Creating Outlines | Writing Skills Guide for the ELA Classroom Grades 7-12

Outlining is like providing a skeleton for a body. Teachers often land with this useful metaphor. And it works! The outline indeed serves as the underlying support for a body of writing — and we know as teachers how much support students need in mastering this writing skill. Here’s where a writing workshop approach comes in handy. Play with your students in an engaging, scaffolded conversation by having students play with rough outlines, which is helpful for the preliminary stages of writing and for more formal outlines to be submitted with a draft. Note — this resource comes equipped with both a printable and digital version (PDF & Google Workspace).

What’s Included:

• 1 Teacher’s Note for Using this Resource
• 5 “Making Outlines” Skill Practice Worksheets
  • Making a Rough Outline
  • Making a Formal Outline
  • Making a Literary Thematic Outline
  • Outlining Checklist
  • Outlining Exemplars
• 1 Planning Map for Helping Visual Learners Create a Formal Outline
• 4-Point Mini-Rubric for Outlining & Answer Key
• Standards Alignment Chart for planning
• Persistent Link to a Student-Facing Digital Version

✌I recommend using these resources in a Middle or High school English Language Arts writer’s workshop.