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All in a Day's Work
Who is Herman Melville? Read and discuss "Bartleby the Scrivener: A Story of Wall-street." Then, discuss the film adaptations of Melville's work and translate a passage of the text into modern-day English. Discussion questions are...
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The Learning Network: Re-envisioning Classic Stories
Readers reflect on enjoyable stories they know, brainstorm criteria that make a story "good," analyze a New York Times article about innovative children's performances, re-envision classics on their own, and peer edit drafts. Use this as...
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News Quiz l Sept. 19, 2011
Even though this online current events quiz is based on news from September 2011, it offers a chance for scholars to sharpen their media literacy skills and is available on a daily basis on this site. Scholars answer five multiple-choice...
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News Quiz l May 26, 2011
Although this online current events quiz is based on May of 2011, it offers a chance for scholars to sharpen their media literacy skills and is available on a daily basis on this site. There are five multiple-choice questions covering a...
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Are Antismoking Ads Effective?
Are the anti-smoking ads put out by the federal government effective? This question is posed to your critical thinkers. They'll read excerpts from a New York Times article and then compose thoughtful blog responses to four related...
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Let There Be Peace: Nobel Prize Winners
What is the Nobel Peace Prize? After they establish criteria for great leadership, secondary learners read a New York Times article about President Jimmy Carter's acceptance of the Nobel Peace Prize in 2002. Individuals research the...
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Screen Play
High schoolers examine the New York Times review of the film adaptations of J.R.R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings and explore the elements of scriptwriting. They read the article about the film adaptation screenplay and examine a sample...
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Increase Kindness, Defeat Bullying: Lady Gaga's Born This Way Foundation
High-interest content captures your most reluctant readers and class participants. Lady Gaga's Born This Way Foundation, in collaboration with Harvard University, seeks to nurture a culture of kindness and reduce bullying. Excerpts from...
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News Quiz: Feb. 29, 2012
Quiz your kids on what they know about current headlines. They'll answer five questions related to items found in the New York Times dated February 29, 2012. These events may not be current, but that doesn't change the fact they're...
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Vocabulary in Context: Test Yourself with the New York Times
Drawn from the New York Times' superb Learning Network program, this multiple choice question checks readers' knowledge of two vocabulary words in a paragraph from a review of the 2011 film Take Shelter. An interactive answer key clearly...
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Comma and Semicolon: Test Yourself
A pair of complex sentences, drawn from a New York Times article about a police writing class, are punctuated differently with commas and semicolons. There's only one question, but it's a good one to press your grammarians to increase...
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Supporting Opinions: Handling the End of a Friendship
Four thought-provoking questions encourage readers to develop and support their opinions about strategies to end a friendship after exploring excerpts from a New York Times article. The reading is brief so this could be a lead-in to...
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Nonfiction Text: Comprehension Practice
A New York Times article about a 15-year-old style maven who in 2011 launched the fashion magazine "Rookie," based on her blog, makes high-interest nonfiction reading for secondary learners. This page asks 9 comprehension questions...
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Brain-Controlled Robotic Arms: Cloze activity with Article
Fascinating content about current medical research on brain-controlled prosthetics comes in cloze activity form with a link to the original article. Useful for listening and reading comprehension skills development, and for any science...
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Poem in Your Pocket Day: Ideas for Celebrating
First instituted in New York City in 2002 and recognized nationwide in 2009, "Poem in Your Pocket Day" is part of National Poetry Month (April) and celebrates poetry in everyday life. A brief news story includes 9 ideas about how to...
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News Quiz | October 7, 2011
What happened on October 7, 2011? Read the New York Times to find out! After glancing at the paper, kids take a quick five question quiz. A great way to get informed and stay on top of the daily news.
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Children Cooking at Home: Developing Opinions
Excerpts from a New York Times article about children cooking dinner for their family can lead learners to express opinions about taking on real life responsibilities. The story will prompt discussion, but add more questions directed at...
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Let's Be Honest!
Students investigate the concepts of honesty and take a survey about honesty. They use the New York Times to conduct research to identify the characteristics commonly found in stories about cheating. Students write reflective papers...
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Today's News, Tomorrow's History
Students read and analyze the historic New York Times front pages, and read an article that focuses on the current housing slump and the effect on state budgets. They answer comprehension questions, then in small groups answer questions...
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Art Smart
Students engage in a lesson that is concerned with the expression of art that is popular in modern times. They read articles from the New York Times and write reflectively about the featured art exhibits. Students use the newspaper to...
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The Unspoken Words of Media Ethics: Do we know what they are?
Students read codes of ethics from the New York Times, Washington Post, Society of Professional Journalists and the American Society of Newspaper Editors. In this Civics lesson, 10th graders role-play ethical dilemmas faced by reporters.
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Building Blocks
Students study the relationship between landscape and building architecture. For this landscape architecture lesson, students examine the proposals for a new school building, and select the proposal they think is the best. Additionally,...