Scholars read, analyze, and evaluate argumentative writing. Discussion about arguments of mass incarceration evolves from The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness. Learners participate in group discussions and...

What skills do storytellers employ to bring to life the characters and events in their tales? After listening to a recording of a Haitian folk tale, class members consider how tone of voice, pace, and gestures can be used to enliven a...

Even the most thrilling sports career can end in an asterisk if the player uses performance-enhancing drugs. Focused on the topic of doping in sports, a seventh grade unit breaks down the arguments for and against steroids in five...

There is a reason why an Oscar is given each year for the Best Adaptation Screenplay. Adaptations are the focus of an exercise that asks class members to compare a work of literature with a least one adaptation of the work into a...

A lesson plan instills the importance of locating reliable sources. Scholars are challenged to locate digital sources, analyze their reliability, search for any bias, and identify frequently found problems that make a source unusable. 

Introduce your class members to allegory and propaganda with a series of activities designed to accompany a study of George Orwell's Animal Farm. Readers examine the text as an allegory, consider the parallels to collective farms...

Upper graders explore the similarities, differences, and depth of pop music from the Romantic era and the 20th century. They listen to selections that exemplify the Baroque, Romantic, and 20th century periods, then create presentations...

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...

Who has the better argument? Class members work in small groups to compare the arguments on the Example of Strong and Flawed Arguments sheet. They then analyze Michael Pollan’s argument on pages 161–166 of The Omnivore’s Dilemma and...

Readers apply Sigmund Freud's theories of the unconscious mind and the psychological approach to literary criticism to analyze and evaluate the relationship between two characters in A Separate Peace.

Let me check my schedule! Scholars set up discussion appointments with five classmates to discuss Shirley Chisholm's speech "Equal Rights for Women." Readers then use their Note Catcher guides to analyze the text of the speech more...

Words are powerful ... can your class choose them wisely? Scholars evaluate news articles to discover the concepts of tone, charge, and bias during a media literacy lesson. The resource focuses on recognizing implicit information and...

Test your pupils' reasoning skills with several activities and a quick mystery to solve. Learners watch and analyze a few video clips that demonstrate reasoning in action, practice deduction with an interactive and collaborative...

Does the lens of history portray George Washington as a good leader? A three-lesson unit looks at Washington's early military career as the commander of the Virginia Regiment, his role in the fight for independence...

Planning is the key to success. Scholars continue planning their essays by adding reasons to their Planning My Argument graphic organizers. Additionally, pupils analyze a body paragraph from a model position paper, identifying the...

What makes an issue or event newsworthy? Scholars complete a K-W-H-L chart based on a recent news event. As they complete the chart, small groups collaborate to analyze coverage of the story or event.

What's the difference between a position speech and a position paper? Scholars use a rubric to analyze a model essay about Michael Pollan's food chains to understand what makes them unique. Additionally, pupils create anchor charts...

Scholars continue to analyze Simon Schama's article "The Shakespeare Shakedown." They participate in a jigsaw discussion to identify the author's argument and supporting claims. Pupils also write objective summaries of the text.

Scholars partner up to review a model essay and talk through the process leading up to writing their essays. During a second reading of the essay, learners locate and underline the claim given, reasons, and counterclaim. They then...

Weigh the pros and cons. Class members continue sharing their thoughts on media and events by watching the video John Chancellor Reports on the Integration at Central High School. They discuss the advantages and disadvantages of gaining...

As your class finishes the novel Dragonwings, use these culminating projects. A vocabulary list is given for chapters eleven and twelve and either an epitaph or letter activity concludes the book. The final project consists of creating a...

Examine three speeches while teaching Aristotle's appeals. Over the course of three days, class members fill out a graphic organizer about ethos, pathos, and logos, complete an anticipatory guide, read speeches by Martin Luther King Jr.,...

How is religious freedom connected to the conflict between China and Tibet? After reading an online passage of background information, your learners will divide into groups and both read and view an interview with the Dalai Lama. They...

In order to make evidence-based claims, one must be able to draw explicit information from text. From here, learners take that information, analyze the text to develop a deeper understanding, and connect with the information in order to...