Writing Prompt

To prepare for this lesson, students will need to clearly understand how to write an expository paper.

This lesson will take 2 class periods.

Each student is provided a different expository writing prompt in their google drive. I like to use old STAAR test prompts as well as ones I find online.

Each student will write an essay based on their writing prompt. Students cannot title the paper or use the writing prompt in their opening sentence. This keeps the second part of the lesson more fair.

After the allotted time, which is usually one class period, students will submit their papers in Google Classroom. Students will then choose a submitted essay which is not their own. Students must read the essay then use a different color text to say what they think the writing prompt was. Once they have made their guess, they wait for their paper to be completed by a classmate.

Once everyone is finished, students see what their classmates guessed. If the guess was close, this means they stayed on topic. The further the guess is from the original prompt, the more that student needs to focus on their thesis statement and supporting ideas.

This can be done using a variety of topics.