Curated OER
Character Impressions
Whether you are planning a unit on F. Scott Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby, or simply want to improve your pupils' descriptive writing, this lesson could be a good addition to your class. Using the Six-Trait Writing process, pupils use...
Curated OER
A PLAY ON WORDS
After making predictions about Janell Cannon's story Verdi, middle schoolers read through the book and make a new list of descriptions, personality traits, etc. They select an animal and write a narrative story about the animal, paying...
Curated OER
Compare and Contrast Poems vs. Lyrics
Combine your pupils' love of music with their growing knowledge of poetry! First, have them bring in their favorite songs for a discussion on word choice and literary devices. Then, use a Venn Diagram to compare and contrast the...
Shmoop
ELA.CCSS.ELA-Literacy.W.9-10.2
The details in the new Common Core standard for producing informative/explanatory texts is different from what you have in your current curriculum, and now you are confused on what to do. Keep calm and carry on, because not only does...
Curated OER
Persuasion and Parallel Structure
Discuss the definition of parallel structure with your high school class. In small groups, they read a section of "The Declaration of Independence" to identify examples of parallel structure. Each learner writes an essay explaining the...
Sandra Effinger
Bulletin Board Project
Imagine a project that informs and entertains. Replace book reports with a bulletin board that highlights all the important elements of a novel. Readers research the author, create a timeline of events in the story, write a character...
Curated OER
News View
Young scholars 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.
Shmoop
ELA.CCSS.ELA-Literacy.W.11-12.2
Practice and fine-tune your learners' writing skills for Common Core standard W.11-12.2 with a plan that explains how to incorporate the McCarthy Hearings into their reading of The Crucible. It offers solid advice for students on how to...
Shmoop
ELA.CCSS.ELA-Literacy.W.9-10.1
If you need an introduction to skill W.9-10.1 for writing, then you’re off to a good start here. Included is a funny script that introduces what the students need to know to conquer the skill. It also provides an introduction activity...
Curated OER
Mandela The Man
Ninth graders explore civil rights by reading several biographies. In this Nelson Mandela lesson plan, 9th graders discuss the trials and tribulations Nelson Mandela had to face in South Africa and how they were similar to the problems...
Curated OER
Jewish Assimilation In Contemporary American Literature
Students form groups to help each other read, analyze, and conduct research on important background information about Jews and their assimilation into modern American society. They write their own stories of assimilation.
Curated OER
Microarrays: Chipping Away at the Mysteries of Science and Medicine
Students research microarrays on the internet in cooperative groups. Students write an essay describing the use of microarrays in environmental research and in medicine.
Beacon Learning Center
Challenging the Human Spirit
High schoolers select a theme-related essay topic from Night, by Elie Wiesel, or The Metamorphosis, by Franz Kafka, and develop an essay that relates the theme to modern-day personal experiences. The essay follows a preset rubric...
Curated OER
Survival Story
Students discuss the pros and cons of being deserted on an uninhabited island. Then they write their own survival stories and complete a story jacket.
Curated OER
A Courtin' We Will Go
Learners investigate dialect in poetry as an indication of a people's culture in literature. They write a poem about dating in this era.
Curated OER
Irish Eyes: Taking a Look at Local Landscape
Direct your class’s attention to the elements that make their community unique. After examining sample travel brochures, groups select something from their community to use as the subject, and then research, create, and publish a...
Channel Islands Film
Arlington Springs Man: Lesson Plan 4
West of the West's documentary Arlington Springs Man introduces viewers to the remarkable finds on Santa Rosa Island. Archaeologist have discovered on this small island that is part of the Channel island chain, human and pygmy mammoth...
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
Quoting, Citing, and Paraphrasing
Beware! (not only the Ides of March). Warn your researchers of the dangers of plagiarism! After defining the term, viewers are introduced to the consequences of and forms of plagiarism, as well as tips on how to avoid plagiarism....
Curated OER
Defending Great Literature
Students defend Mark Twain and the study of The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn using persuasive techniques, appropriate word choice, and correct letter format, in response to a fictional letter by an upset parent.
Curated OER
Health: The Three Dimensions
Students examine the three dimensions of health, wealth, and happiness from both emotional and social perspectives. Among the week-long activities are discussions about good and poor habits, minimizing risks by proper planning and...
Curated OER
Henry Luce: Turn Me Luce
High schoolers research the life of Henry Luce, Time Magazine's founder, and examine the impact his magazine has had on the way American's see the world. They create a photo-essay, magazine or video to present their research.