F. Scott Fitzgerald's intent in The Great Gatsby, was "to state the American dream as dramatically, as passionately, as possible – and at the same time, to hold it up to moral judgment, to see what lies and terrors lay beneath its...

Building on what they learned in Modules 10.1 and 10.2, about inquiry-based and evidence-based research, sophomores investigate topics that have multiple perspectives. The core text of Unit 1 is Rebecca Skloot’s The Immortal Life of...

How does an author’s culture influence their perspective and point of view? Moreover, how does an author’s purpose affect their point of view? These are the questions middle schoolers investigate in a three-unit module that uses works by...

In the second unit in the 3A module, scholars examine how an author’s purpose affects point of view. They compare excerpts from “Comprehending the Calamity,” Emma Burke’s informational text about the 1906 San Francisco earthquake, to...

In this three-unit module, juniors examine literary and nonfiction text, observing how authors develop their central ideas. In Units 1 and 2, scholars practice close reading, annotating text, and evidence-based discussions and writing....

The Civil Rights Movement in the United States takes center stage in a three-unit module that focuses particularly on The Little Rock Nine. Carlotta Walls LaNier’s, A Mighty Long Way, and Shelley Tougas’ photo essay, Little Rock Girl...

Eighth-graders develop their ability to read and understand a complex text as they consider the plight of refugees. The first unit uses Thanhha Lai’s novel, Inside Out & Back Again, as well as informational text, to build background...

The 13 lessons in the first unit of Module 2B has pupils engage in a guided research project. Sixth- graders develop their reading skills as they examine informational texts about medieval times. They practice summarizing, analyze a...

Unit 3 of the ELA Module 2A focuses on how to craft an informative essay. Using what they learned reading Bud, Not Buddy, a Steve Jobs speech, and “If,” sixth-graders craft an essay based on one of their own personal rules for which to...

Personal interest, strengths, talents, and abilities can be used to make a difference. Young learners consider how they can share their talents with others through volunteering, what they can do to take care of the natural environment,...

Good writing prompts are hard to find, especially those for informative writing such as research reports, how-to instructions, and letters. The colorfully illustrated templates in a seven-prompt collection include lines to write on, as...

Tell it like it is with a collection filled with resources that focus on expository writing skills. Seventh graders work on comparing and contrasting texts, analyzing current events, and structuring their essays in clear and...

Narrative, expository, and persuasive writing; all of it's covered in a collection designed to support sixth grade writing skills. Here you'll find units, lesson plans, activities, worksheets, printables, videos, and apps. Check the...

The final unit in the 3B Module asks eight graders to plan a film, with a sound track, about The Little Rock Nine using Carlotta Walls La Nier's memoir A Mighty Long Way, as a jumping off point. The eight lessons in the collection...

Two texts anchor a 14-lesson unit that explores what it means to be a woman in America. In her "An Address by Elizabeth Cady Stanton" Stanton argues for women's right to vote. Audre Lorde offers a different point of view in her poem, "...

The 20 lessons in Module 1, Unit 2 continue the study of Thanhha Lai's Inside Out & Back Again. Scholars build their skills as they analyze informational texts that look at the experiences of other refugees and the challenges they...

Through a close reading of excerpts from fiction (Black Swan Green) and nonfiction (Letters to a Young Poet), class members analyze how authors use specific words and figurative language to develop their central ideas. All eleven lessons...

Teach your sophomores how to compare the same ideas in two different texts with a unit that uses Amy Tan's The Joy Luck Club and H.G. Bissinger's Friday Night Lights as central texts. Class members use their close reading skills to...

Ethan Canin's short story "The Palace Thief" is the anchor text in a unit that teaches 10th grades close reading skills. Class members gather evidence for an expository essay in which they analyze how how the author uses the interactions...

Introduce freshmen to the writing process with a unit that shows them how to craft an informative, expository paper that addresses a research question. They learn how to develop a central claim, an engaging introduction, how to avoid...

Freshman take a stab at analyzing information texts in a unit that focuses on readers' fascination with true-crime stories and murder mysteries. Using Walter Mosely's Newsweek essay, "True Crime: The Roots of an American Obsession" as an...

Analysis of complex texts requires close reading. The six lessons in the first unit of Module 1 teach readers how to annotate text, as well as how to conduct evidence-based discussions, and produce evidence-based writing, the skills they...

The third unit in this module uses Virginia Woolf's "A Room of One's Own" as an anchor text. Learners continue to develop their close reading and analysis skill, this time with a nonfiction text. In addition, they work to improve their...

A continuation of Unit 1, the 25 lessons in this unit require learners to continue to practice the skills they will need in the English Language Arts Classroom: close reading, annotating text, collaborative discussions, and...