Writing
Thoughtful Learning

Adjusting Your Writing Voice

For Students 10th - 12th Standards
"Yo, what's up?" "Nuttin!" While such a dialogue might be appropriate between friends, it would be ill-advised in more formal situations. A mini-lesson asks young writers to consider how to adjust the voice they use to bring their...
Lesson Plan
EngageNY

Using Routines for Discussing A Long Walk to Water and Introducing Juxtaposition (Chapters 9 and 10)

For Teachers 7th Standards
Take a stand. Scholars consider what it means to take a stand in A Long Walk to Water. They complete an activity by taking a stand and moving to a labeled section of the room that matches their opinion. Readers then examine text...
Lesson Plan
EngageNY

Mid-Unit 3 Assessment and Planning the TwoVoice Poem

For Teachers 7th Standards
Class members prepare to write a two-voice poem that compares and contrasts two characters from Linda Sue Park's novel, A Long Walk to Water. Pupils also complete the mid-unit assessment, answering questions about juxtaposition from...
Lesson Plan
EngageNY

Analyzing Point of View in A Long Walk to Water

For Teachers 7th Standards
Readers analyze how characters are juxtaposed in Linda Sue Park's novel A Long Walk to Water and discuss their ideas with the class. Then, with a partner, they complete a juxtaposition practice worksheet.
Lesson Plan
EngageNY

Building Background Knowledge: The Dinka and Nuer Tribes Until the Mid-1980s (“Sudanese Tribes Confront Modern War” Excerpt 2)

For Teachers 7th Standards
Scholars continue making connections between the article "Sudanese Tribes Confront Modern War" and A Long Walk to Water by Linda Sue Park. They talk with partners to discuss how the article helps them understand a character's point of...
Lesson Plan
EngageNY

Building Background Knowledge: The Dinka and Nuer Tribes Until the Mid-1980s (“Sudanese Tribes Confront Modern War” Excerpt 1) (Version 1)

For Teachers 7th Standards
Readers consider comparisons between the Dinka and Nuer tribes in South Sudan, making connections between an informational article about Sudanese tribes and the novel A Long Walk to Water by Linda Sue Park. They annotate the text to help...
Lesson Plan
EngageNY

Inferring about Character: Analyzing and Discussing Points of View (Chapter 2)

For Teachers 7th Standards
Welcome to the World Café! Readers discuss A Long Walk to Water by Linda Sue Park. They circulate throughout the classroom, stopping at different tables to answer a discussion prompt with their classmates and record their ideas on a chart.
Lesson Plan
EngageNY

Mid-Unit Assessment: Gathering and Using Evidence to Analyze Points of View in A Long Walk to Water (Chapter 5)

For Teachers 7th Standards
Class members discuss how culture, place, and time influence a character's identity in A Long Walk to Water by Linda Sue Park. Then, as part of a mid-unit assessment, they complete a Gathering Evidence graphic organizer to answer the...
Lesson Plan
EngageNY

Practicing Structures for Reading: Gathering and Using Evidence to Analyze Salva’s and Nya’s Points of View (Chapter 4)

For Teachers 7th Standards
Class members discuss the gist of chapter four of A Long Walk to Water by Linda Sue Park with a partner and share their responses with the class. Next, they complete graphic organizers to answer text-dependent questions based on a close...
Lesson Plan
EngageNY

Practicing Structures for Reading: Gathering Evidence about Salva’s and Nya’s Points of View (Reread Chapter 3)

For Teachers 7th Standards
How does an author develop and contrast character points of view in a work of literature? Using a graphic organizer, readers continue gathering evidence about character point of view from Linda Sue Park's A Long Walk to Water. Next,...
Lesson Plan
EngageNY

Establishing Structures for Reading: Gathering Evidence about Salva’s and Nya’s Points of View (Reread Chapters 1 and 2)

For Teachers 7th Standards
Readers practice gathering textual evidence to support their understanding of character point of view in A Long Walk to Water by Linda Sue Park. Working with partners, they complete a Gathering Evidence graphic organizer and engage in...
Lesson Plan
EngageNY

Inferring about Character: Analyzing and Discussing Points of View (Chapter 2)

For Teachers 7th Standards
Readers engage in discussion with partners to answer questions about A Long Walk to Water by Linda Sue Park. Next, they complete exit tickets, writing about how the author creates different points of view for her characters.
Lesson Plan
EngageNY

Analyzing Author’s Purpose: Industrial Food Chain

For Teachers 8th Standards
Using an Author’s Purpose anchor chart, groups examine a variety of text to determine the author's purpose. They then apply what they have learned to The Omnivore’s Dilemma. In pairs, they discuss what the text is about and why...
Lesson Plan
EngageNY

Mid-Unit Assessment: Analyzing Author’s Purpose in Speech and Text

For Teachers 8th Standards
Part one of a mid-unit assessment relating to The Omnivore’s Dilemma includes listening to and analyzing a speech by Birke Baehr. Part two involves analyzing an excerpt from the text. The assessment ends with short response questions.
Lesson Plan
EngageNY

Reading for Gist, Answering Text-Dependent Questions, and Determining Author’s Purpose: Industrial Food Chain

For Teachers 8th Standards
A Reading Closely: Guiding Questions handout leads readers to discover the gist of The Omnivore’s Dilemma. While reading, pupils look closely at the words in the text and discuss their meaning. They use dictionaries when needed to answer...
Unit Plan
Farmington Public Schools

British Literature Honors: Beowulf

For Teachers 12th Standards
Whether new to teaching Beowulf or an experience pro, you'll find much to like in a richly detailed unit plan that asks readers to consider how the epic represents the difficulty in defining good and evil but also reflects the changing...
Lesson Plan
National Woman's History Museum

Humor and Activism

For Teachers 8th - 12th
As part of their study of the women's suffrage movement, groups analyze political cartoons and drawings. They create a caption for an image from the time, add an exhibit label that provides a context for their drawing, and post as part...
Lesson Plan
National Woman's History Museum

Tea with Penelope: A 2-Point Perspective of the Edenton Tea Party

For Teachers 5th - 8th Standards
A brief introduction to Penelope Barker sets the stage for a discussion about political cartoons and the persuasive technique used to create them. A graphic organizer aids scholars in the analysis of a piece of work using a 2-point...
Lesson Plan
EngageNY

Building Background Knowledge: The Internment of Japanese-Americans during WWII, Part 2

For Teachers 8th Standards
Scholars learn about primary sources with a Primary Sources: Japanese-American Internment during World War II packet. Pupils work with a partner to read challenging sources in the packet while making notes in the margins. They then...
Lesson Plan
EngageNY

Building Background Knowledge: The Internment of Japanese-Americans during WWII, Part 4

For Teachers 8th Standards
Learners use a Analyzing Mediums handout to detail the advantages and disadvantages of communicating with mediums such as artwork, photographs, and political cartoons in the Japanese-American Internment during World War II primary...
Activity
Poetry Society

Writing a Personification List Poem

For Teachers 6th - 12th
After a close reading of Sylvia Plath's "Mirror" and Flora de Falbe's "Five Things About the Lake," young poets craft their own personification list poem about a very special place.
Lesson Plan
EngageNY

Studying Conflicting Information: Varying Perspectives on the Pearl Harbor Attack, Part 2

For Teachers 8th Standards
Scholars take another look at Japan's Fourteen-Part Message. They then take turns adding ideas to sentence starters to create ideas about the different perspectives of government. To finish, groups mix and mingle to share their sentences...
Lesson Plan
EngageNY

Connecting Ideas in Primary and Secondary Sources: What Led to the Attack on Pearl Harbor?

For Teachers 8th Standards
Let's make some sense of those thoughts! Scholars continue thinking about the different perspectives on Pearl Harbor. They analyze quotes from War in the Pacific, Day of Infamy, and Fourteen-Part Message. Readers tape each quote to chart...
Lesson Plan
EngageNY

Studying Conflicting Information: Varying Perspectives on the Pearl Harbor Attack, Part 1

For Teachers 8th Standards
Scholars read President Roosevelt's Day of Infamy speech and analyze the speech's words using close reading guides. Readers determine Roosevelt's point of view after reading the speech and filling in the guides.