Idaho State Department of Education
Lessons for Social Studies Educators
Point of view, purpose, and tone: three concepts readers of primary and secondary source materials must take into account when examining documents. Class members view a PowerPoint presentation and use the SOAPS strategy to identify an...
Curated OER
Topic Sentences and Transitions
High school writers identify the purpose of both a topic sentence and a transitional statement. They write a topic sentence which denotes the paragraph topic and the author's stand on that topic. Then they write an effective transitional...
Curated OER
Formal versus Informal Language
Engage in an activity that focuses on the concepts of formal and informal language use. Middle and high schoolers compare and contrast each style by using a Venn diagram that includes some examples. They read and hear a passage of lyrics...
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...
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...
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
Paragraph Building
Build the skills your budding authors need to develop to compose well-structured paragraphs. Give them the topic sheet (included here), and have them write a cohesive paragraph using the ideas listed. Consider having them include two...
Curated OER
No Regrets: a Poetry Analysis
Learners read a poem and use the TPCASTT strategy for analysis. In this poetry analysis lesson, students journal about their future goals and read John Updike's "Ex-Basketball Player." Learners discuss the purpose of the poem and...
Curated OER
Modernism in Poetry, Painting, and Music
Are you teaching Modernism to your class? Connect different areas of artistic expression in the Modernist Era. Learners read T.S. Eliot, view art by Pablo Picasso, and listen to a Modernist musical composition. This final assignment is...
Curated OER
Texas Kid Writes Book About Presidents
Arranged into small groups, learners read a paragraph of the news story "Texas Kid Writes Book About Presidents." As one reads, others mark the text (underlining important information and writing notes in the margin of the story). After...
Curated OER
Understanding Persuasive Writing
Students give examples of how the media glamorize violence and desensitize viewers to the horrors of real acts of violence. They identify factors in addition to the media that contribute to the problem of violence in society.
Curated OER
Still-Life Painting: Arranging Nature
Students examine and paint still life paintings. In this still life painting lesson, students look at pictures of European still life paintings and determine the characteristics when using an opaque medium. They use an opaque medium to...
Curated OER
The Job Application
Students complete job applications. In this written communication lesson, students discuss the purpose of job applications and then complete job applications in their field.
Curated OER
Dear Character
Students think about a character and how this character feels about life. This lesson can be used with virtually any grade level. They better explain a character, and identify character traits.
National Endowment for the Humanities
John Steinbeck’s "The Grapes of Wrath": The Inner Chapters
Here’s a must-have resource for anyone using The Grapes of Wrath. Everything from guiding questions to background information, from photographs to documentary films, from activities to assessments is included in a richly detailed packet...
Albert Shanker Institute
Dream Under Development
As part of their study of the 1963 March on Washington, class members do a side-by-side comparison of the original text of Martin Luther King's "I Have a Dream Speech" with a transcript of the speech he delivered. The take away from the...
Curated OER
Transcendentalism and Epiphany in Ray Bradbury's Dandelion Wine
Twelfth graders examine the characteristics of transcendentalism. In this transcendentalism lesson, 12th graders determine what this type of writing entails before reading a passage from, Ray Bradbury's, Dandelion Wine. They cite three...
Alabama Learning Exchange
Environmental Scrapbook and Podcast
High schoolers collect newspaper and magazine articles about the environment and construct a scrapbook using construction paper, glue, and scissors. To make it even more environmentally friendly, groups can create an online scrapbook...
Curated OER
Speech: Skill, Process, Practice
Students examine the characteristics of an informative speech. In this informative speech activity, students create a framework for their informative speech using the given website. Students also read and use the tips for preparing and...
Curated OER
On Stage Tonight . . .
Eleventh graders explore the World Wide Web for information concerning the period known as "The Harlem Renaissance." They study the contributions made by African Americans in the areas of literature, art, and music during this period in...