Academy of American Poets
Teach This Poem: "November 2: Día De Los Muertos" By Alberto Ríos
Scholars examine a colorful and detailed picture, then view an engaging video in preparation for reading the poem "November 2: Día De Los Muertos" by Alberto Ríos. Learners discuss their observations, feelings conveyed, and the...
Academy of American Poets
Teach This Poem: "The Teller of Tales" by Gabriela Mistral
The poem "The Teller of Tales" by Gabriela Mistral is the subject of a thoughtful lesson that allows scholars to listen to or read the poem, then discuss its meaning.
Anti-Defamation League
“They Don’t Know Me”: Exposing the Myths and Establishing the Facts about Immigration
Middle schoolers engage in a lesson plan that teaches them to distinguish myths from facts about United States immigration. Class members take an immigration quiz, watch a "What Would You do" video, and discuss how they could be an ally...
Anti-Defamation League
"What is it Like to be an Outsider?”: Building Empathy for the Experiences of Immigrants
This lesson highlights the struggles of immigrants and the importance of showing empathy. Beginning with a read-aloud of a book in another language and a poem, scholars take part in a thoughtful discussion. Then, the class examines a...
K20 LEARN
Conflict And Choice In Tangerine: Character Development
Introduce middle schoolers to Edward Bloor's novel Tangerine with a instructional activity that asks scholars to make predictions about events in the novel based on an article written by the Smoop Editorial team. Predictions are posted...
K20 LEARN
Considering "Charles": Pictograms, Annotations, Reading Strategies, And Multimodal Responses
Shirley Jackson's short story, "Charles," provides middle schoolers with an opportunity to practice their close reading skills. Using the provided list of prompts, scholars read and reread the story, then create a multimodal response to...
K20 LEARN
I Need A (Super)Hero: Literary Elements And Narrative Writing
Need a hero? Super! Groups create their modern-day marvel and craft a narrative with all the elements required in such a tale.
K20 LEARN
HOT Questions: Creating Meaningful Questions
Scholars examine a list of questions and sort them into corresponding groups based on similarities. A gallery walk allows peers to see how their peers sorted questions and leave notes. Costa's Level of Questions is the topic of a...
K20 LEARN
Examining The Boston Massacre Through Primary Sources
The Boston Massacre is the focus of a lesson that explores primary sources. Scholars examine two primary source images and discuss the different perspectives on the historical event. After groups read a researched account, they perform a...
K20 LEARN
Ecosystems, Human Activity, And Interactions, Oh My!: Human/Environment Interaction
Word clouds about ecosystems hook learners into a lesson that explores Yellowstone wildlife. Young scientists create cause-and-effect relationships after examining data and recommend solutions to their observed problems. More data...
Anti-Defamation League
On-Screen Diversity: Why Visibility in Media Matters
Characters play a significant role in why we like certain shows and movies but are the characters we watch representing the diverse society in which we live? Scholars examine this question through thoughtful discussion about popular...
Anti-Defamation League
Mo’Ne Davis and Gender Stereotypes
A thoughtful discussion begins a lesson plan about sports and gender stereotypes. After defining stereotypes, scholars highlight how gender stereotypes often have adverse effects. To break through those stereotypes, the class gets to...
K20 LEARN
Growing Themes
The theme of a work is not a single word! Rather it is a statement that reflects what a writer believes or wants readers to understand about a topic or subject. Here's a short, but powerful lesson that utilizes passages from The...
Anti-Defamation League
Role Models and Stereotypes: Misty Copeland's Story
A lesson points the spotlight at Misty Copeland, the first African American Principal Dancer. A thoughtful discussion prompts pupils to think of their career aspirations and identify ways role models and stereotypes influence young...
Anti-Defamation League
Diverse Books Matter
A campaign by Marley Diaz sheds light on the importance of diverse books. Scholars explore the campaign and identify "window" and "mirror" books. They look closely at their library and classroom bookshelves and reflect on why diverse...
K20 LEARN
Diggin' Deeper - Poetry Made Relevant: Poetry And Poetic Devices
What do Beethoven, Bob Dylan, and Pharrell all have in common? Works by these three musicians are used to launch a study of poetry. Class members listen to passages from the music and craft a quick write about how the music makes them...
K20 LEARN
Brushstrokes: Communication/Using Descriptive Language
Sometimes a picture reflects a thousand descriptive words. To illustrate the importance of sensory words in descriptive writing, scholars listen to a song and craft a painting in response. After sharing their work with the class,...
Overcoming Obstacles
The Big Day
Check and double-check! That's the big idea as teams prepare to launch their Service Learning Projects. They review their action plans, materials lists, timelines, schedules, and memos, brainstorm last-minute project needs, issues, and...
Overcoming Obstacles
Public Assessment
How'd we do? Class members consider different forms of public assessment and select a method or methods they will use to craft a formal public assessment of their Service Learning project. Participants then present their assessments.
Overcoming Obstacles
Self-Assessment
The project is over! Now it's time to sit back, reflect, and assess. Guided by the provided questions, individuals assess their project and participation.
Overcoming Obstacles
Taking Action
Introduce the project teams to critical skills they will need to successfully complete their Service Learning project. Groups learn how to use a tracking sheet and write a status memo. They discuss the importance of commitment,...
Overcoming Obstacles
Giving Presentations
With their action plans in place, groups now develop a presentation to get others interested in their project. Scholars learn how to present themselves during a presentation and elaborate on and add visuals to their presentation. After...
Overcoming Obstacles
Formalizing and Finalizing the Action Plan
It's time to get to work! Groups assign roles, duties, and due dates for their Service Learning action plan. They then identify the approvals they will need to complete their project successfully.
Overcoming Obstacles
Gathering Information and Making the Commitment
Scholars create and commit to a contract for their Service Learning project. The contract details who is responsible for which tasks on the action plan they developed in a previous lesson.