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Lesson Plan
EngageNY

Mid-Unit 3 Assessment: Drafting the Position Paper

For Teachers 7th Standards
Organize your thoughts! Scholars work on the drafts of their position papers about sustainable water management. The draft serves as their mid-unit assessment. Before beginning, the class discusses the prompt and then learners work...
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Lesson Plan
EngageNY

Scaffolding for Position Paper: Clarifying Body Paragraphs, Introduction, and Conclusion

For Teachers 7th Standards
Let's have a talk. Scholars talk through the body paragraphs of their Sustainable Water Management position paper with peers. They take turns explaining their work to one another. They then begin to work independently on the introduction...
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Lesson Plan
EngageNY

Scaffolding for Essay: Planning Body Paragraphs for Position Paper This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCom

For Teachers 7th Standards
Scholars begin creating a plan for their position papers using a Sustainable Water Management Position Paper Planner. They talk with partners about their claims and counterclaims for the essays. Writers then work independently to plan...
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Interactive
News Literacy Project

Get Smart About COVID-19

For Students 7th - 12th
Pandemic or infodemic? Scholars complete an online quiz to determine if they can sort fact from fiction related to COVID-19 information. Pupils view a variety of news articles, social media posts, and video clips to practice identifying...
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Activity
News Literacy Project

Story Explorers: Evaluate News Coverage

For Teachers 7th - 12th Standards
What makes an issue or event newsworthy? Scholars complete a K-W-H-L chart based on a recent news event. As they complete the chart, small groups collaborate to analyze coverage of the story or event.
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Lesson Plan
News Literacy Project

News Judges

For Teachers 7th - 12th Standards
Order in the court! Scholars act as news judges, learning how to analyze the newsworthiness of several pieces of information. Working in small groups, they determine which events are most newsworthy and then complete graphic organizers...
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Lesson Plan
News Literacy Project

InfoZones

For Teachers 4th - 12th Standards
Not all information is created equal. Scholars embark on a gallery walk around the classroom to view six examples of information and identify their primary purposes. Next, pupils complete a graphic organizer to evaluate the different...
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Lesson Plan
EngageNY

End of Unit 2 Assessment Part 2: Presenting a Claim

For Teachers 7th Standards
There's no time like the present for a presentation. Scholars present their claims about water management using facts, details, and examples from their research throughout the unit. Afterward, they complete exit tickets to evaluate their...
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Lesson Plan
EngageNY

Using Multimedia in Presentations: Presenting Claims

For Teachers 7th Standards
Visuals help clarify claims. Scholars create visual displays to accompany their end-of-unit presentations about water sustainability. Using blank paper and their notes from the unit, they put their creativity to good use and then...
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Lesson Plan
EngageNY

End of Unit 2 Assessment, Part 1B: Fishbowl on Better Use of Water in Industry

For Teachers 7th Standards
Listen up, it's time for a Fishbowl discussion! Scholars continue their discussions about water management in industry and agriculture. After hearing both sides of the debate, pupils complete graphic organizers, deciding which sector is...
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Lesson Plan
EngageNY

End of Unit 2 Assessment, Part 1A: Fishbowl on Better Use of Water in Agriculture

For Teachers 7th Standards
Just keep swimming! Pupils participate in a Fishbowl discussion, sitting in two concentric circles and alternating between speaking and listening roles. During the discussion, they defend a claim about the best way to begin managing...
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Lesson Plan
EngageNY

Forming a Research-Based Claim: Stakeholder Chart on Better Agricultural Water Management

For Teachers 7th Standards
How can industries manage water more sustainably? Building on the previous activity, scholars explore the topic by creating a stakeholder chart for agricultural water management. Next, they participate in the World Café discussion...
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Lesson Plan
EngageNY

Forming a Research-Based Claim: Stakeholder Chart on Better Industrial Water Management

For Teachers 7th Standards
It's time to stake a claim! Working with partners, scholars create stakeholder charts for better industrial management of water. As they complete the chart, pupils consider an option for managing water more sustainably, identify...
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Lesson Plan
EngageNY

Forming a Research-Based Claim: Cascading Consequences Charts

For Teachers 7th Standards
Life is all about choices and consequences. Using a Cascading Consequences chart, scholars create a visual map of the effects of a particular choice or action related to water management. With their researcher's notebooks and copies of...
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Lesson Plan
EngageNY

Mid-Unit 2 Assessment: Research Task: Comparing and Contrasting Texts

For Teachers 7th Standards
It's the half-way mark! Pupils demonstrate understanding of unit standards by completing a mid-unit assessment. After reading an informational article about water management strategies, scholars complete a graphic organizer to identify...
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Lesson Plan
EngageNY

Gathering Information about Water Management: Assessing and Reading Internet Sources, Day 3

For Teachers 7th Standards
Water is life! Using the informative resource, scholars first read two informational articles about water management in agriculture. Then, they use a Venn diagram to contrast the different types of evidence authors use to support a...
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Lesson Plan
EngageNY

Gathering Information about Water Management: Assessing and Reading Internet Sources, Day 2

For Teachers 7th Standards
Accuracy, credibility, timeliness ... it's time to act on source reliability! Pupils continue conducting Internet research, selecting two questions about water management from their researcher's notebooks that they want to explore...
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Lesson Plan
EngageNY

Using Effective Search Terms: Researching Water Management

For Teachers 7th Standards
Discover how to use search terms effectively! Scholars continue their exploration of Charles Fishman's The Big Thirst, engaging in a read aloud and then answering text-based questions. Next, pupils learn about using search terms and...
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Lesson Plan
EngageNY

Contrasting Authors’ Use of Evidence: Bottled Water

For Teachers 7th Standards
Apples to oranges, Dasani to Aquafina. Using a Venn diagram, scholars contrast two authors' use of evidence on the topic of bottled water. Additionally, they continue reading Charles Fishman's The Big Thirst and answering text-dependent...
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Lesson Plan
EngageNY

Finding Relevant Information and Asking Research Questions: The Big Thirst

For Teachers 7th Standards
Let's get to the gist. As scholars continue their study of Charles Fishman's The Big Thirst, they practice writing the gist of the text. Additionally, pupils add notes about the industrial uses of water to their researcher's notebooks. 
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Lesson Plan
EngageNY

Analyzing Interaction: Categories of Water Management in The Big Thirst

For Teachers 7th Standards
It's puzzle time! Pupils participate in a jigsaw activity to discuss the various uses of water, including personal, agricultural, and industrial uses. They also conduct a close reading of The Big Thirst by Charles Fishman and answer...
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Lesson Plan
Marybeth Lobiecki

Beyond Baseball with Jackie Robinson

For Teachers 2nd - 8th
Jackie Robinson was more than a baseball star, he was a prominent activist. The thought-provoking resource focuses on the life and achievements of Jackie Robinson, from his baseball career to his civic participation. Academics listen and...
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Lesson Plan
EngageNY

Scaffolding for Position Paper: Peer Feedback and Citing Sources

For Teachers 7th Standards
It's all a process. Scholars watch as the teacher models a peer feedback process. They then carry out the process on their own using the Sustainable Water Management Peer Feedback Form. As a bonus, individuals then participate in an MLA...
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Lesson Plan
EngageNY

Analyzing a Model Position Paper: “Changing Our Water Ways”

For Teachers 7th Standards
Follow the leader for better writing! Scholars analyze a model position paper, "Changing Our Water Ways." During the first pass, they listen as the teacher reads the paper aloud. They then do a second read of the paper and complete a...