Outlines are a great asset to essay planning. Scholars read and analyze a model essay about the importance of daily reading and consider how it would look in an outline format. Next, they outline their own informative essays about rules...

Writers work to create drafts of their end-of-unit assessments relating to A Mighty Long Way and Little Rock Girl 1957. Using computers to create the first versions of their essays, writers emphasize ideas and evidence before focusing...

How do writers use evidence from literary texts to support analysis and reflection? With instructional activity 17 of 20 from the Grade 8 ELA Module 1, Unit 2 series, learners gather resources to prepare for an end-of-unit assessment....

The Grapes of Wrath. The Jungle. Native Son. The Things They Carried. The Absolutely True Diary of a Part Time Indian. To address a current social, political, economic, or environmental issue, class groups pair the reading of a...

After researching an issue introduced in Tyson Miller's Dream of a Nation: Inspiring Ideas for a Better America, writers develop an original thesis statement and craft an analytic essay using evidence collected in their research.

Shakespeare's Macbeth has something for everyone. Scholars complete a mid-unit assessment. They craft multi-paragraph essays to analyze how the author's structural choices create tension and suspense in the play's first two acts.

Upper graders consider contemporary Chinese economics, political viewpoints, and government. This unit covers a span of several class periods or six days, and engages learners in a variety of skills based activities. They conduct...

Readers take all the information they gained from the last 19 lessons and complete an essay describing how King develops his purpose and claim in "Letter from Birmingham Jail." Pupils use a rubric and checklist to help guide their...

How do learners use textual evidence from a close reading to write a well-developed essay? Scholars try it by completing a mid-unit assessment based on their analysis of the first 15 paragraphs from "A Genetics of Justice" by Julia...

Pupils investigate American slavery from colonial times through the Civil War. They incorporate primary sources, video clips, and firsthand accounts to understand how the slavery issue gripped the nation. Essays, presentations, and...

Your parents were both in different countries. You were born in the US. Documents and application forms ask you to identify your racial or ethnic classification. Which box do you check? Class members collect documents...

After a peer review of their outlines, class members examine a model of an effective, engaging introduction and then craft the first draft of the introduction to their research paper.

Fourth graders study Indian women in Texas. In this US history instructional activity, 4th graders discuss what each Indian woman's contribution was by completing a timeline and table. Students examine the Caddo Women's...

How many constitutional clauses does it take to create a bill? High schoolers find out with several activities and  selected clauses about the rule of law and the US Constitution. Various coinciding activities help to strengthen...

Before your students reached your morning class to learn about persuasive writing, they probably saw dozens of examples of persuasive communication in the form of advertisements. A short, introductory instructional activity inspires...

High schoolers examine and analyze visual media and its messages critically. They determine whether specific media messages inform, entertain, or persuade and what factors influence the media. Using primary sources, they participate in...

Young scholars examine consumption habits in developed and developing countries and determine their effects on natural resources. In groups, they assess graphs on the Living Planet Report and observe the connection between consumption...

How did jazz influence Ralph Ellison's Invisible Man? Class members read some of Ellison's non-fiction writings about blues and jazz, listen to records, watch videos, and engage in student-centered discussions. They then produce podcasts...

Tired of giving the same old multiple-choice tests, and have the urge for a new assessment? Then bring the precision of a Socratic seminar into your classroom. Even if you did not read Cold Sassy Tree the organization and explanation on...

Seventh graders examine the importance of being organized when making transitions. In this organization lesson, 7th graders watch a teacher demonstration of entering a room in a disorganized manner before discussing how the transition...

High schoolers discuss and develop graphic writing webs, writing supporting ideas for a given topic.

Students practice descriptive writing in a thank-you note format. In this descriptive writing lesson, students read the example letter and analyze the corrections in the letter. Students read the example thank you notes and focus on the...

Ninth graders research a future career and write a resume for the job. In this job skills lesson, 9th graders work in groups to identify future job skills and duties. Students then write a resume for the job.

Students discuss African-American history from slavery to the civil rights movement. They discuss individual people who shpaed history by reading their biographies and researching the age in which they lived. Studnets comprehend the...