Virginia Department of Education
Identifying Audience and Purpose
Use a fun and creative activity to introduce junior high learners to how writing changes for different audiences and purposes. The activity begins with a reading by the instructor where teens visualize a food fight in the cafeteria. In...
Dream of a Nation
Creating Awareness through Action Oriented Writing and Research
Middle schoolers aren't too young to feel strongly about politics, social issues, consumer rights, or environmental problems. Demonstrate the first steps toward social change with a project about action-oriented writing. Eighth graders...
Smarter Balanced
Advertising
The activities in this packet are designed to ensure that all class members have the necessary background knowledge to successfully engage in an assessment of advertisement appeals. After examining a series of ads, individuals use the...
Curated OER
The Legend of Sleepy Hollow
Explore Washington Irving's "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow" in this literature analysis instructional activity. Middle schoolers read and summarize the plot of the story. They then adapt passages for a contemporary audience and analyze the...
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Pictures and Slogans Persuade an Audience
Students discover relationships between advertisement and persuasive techniques. In this literacy and consumer education instructional activity, students select magazine or newspaper advertisements that use symbols, pictures, and...
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Stating Your Case: Writing Thesis Statements Effectively
As a writer, if you have a weak introductory paragraph or thesis statement, you might lose your audience! Have your middle and high schoolers practice writing introductory paragraphs that include clear thesis statements in response to...
Curated OER
Time Capsule Survey
Here's a fun way to incorporate technology into your curriculum. E-mail each of your class members a picture and 10 questions about the photo. Individuals then imagine the story behind the image and e-mail back their responses. Although...
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American Media: Addicted to Scandal?
Students examine media coverage of George W. Bush's refusal to answer questions regarding past illegal drug usage in the 1999 campaign. They consider the role of rumor, scandal, audience and relevance in political media coverage.
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TV Talks, We Listen?
Students recognize and analyze the link between advertisements and commercial programs as well as their influence on the audience. In this television and advertisement analysis lesson, students watch television to research the audience...
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Dissection Time
Students take a closer look at the organization of magazines. In this journalism lesson plan, students complete handouts about the jobs and responsibilities in the magazine industry. Students then learn about the steps of publishing and...
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Transportation Lesson
Students practice using transportation vocabulary in a foreign language. In this language arts lesson plan, students utilize the vocabulary terms for locations in order to give directions and find a specific place. Students answer a...
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Disco - Voices of a New Generation
Students analyze lyrics of selected Disco songs for content, theme and vocabulary. They write an extended response citing specific lyrics in response to three general themes.
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Proofreading: Lesson 8
Teacher reads the material that is printed in boldface type inside the boxes aloud to the students. Information in regular type inside the boxes and all information outside the boxes should not be read to the students. Possible student...
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Welcome to the Blogosphere
Create a blog spot for your classroom and promote online discussions. There are several blogging websites listed here, and you can create one specific to each class or one collective site. Teach your learners how to post on the blog, and...
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A New Point of View
Analyze point of view and how it affects a literary work with this lesson. Middle schoolers create a written piece that focuses on point of view. They review the literary term "point of view," and explore examples of the term in text....
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Introduction to the History of the Holocaust
The Holocaust is unbelievable! Examine this piece of history with your class. Using the Internet, research groups determine the relevance of information presented, compare how different sites present the same information, synthesize...
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Examining Persuasive Literature
Examine persuasive literature and writing. In this persuasive literature lesson plan, pupils work through a variety of activities over the course of three weeks (each week is planned by day). The unit's purpose is to examine examples of...
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Research Techniques: Gathering Credible Sources
How can you spot a credible source? What even makes a resource reliable in the first place? Answer some of these questions with this presentation. Although intended for higher education, this PowerPoint could be modified for middle...
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Multimedia Book Report
Young readers plan and draft a book report focusing on the five key components of a novel: plot, character, setting, conflict, and theme. After completing a story board, pupils then prepare a PowerPoint book report that is shown to the...
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Writing the Newspaper Article
The class reads several newspaper articles and analyze them for purpose, style, tone, length and organization. They interview each other about important events in their lives and write journalistic articles.
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Environmentally Friendly
What can your pupils do to promote better conditions for wildlife? After researching issues around wildlife management, class members use the Internet to locate three different organizations devoted to protecting wildlife. They then...
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Basic Paragraph
Explore basic paragraphs. Young writers compose a topic sentence, supporting sentences, and a concluding sentence. This activity is intended for use with a SMART Board, a software technology web link is induced.
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Life Lessons
Students analyze various inspirational statements from graduation commencement speeches, and then write their own speeches that reflect lessons to help students succeed in the next stage of life.
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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.