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Sentence Combining
Learners practice sentence combining at increasingly difficult levels throughout a week. They begin with nouns and verbs and build to contrasts, parallels, etc.Â
National Endowment for the Humanities
Lu Shih — The Couplets of T’ang
Writing poetry in ancient China was the modern equivalent of sending a greeting card. Scholars learn about the ancient Chinese poetic form called the lu shih. They read about the context of poetry during the T'ang Dynasty and complete a...
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The Final Copy
Write short stories in which events are presented in logical order, point of view is clear, theme and characters are developed. Middle schoolers also work on sensory language, concrete language and/or dialogue. They establish their...
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Propaganda
How does word choice affect the reading of a text? Compare two headlines that were written about the same event. Is one biased? Discuss how word choice often reveals the author's feelings about a topic. Then look at different techniques...
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Peer Editing
Sudents read and critique three of their fellow classmates' science fiction short stories on three consecutive days for mechanics, short story elements, style, and informational elements.
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Three Reasons Why I Want To Be...
Students investigate the process of writing an expository paper. The purpose of the paper is established in the introduction and the supporting details are sequenced in a logical order. The paper possesses punctuation and grammatical...
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Writing the Position Paper
Students write position papers on a form of alternative energy production. They use several class periods to develop and write their paper and them participate in an extensive peer review session.
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Ancient History Cyber-Journalists
Students describe and assess circumstances surrounding a major historical event from the ancient world by using Internet (and other) resources to research its location, people, and repercussions, & write a newsletter that summarizes...
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A Formal Analysis of Science Fiction
High schoolers write a five paragraph expository theme. They explain in their theme how the story they read qualifies as science fiction. Students write using all the conventions of English correctly.
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Limited Resources - Understanding Our Cultural Resources
Students examine and compare preserving natural resources and preserving cultural resources. They conduct Internet research on two topics, and write a position paper on whether cultural resources or natural resources are more important...
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Ancient History Cyber-Journalists
Students research a major historical event from the ancient world and write a newsletter about the event.
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Art or Artifact?
Students analyze and discuss illustrations of the New World by John White. They examine the images, answer questions about each one, and write an essay.
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Silent Spring
Students read background information about Rachel Carson found on the listed website links. They analyze and answer questions about her work and how it is linked to science then they research pesticide usage and alternative methods.
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Hello, How Do You Do?
Students role play proper greetings and etiquette in formal and informal work and social situations. Students compare and contrast introductions and conversational conventions in their native country and in the United States by writing...