Students use a Persuasive Letter Graphic Organizer to plan a persuasive letter to their teacher about homework. Students use the Graphic Organizer to plan their letters by filling in the topic, their opinion about the topic, and reasons and evidence to support their opinion. Then students draft their letters, using proper letter format such as beginning with Dear ____, and ending with a closing and their name. Students practice using persuasive words to convince their readers to agree with their opinion.

Students use a Compare-and-Contrast Planner to plan a Compare-and-Contrast Essay comparing themselves to a character from a book or movie. Students fill in the planner with information about the character and a description of the ways they are similar to and different from the character. Then students write their Essay, following a Compare-and-Contrast format consisting of an introduction that includes their central idea, a body paragraph describing similarities, another body paragraph describing differences, and a conclusion that summarizes the comparison and leaves readers with a final thought.

In this assignment, students plan and draft a newspaper article about a newsworthy event or a person of special interest. Students use the Newspaper Planner to record the 5Ws, list interview questions and answers, and write down quotes. After planning, students write a newspaper article beginning with an exciting lead and organizing information so the most important facts are up front.

Students use the Short Story Planner to plan their stories by thinking about and writing down ideas for their character, setting, and plot. Students fill in their Planners with ideas about the problem their character faces and how that problem is solved. Then they draft their short story using descriptive language and narrative techniques.