Curated OER
Making the Personal Political
Students identify controversial topics on which they have strong opinions and model their own persuasive opinion pieces after the featured article. They compose persuasive essays on controversial issues that "hit home" for them.
jc-schools
The Expository Essay
Did you ever create an awesome graphic organizer only to find that your class was completely baffled by how to use it? This resource not only provides you with a great graphic organizer for a standard five-paragraph essay, but also...
Curated OER
Crisis Management
Learners research the issues facing President Bush and write short political commentaries predicting what course the president take. For homework, they write editorials stating what they think the president should do to best serve the...
Curated OER
The Powers That Be
Students investigate past energy legislation, then write letters to Congress from the perspective of citizens trying to influence the original passage of these bills. Each small group does their research using a website imbedded in this...
Professional Development Institute
Which Is More Important?
Think about the roles of hunters and squaws in Elizabeth George Speare's The Sign of the Beaver. Whose work is more important? Young writers compare Attean and Matt's reaction to each gender's role, as well as arguing their opinion...
Curated OER
The Great Computer Debates
Learners research controversial Internet technology issues concerning security, privacy, and intellectual property. They formulate and present various perspectives on these issues in a mock television panel discussion.
Curated OER
Brainstorm This!
Students discuss the advantages and types of brainstorming as a prewriting tool. They experiment with different styles of brainstorming and produce prewriting samples for assessment.