Curated OER
Apply Pre-reading Strategies and Read Persuasive Text
Students apply pre-reading strategies to improve comprehension of An Account of Sa-Go-Ye-Wat-Ha by Elbert Hubbard. In this literature lesson, students complete K-W-L and T charts based on the readings.
Curated OER
Unwind: Vocabulary Strategy, Creating an Unwind Glossary
Prior to reading Unwind, Neal Shusterman's 2007 young adult science fiction novel, class members research the common definition of words drawn from the novel that will come to have a very different meaning to them as they are drawn into...
Maryland Department of Education
The Concept of Diversity in World Literature Lesson 8: Nonfiction Close Reading
As part of their study of Things Fall Apart, class members conduct a close reading of a section of Chinua Achebe's essay, "An Image of Africa: Racism in Conrad's Heart of Darkness." Jigsaw groups then compare the voice in the essay...
Maryland Department of Education
The Concept of Diversity in World Literature Lesson 11: The Historical/Biographical Approach to Literature
How affected is Thinks Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe's personal biography? Using a four corners strategy, and evidence from their readings, class members debate the degree of biographical influence in Achebe's novel.
Curated OER
Reading Comprehension: History of the Periodic Table
Although the article that launches this lesson is about the history of the Periodic Table, the objective is reading comprehension. Using the eight-page informational text, learners answer five comprehension questions and craft one essay....
Literacy Design Collaborative
Rhetorical Analysis for Pre-AP English
Scholars closely analyze the use of rhetorical strategies in several model texts. They work in groups to annotate the text identifying rhetorical elements, and to complete a Rhetorical Analysis chart and guided reading worksheet....
Curated OER
Language Arts: Reading Non-Fiction
Students read and view information sent from seven high school students who travel to China. The daily reports that they send back to the weblog section of the site should be of high interest to students in Minnesota.
Maryland Department of Education
The Concept of Identity Lesson 5: Motivation - Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs
Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs provides the lens class members use to analyze and evaluate the motivations of the characters in Sylvia Plath's "Initiation" and scenes from Mean Girls. Readers then select a character from A Separate...
Curated OER
When I Set My Hat at a Certain Angle: Trying on Zora Neale Hurston's Voice to Dress-up Prose
After reading and evaluating examples of prose nonfiction by Zora Neale Hurston and other authors, high schoolers write a personal reflective essay rich in figurative language. By incorporating this strategy, they utilize voice within...
Maryland Department of Education
The Concept of Diversity in World Literature Lesson 9: Debating Imperialism
To gain an understanding of Imperialism, class members read Rudyard Kipling's poem, "The White Man's Burden" and Mark Twain's essay, "To the Person Sitting in Darkness." Groups compare these perceptions of non-white cultures with the...
Maryland Department of Education
The Concept of Diversity in World Literature Lesson 1: Unit Introduction
To launch a unit study of the concept of diversity in World Literature, class members compare Chinua Achebe's essay, "An Image of Africa: Racism in Conrad's Heart of Darkness" and Richard Rodriguez's essay, "The Chinese in All of Us: A...
Virginia Department of Education
Creating Thesis Sentences
Growing writers explore what it takes to develop and support a thesis statement with pre-fabricated ideas provided by the Virginia Department of Education. Learners take notes on what makes a thesis statement and a topic sentence, and...
Curated OER
Analyzing Persuasion
A reading of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s "I Have a Dream" speech launches a study of rhetorical devices such as hyperbole, allusion, metaphor, simile, personification, connotative language and parallel structure. Class members then...
Curated OER
Persuasive Elements
Investigate letters to the editor and their persuasive qualities. Break your class into reading groups and give each one a different article. As they read, they complete a graphic organizer to record their thoughts and opinions. There is...
Curated OER
Was the Wolf Really Guilty?
Students read plays, short stories, or novels which revolve around trials, and write essays explaining or defending the assigned role in a mock fairy tale trial.
Reed Novel Studies
Hatchet: Novel Study
Thanks to Gary Paulsen's Hatchet, teen readers now know it's possible to survive in the wilderness. A study guide for the novel discusses common topics and vocabulary words found within the text. Additionally, readers get the chance to...
Curated OER
News View
Students read and analyze three different news sources that describe the same event. They compare/contrast the similarities and differences of the news sources, and write an essay describing the main event.
Curated OER
WH AT' S Y O U R A M B I T I O N?
High schoolers read and analyze an excerpt from Life on the Mississippi by Mark Twain. Students use the Six Traits of Writing to compose an essay on a personal life ambition that each high schoolers may have. Students use prewriting...
Curated OER
Heroic Images: Visualization and Media Messages
Students examine media messages. In this media awareness activity, students analyze online messages about heroism as they complete a jigsaw reading activity.
Curriculum
Expository Writing
The beauty of the way this expository writing resource is structured is that the units can be presented as a complete writing workshop or sequenced throughout a course of study
Curated OER
"Journalism in Tennessee"
Students listen to headline from National Enquirer or other tabloid, listen to story "Journalism in Tennessee," compare and contrast connections between Twain's idea of journalism with present day journalism, define vocabulary, and...
Curated OER
Time Marches On
Students discover the times of Colonial America by creating a timeline. In this U.S. History lesson, students research a teacher-directed website about African Americans in early colonial times. Students utilize their information to...
Curated OER
Hamilton and Burr : Compare and Contrast
Who were Aaron Burr and Alexander Hamilton? High schoolers examine the character traits of these historical figures and watch the video, The Duel. Hamilton vs. Burr: An Event that Changed History (available from PBS), to gain an...
Curated OER
Aztec Myths: Writing Editorials
Middle schoolers write an editorial giving an opinion of whether or not Quetzalcoatl has arrived and if so, what the Aztecs should do. They discuss whether or not they believe Quetzalcoatl is a god or a man, and use an Editorial...