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Free online articles you can use
for teaching nonfiction writing to teens & adults

All the standalone articles listed here are available free through EzineArticles. This directory will, I hope, provide a quicker way to see what I have written for particular audiences.

Although the articles are inconveniently listed in most recent to oldest order, I split this page into a section for all writing teachers and a smaller section just for those who homeschool.

Select the article link to read the entire free online article on the EzineArticles website. If you want to publish an article on your blog or website, you'll find the common-sense rules there, too.

Free online articles for teen-age and adult nonfiction writers in high school, college, and in the workforce are on a separate page. That page includes free online articles for:

Linda Aragoni writes about teaching writing

Teach for success

Teachers succeed as teachers only when their students succeed as learners.

Linda Aragoni

Free online articles for all nonfiction writing teachers

Learning Assessments For Teachers
Are your students learning what you want them to learn? If they are not, perhaps you need to do more and different types of learning assessment. Learn about evaluations that use writing prompts to provide you with data to inform your teaching and give a more accurate picture of what students have or have not learned. article

The Safest Vehicle for Writers' Ed: The Five-Paragraph Essay
Beginning writers, like beginning drivers, need a safe vehicle in which to learn the skills they need to cope with high-powered writing situations. The best vehicle for the job is the same low-powered stodgy five-paragraph essay that great grandpa used. article

Create Custom Assessment Rubrics Fast
Rubrics, like targets, should show what you are aiming for in a particular writing assignment. Rather than download a rubric that may not be appropriate to your course objectives, it’s much better to make your own. You can make rubrics easily by creating tables in a word processor. article

Kitchen Cure for Writing Panic
To beginning writers, an essay looks like a life-time project. The sheer number of activities to be done can panic your students. The solution may be in your kitchen. article

Copyright Basics for Teaching Responsible Print & Internet Resource Use
Of all the terms students must learn in a study of media literacy, perhaps none is more important, or more frequently misunderstood, than copyright. Learn what the term means for users of print and Internet resources so you can educate students against inadvertent copyright infringement. article

7 Activities For Teaching Vocabulary to Middle and High School Students
If you need activities for teaching vocabulary to young children, you will find a wealth of options on the Internet. Far fewer vocabulary activities are available for teaching teens and preteens. If you need vocabulary resources for middle and high school students, you need these seven suggestions. article

How to Write an Objective: A Guide For Teachers
To be an effective teacher, you need to know how to write an objective that focuses on learners. Good objectives describe what students are to learn and how an observer will know when they have learned it. article

5 Easy Ways to Stay Motivated As a First Year Teacher
The first year of teaching can be a draining experience. Few first-year teachers go many weeks before they feel like throwing in the towel. A veteran teacher gives simple tips a new teacher (or experienced one) can follow to keep her/his motivation high. article

Teaching Good English in a Global Economy Requires Less Breadth, More Depth
In a global economy, our students will have to work with many people who won't understand the breezy, informal, idiomatic, and often sloppy language use that characterizes American culture. As a result, we must teach fewer rules of "good English" but teach them far more thoroughly than we have had to do in the past. article

Analogy Questions Can Be Explained by Non-Verbal Analogies
Word analogy questions are among the most feared of all standardized test questions, but they do not have to be a big deal. The trick to teaching students to solve such logic questions is to keep your eyes open to analogies in nonverbal material. article

Free online articles for homeschool teachers

Homeschool For Expository Writing Skill in High School
You've been involved in writing since you wrote "TO MOM" in blue crayon on a picture you colored in kindergarten. Now it's time to learn more about the complex skill called writing so you can successfully home-school your children into high school. article

Writing Prompts Profit from Homeschool Advantage
Homeschoolers start teaching writing a half lap ahead of traditional school teachers because can easily have students write on topics across the entire curriculum. To make the best use of your homeschool advantage, use three principles to guide you in preparing writing prompts. article

Is Your Teen Ready for College Writing?
You may work hard to get your kids into college, researching admissions requirements, preparing for SATs, preparing transcripts and portfolios to show their skills to best advantage. Knowing the writing skills those teens will need once they get into college can help you prepare students even better. Titles in this five-part series:

Is Your Teen Ready for the Writing Style Colleges Demand? article
Is Your Teen Ready for College Writing Mechanics? article
Is Your Teen Ready for College Research? article
Is Your Teen Ready to Use Sources Correctly in College Writing? article
Is Your Teen Ready to Write Collaboratively in College? article

10 Reasons You Can Teach Writing to Teens
Do you think because you didn't major in English that you can't teach your teens to write? Think again. A college teacher explains why homeschoolers do not need to quake at the prospect of teaching high school students to write the informative and persuasive prose that colleges and employers require. article