Curated OER
Organizing One’s Thoughts
Students take a closer look at the organization of written pieces. In this writing skills lesson, students examine transitions, repetition, parallelism, and other organizational patterns in writing.
Curated OER
Create the Habit of Reflective Writing
Developing the habit of reflective writing can help you analyze, organize, and improve your teaching.
Curated OER
Plagiarism: Avoiding Accidental Internet Plagiarism
Demonstrate how to cite information from Internet sources without plagiarizing. If your class is working on an Internet research paper, and you have observed learners cutting and pasting directly from the Internet, the activities and...
Speech and Debate Union
Introducing Debate in the Classroom
Considering organizing a speech and debate club? check out this packet that contains all the information you need to get started.
MENSA Education & Research Foundation
The Writer’s Toolbox: What You Need to Master the Craft
Strengthen your high schoolers' writing with a series of steps for writing successfully. With sections on organizing an essay, choosing a topic, crafting a thesis statement, and revising a draft, the lesson encourages your class to...
Curated OER
Note-taking and Organizational Strategies
Students practice taking notes. In this written communication lesson, students discuss the purpose of taking notes and then research note-taking methods using the provided Web site tool. Students practice using one of the note-taking...
Curated OER
Hurricane Katrina: You Be the Reporter
Young scholars work in a small group to create news stories, feature stories and editorials/letters to the editor and organize them in a podcast, video-based program, or newspaper/magazine focused on Hurricane Katrina.
Curated OER
Time Capsule Survey
Here's a fun way to incorporate technology into your curriculum. E-mail each of your class members a picture and 10 questions about the photo. Individuals then imagine the story behind the image and e-mail back their responses. Although...
Curated OER
My Dream Job
Students write a research paper about their dream job. They organize their paper using research notes, and support their main idea with supporting details.
Curated OER
Ban That Book!
Take advantage of Banned Book Week to pique high schoolers' interest and get them reading! Create a classroom display of previously banned books and allow each member of your class to choose one to read. After they have read their book,...
Curated OER
Paragraph Construction
What is a paragraph? This question drives the PowerPoint. Viewers discuss important elements of a solid paragraph, transitions between paragraphs, and strategies for editing. Show this presentation and then look at an example paragraph...
Curated OER
Writing Prompts: Political Cartoons
Students select a cartoon to present to the class. They study it for a few minutes, write a list of questions about the cartoon. Students answer each others' questions and change the questions to declarative statements which are used as...
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
Synthesis of Information
Locating and synthesizing information is an essential part of the research process but can be overwhelming for many young writers. Eliminate some of the stress and confusion, this resource suggests, by separating these steps. To focus...
Curated OER
Writing Process-- Revision and Editing
As guided practice, class members work together to revise a model persuasive paragraph. Then they practice independently with their own writing. The included rubric looks at prewriting, drafting, revising, editing, nonfiction text...
Curated OER
Two Sides, Same Coin: How Political Beliefs Influence Language Use
Learners read several magazine articles on the same topic written from different political perspectives, paying particular attention to the diction, syntax, and arguments presented in support the point of view expressed. They then select...
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
Writing a Personal Narrative
Students analyze a variety of rhetorical devices including metaphor, hyperbole, metonomy and imagery. They read samples of autobiographies, work in groups to complete writing skills activities and produce individual personal narratives.
Curated OER
Writing a Research Paper: Citing Sources and Revising
Students complete a works cited page, make revisions on their writing, and improve their writing skills. In this writing a research paper activity, students create a bibliography using MLA format and peer evaluate the papers of their...
Curated OER
Getting a Job! Getting a Job: The Resume Interview
Eleventh graders discover resume strategies. In this career goals lesson, 11th graders review sample resumes, discuss their attributes, and write their own resumes that effectively introduce them to prospective employers.
Curated OER
Building a Journalism Team
Students play a granola bar relay to learn about the importance of teamwork in a journalism team. In this journalism team lesson plan, students use granola bars to participate in a relay activity to improve their communication as well as...
Curated OER
Spinning Your Wheels
Students read various articles related to transportation and land use. They cite textual references as they engage in panel discussions, shared inquiry discussions and debates. They write a persuasive essay on the topic.
Curated OER
Language Arts: Persuasion
Students examine the characteristics of persuasive writing. They identify arguments, supporting details, and discuss how to reorganize and present information in more effective ways. Students compose their own essays and discuss their...
Maryland Department of Education
The Concept of Diversity in World Literature Lesson 13: Unit Culmination - Symposium
To conclude a unit on the concept of diversity in world literature, class members conduct a symposium on "African Literature in Global Perspectives." In order to earn a spot on the panel, individuals craft an original thesis that...