Curated OER
Art of Illustration: N.C. Wyeth and Literacy
High school artists observe and research the illustrations and techniques of N.C. Wyeth. They read (and reread) stories and illustrate the texts using methods inspired by Wyeth's practice. Includes detailed instructional plan and useful...
Curated OER
Take this Job and Love It!
High schoolers need to be prepared to enter the job market during or after high school. Here are six preparational activities geared at getting those kids ready to enter the job market. They conduct research on various jobs, learn about...
Curated OER
Journalism: Technology and Teen Abuse
Students investigate the link between technology and abuse among teens. They research dating abuse when cell phones or the Internet are involved. Working as a team of reporters, photographers, graphic artists, and page designers, they...
Curated OER
Creature Seekers
Does it actually exist? Consider the sighting of a giant squid, much like the one that appears in 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea. Middle and high schoolers read the article One Legend Found, Many Still to Go, and research other mysterious...
Curated OER
Denial on Trial
What is the "Faurisson Affair”? What is “Holocaust Revisionism”? What does freedom of speech entail? Do revisionists have a right to voice their ideas? Such questions are at the heart of a richly detailed, thought provoking lesson...
Curated OER
Arti-Factual Evidence
Practice responding to controversial information with the New York Times lesson provided here. Middle schoolers watch a video interview with the director of The Lost Tomb of Jesus. After reading a companion article, they identify the...
Curated OER
Loose Lips
Have your middle and high schoolers analyze instances of celebrities using racial slurs or making prejudiced comments in public. After reading an article, they consider the roots and effects of prejudice and bias. As a class, they...
Curated OER
Every Building Tells a Story
Using the images of Robert Harris, this series of lesson plans invites high schoolers to expand their understanding of Canadian heritage by examining architectural images of Charlottetown. These lessons include activities in writing,...
Curated OER
Re-Searching
Students take a closer look at the research cycle. In this journalism lesson, students discover and practice Internet searching skills. Students use the search techniques discussed to locate information on selected topics.
Maine Content Literacy Project
Introduction to Literacy Criticism
As learners continue to examine a short story of their choice, they take some time to look at analysis completed by others on the same story. In the eleventh lesson in a series of fourteen, pupils explore various sites for literary...
Curated OER
Voice of History
Way before the digital age radio was the medium of popular culture. After listening to excerpts from radio programs (easily available on the Internet), participants return to the radio age by creating a two-minute sketch based on a...
Curated OER
Valentine's Day: Love Letters
Oh the joys of love! As a special Valentine's Day assignment, budding authors research the life of one of the most romantic poets, Keats. They read the letter, "To Fanny Brawne, 13 October 1819," then compose a love letter of their own....
Curated OER
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...
Curated OER
Feature Stories
Young scholars are taught the basics of writing a feature story. They choose a topic for research. Students use the library and internet research skills to investigate their topic. They proofread their own writing or the writing of...
PBS
Be the Press: Local Interviews, National News
High school learners research an issue that is important to them and apply the research to write a newspaper article. After thoroughly researching their topic, high schoolers strengthen research, analyzation, and writing skills, by...
The New York Times
Researching the Researchers
Students match scientists with their major discoveries, choose one figure to research further, and co-author articles profiling the scientist and his or her achievements.
Curated OER
Live from Channel 22
Learners explore 1920s America. For this American history lesson, students research primary and secondary sources in order to examine the events and noteworthy people of the time period. Learners use their research findings to create...
Curated OER
Analyzing a Writer's Stance
Should college admissions decisions be based on whether whose family members attended? Secondary students read and respond to a New York Times article on the issue of 'legacy preferences' in college admissions. Following class...
Curated OER
Poetry Through Digital Storytelling
Bring digital storytelling to your language arts class! To begin, learners select their own topic, such as a poem that reflects a life experience they had or a historical figure who interests them. Then they work to create a storyboard...
The New York Times
Crossing the Line Online: Sexual Harassment and Violence in the Age of Social Media - NYTimes.com
Sexual harassment and sexual violence are by no means new issues. What has changed is the role of social media in these issues. This powerful and troubling lesson uses a specific rape case to launch research into a discussion of the...
Curated OER
Learning to Summarize an Article
In this summary skill worksheet, students research various online websites to educate themselves on what a summary is, when to write one, and how. Students are then required to find an article, read, and summarize with options for...
Curated OER
What's the Plan?
Is there a higher risk of dying on an intensely hot or incredibly cold day? Explore the effects of extreme weather on human health by reading a short article about a study done to address this question. Since the links in the lesson are...
Curated OER
The Balkans and World War I
Students review the causes of World War I and draw timelines of the 1914 events. They conduct Internet research to discover the role of the balkans in the war and how it spread to a worldwide conflict. Students then research the recent...
Curated OER
Night Compare Contrast
Using a constructivist approach and a graphic organizer, small groups work together to begin a paper, comparing and contrasting the novella Night and the movie Life is Beautiful. Assuming that your learners have studied both of these...