and style.*

That Quote’s Not Quite Right: Albert Einstein
That Quote’s Not Quite Right: Albert Einstein
When I see a quote, I often think, “That’s not quite right!”
Improving Shakespeare’s Repetition
Improving Shakespeare’s Repetition
Let’s help William Shakespeare with his use of repetition.
Lipogram: Rewrite “Mary Had A Little Lamb”
Lipogram: Rewrite “Mary Had A Little Lamb”
What if we rewrote a piece of writing without using certain letters?
Lipogram: Rewrite “Twinkle, Twinkle”
Lipogram: Rewrite “Twinkle, Twinkle”
What if we rewrote a piece of writing without using certain letters?
Writing About Art: Twilight in the Wilderness
Writing About Art: Twilight in the Wilderness
Look closely at Twilight in the Wilderness. What do you notice? Now turn those details into a poem you didn’t know you could write.
Fancier Figurative Language: Move the Simile
Fancier Figurative Language: Move the Simile
What if we started a sentence with the simile?
Writing Technique: Triple Anadiplosis!
Writing Technique: Triple Anadiplosis!
Have students mastered the art of anadiplosis: ending one sentence with the beginning of the next? Now it’s time to take it to the next level!
Doubling Up Writing: Anadiplosis
Doubling Up Writing: Anadiplosis
Repeating words can be what you want, if what you want is an interesting effect. (Psst, that’s an example of anadiplosis!)
Fixing Shakespearean Run-Ons
Fixing Shakespearean Run-Ons
Can your students help The Bard? We’ll fix five Shakespearean run-ons in three different ways.
Writing Technique: 3 Dependent Clauses
Writing Technique: 3 Dependent Clauses
A specific technique to help students add some spice to their writing. We’ll be writing sentences with three dependent clauses.
Writing Sample: Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland (Falling)
Writing Sample: Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland (Falling)
A passage from Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland to use as a mentor text, discussion starter, or writing prompt.
Remixing A Holiday Poem
Remixing A Holiday Poem
Let’s take a classic Christmas poem and remix it to work with another holiday!
Fancier Figurative Language: Advanced Repetition
Fancier Figurative Language: Advanced Repetition
Is your students’ use of repetition limited to, “The girl was very, very, very fast.”? Let’s borrow some ideas from Shakespeare!
Advanced Alliteration and Consonance
Advanced Alliteration and Consonance
When students learn about alliteration, it’s hard to steer them away from goofy tongue-twisters. Certainly, there must be more powerful and practical ways of using alliteration. In this lesson, I draw on delicious examples from Shakespeare to show how a very advanced writer used alliteration. Then, I break those ideas down so students can try them out.
Writing Sample: Moby Dick
Writing Sample: Moby Dick
A passage from Moby Dick to use as a mentor text, discussion starter, or writing prompt.
Passive to Active Voice
Passive to Active Voice
In this lesson, students will not just fix passive sentences, but break active sentences as they learn to put the star of the sentence first.
Ways to Start a Sentence – Part 3
Ways to Start a Sentence – Part 3
Your students’ sentences all start the same way. Here are three techniques that fix that overnight.