As ESL teachers, we’ve all had those students who do great on their grammar exams, speak up confidently in class, and are always first to raise their hands for activities - and yet, when it comes time for a writing assignment, they can barely squeeze out a few short sentences. This can be frustrating for the student and teacher alike - but it’s the symptom of a problem that’s well-known in every teaching community: Speaking and writing are two very different skills.
As with any new skill, practice is key - but students who have trouble writing aren’t usually keen to take on even more writing practice. After all, they might think, if their grammar and vocabulary are correct, and they don’t need to write in English for their jobs, what’s the point of drilling this skill? The answer is, of course, that the ability to write in English is key in the world and the workplace - from writing cover letters and CVs to drafting emails and client presentations. The responsibility is at least partly on you, the teacher, to provide assignments that draw your students into the writing process.
BusyTeacher.org is your number-one stop for exactly those kinds of assignments. Our 730 writing worksheets will provide your students with intriguing writing prompts, and with a variety of writing exercises that’ll help them watch their own improvement as it happens. Our worksheets even break down the writing process into its core components, so you can figure out exactly where in the process each student is struggling, and intervene with exercises to help him or her through that trouble spot.
The writing worksheets here on BusyTeacher.org will help familiarize your students with all the sub-skills involved in writing - from choosing a topic and constructing that first paragraph, all the way to writing movie reviews and short poems. Some of our worksheets even cover basics like handwriting and sentence structure - so no matter how much your students need to brush up on their fundamentals, we’ve got worksheets to meet them where they are.
You’ll find worksheets on any topic you can imagine, from daily routines and holidays to pop culture, news, and even poetry and song lyrics. Some worksheets just help you lead simple fill-in-the-blank exercises, while others present thought-provoking topics for full essays, or include plans for your students to create their own newsletters. And for students who need help with English school assignments, you’ll also find worksheets on writing essays and test responses.
You can browse all of our 730 writing worksheets in thumbnail view, so you don’t have to wait for any of them to load to get an idea of what they’re like. As you scroll down the page, just click on any worksheet that catches your eye - they’re all completely free to download, print, and share in any way you like. And they’re all created and classroom-tested by real ESL teachers all over the world - which means you can be confident they’ll work in your classroom, too. If you’ve got a worksheet of your own that you’d like to share with your fellow ESL teachers in the BusyTeacher.org community, just click the “Submit a worksheet” button at the bottom of this page.
All of these writing worksheets are here to help you - so pick out a few that look interesting, and give them a try in your classroom today. We’re sure you’ll love them as much as the other ESL teachers in our community already do.
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Sometimes we have difficulties creating a handout for control practice or free practice. I created this keeping in mind that students like this horror drama TV series. To my surprise, students res ...
I quickly put this together after hearing the sad news about Prince. The materials include an obituary from Rolling Stone (it is quite long but can easily be shortened depending on your students), ...
This is a worksheet for practicing dictation for letters A-N. It is appropriate for absolute beginners. Have your students look at the pictures and write the words. Hope it helps.
This is a worksheet for practicing dictation for letters A-O. It is appropriate for absolute beginners. Have your students look at the pictures and write the words. Hope it helps.
This worksheet is about couchsurfing and it was made for one-on-one lessons (could be used in larger classes too). Ss find out about couchsurfing, read through the official website, watch vid ...
This workesheet was designed for intermediate or advanced students. After you have taught environmental problems, you can use this paper to follow up. Students are able to write an essay/compositi ...
This is a ppt file helping students of B2 level of English to understand basic mistakes when writing. I used mistakes that students usually make in order to make them realise basic differences in ...
This powerpoint presentation helps students to understand a text about Sydney. If they have seen the presentation “A Postcard From Dublin” before, it enables them to write their own po ...
This powerpoint presentation helps students to understand the text of a postcard and gives them an example how to write a postcard by themselves. In addition they get to know some details about Du ...
This PPT is really useful to start teaching writing. This exercise requires basic grammar and vocabulary that beginner students have, such as present simple and order of adjectives. It also explai ...
This is a poem worksheet with very interesting tasks for your students. The worksheet includes an original poem, the explanations of how to create a lesson and a short passage explaining the histo ...
This PowerPoint helped my students write better. With the help of a hand, they managed to acquire rules of writing. Show them your hand, tell them that the thumb refers to introduction, next three ...
This worksheet has been designed for young learners of English. As it is known young children like animals and they tend to know a lot about them, their eating habits and their environment. Learne ...
This lesson will take your advanced students from a discussion about electronic waste to writing an essay about it. It includes discussion questions, topic vocabulary and an article, followed by t ...
Students are asked to read the facts about grizzly bears and rewrite the passage correctly on the lines. This exercise will really help improve a child's spelling and punctuation. It is also good ...
This worksheet is for pupils of different ages. Your ss revise their knowledge of the cardinal numbers and animals, and directions. Your pupils need paper that has squares on it. You dictate the ...
This worksheet was designed for upper-intermediate or high-level students. After you have explained the vocabulary about environment, global warming, earth and others, you can ask you students to ...
This research activity can be used as an extra resource when teaching students about Rosa Parks. Who was Rosa Parks? Why was Rosa Parks arrested? Students are asked to carry out some research and ...
This worksheet was created for primary/elementary children. Students are asked to look at the picture and write a story to tell what's happening. A Jewish family are celebrating Hanukkah. How do f ...
This is aimed at allowing students to practice both writing and speaking about the characteristics of their pets, whether past, present or futuristic. I recommend that you pre-teach the vocabulary ...
Thanksgiving Day is a national holiday celebrated primarily in the United States and Canada. This picture shows a turkey wearing a chef's hat, holding a pie. Write a funny Thanksgiving story to ex ...
Thanksgiving Day is a national holiday celebrated primarily in the United States and Canada. It is a day of giving thanks for the blessing of the harvest and of the preceding year. This picture sh ...
Thanksgiving Day is a national holiday celebrated primarily in the United States and Canada. It is a day of giving thanks for the blessing of the harvest and of the preceding year. This picture sh ...
Use this worksheet to review food related vocabulary, meal times, adverbs of frequency and verbs have and eat. Students fill in the table with words and then write a small text below describing wh ...
The worksheet is for youmg learners attending a third year of ESL. It aims at facilitating their writing a story by putting in the verbs into the tense and also by using the known vocabulary and i ...
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