Members Only ESL Writing Activity Grade 7

Grade 7 ESL Writing Activity: Write Directions from the Bus Station

About This Resource

An independent writing task where students plan and write directions from the Bus Station to three different places on the town map, using a minimum of five direction phrases and three prepositions of place. Includes word banks, a fully worked model example, a planning table for each destination, and a self-check list students use before finishing.

Overview

Students work through three destinations one at a time: for each, they first jot down their route step by step in a numbered planning table, then write it out as full, connected sentences. A worked model example (Bus Station to the Market) shows students exactly what a complete, well-ordered set of directions looks like before they attempt their own. A six-item self-check list at the end asks students to verify their own work against the task's key requirements before they consider it finished.

Resource Details

Subject: ESL
Topic: Write Directions from the Bus Station
Category: Writing
File Type: PDF
File Size: 178.1 KB
Published: 06 Sep 2026
Downloads: 0

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Grade 7 45-55 Minutes Writing

Learning Objectives

Students will be able to plan a route as a sequence of ordered steps before writing.
Students will be able to write a clear, logically ordered set of directions using at least five direction phrases.
Students will be able to include at least three prepositions of place accurately in their writing.
Students will be able to self-assess their own writing against a set of clear success criteria.

How to Use This Resource

Review the model example together as a class before releasing students to work independently — reading it aloud and tracing the route on a shared map helps students see how the planning steps became full sentences. Students then complete the three destination blocks at their own pace; the planning table is not optional busywork — insist that students fill it in before writing their sentences, since it is where most direction-giving errors get caught early. Use the self-check list as a required last step before submission.

Classroom Activity Ideas

Pair students to read their partner's Destination 1 directions aloud while tracing the route with a finger on a blank copy of the map — if the partner ends up somewhere different from the intended destination, that's useful, specific feedback for the writer.

Differentiation

SUPPORT: Reduce the task to one or two destinations instead of three; provide a sentence-starter frame ("From the Bus Station, go ___. Then turn ___. The ___ is ___ the ___.") for the first destination; allow the planning table to be completed with a partner even if the final writing is independent.
ON-LEVEL: Complete all three destinations as designed.
CHALLENGE: After completing the three required destinations, write a fourth set of directions for a route of the student's own choosing between any two places on the map (not from the Bus Station), then explain in one sentence why they chose that route.

Assessment

Use the Places & Directions Grading Rubric's "Writing (directions)" criteria to assess the completed activity; the self-check list gives students a first-pass filter before you review their work.

Teacher Tips

Have students complete the planning table for Destination 1 as a whole class first, thinking aloud together about the route, before letting them work through Destinations 2 and 3 independently — this front-loads the planning skill so it doesn't have to be re-taught for every destination.

What's Included

3-page writing activity (word banks, model example, three planning-and-writing destination blocks, self-check list)
Editable DOCX version
Print-ready PDF version