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Lesson Plan
Literacy Design Collaborative

A Pale Blue Dot: That's Here. That's Home. That's Us.

For Students 5th - 8th Standards
21st-century learners live in such a visual world that many are unused to letting their minds imagine the picture that words create. An excerpt from Carl Sagan's lecture, "The Pale Blue Dot: A Vision of the Human Future in Space,"...
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Lesson Plan
Literacy Design Collaborative

American Dream: Reality, Promise or Illusion?

For Students 10th - 11th Standards
Dream or nightmare? Class members craft a synthesis essay with textual to determine to what extent the United States has fulfilled the ideas embodied in the America Dream.
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Lesson Plan
Literacy Design Collaborative

Existentialism and Kafka

For Teachers 10th Standards
Scholars read Kafka's The Metamorphosis and research for essays and articles on existentialism. After gaining information and evidence from their research, pupils write essays defining existentialism and its relationship on the work of...
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Lesson Plan
Literacy Design Collaborative

The Art of Persuasion: How Rhetorical Devices Influence Audiences

For Teachers 9th - 10th Standards
Scholars analyze a variety of text to identify the development of claims and persuasive techniques writers use. In each text, pupils determine the argument and the persuasive techniques and complete a task introduction worksheet. The...
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Lesson Plan
Literacy Design Collaborative

Rhetorical Analysis for Pre-AP English

For Teachers 10th - 11th Standards
Scholars closely analyze the use of rhetorical strategies in several model texts. They work in groups to annotate the text identifying rhetorical elements, and to complete a Rhetorical Analysis chart and guided reading worksheet....
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Lesson Plan
Literacy Design Collaborative

Rhetorical Analysis: A Modest Proposal

For Teachers 12th Standards
Scholars read Jonathan Swift's A Modest Proposal before writing essays to analyze the use of rhetorical devices in the text. Essay writing begins by underlining key words in the writing prompt and discussing the prompt with partners....
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Lesson Plan
Literacy Design Collaborative

Jumping Frog of Calaveras County

For Teachers 8th Standards
Was that supposed to be funny? Scholars analyze The Jumping Frog of Calaveras County to determine if Mark Twain's story is indeed based on humor. Learners work through short response questions, vocabulary, and active reading to make a...
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Lesson Plan
Literacy Design Collaborative

Growing up Is Hard to Do

For Teachers 7th Standards
Looking for a fountain of youth? Scholars analyze a group of texts by Gary Soto that pertain to the difficulties of growing up. Activities pertaining to vocabulary, close reading, and shared writing prepare learners for the final task of...
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Lesson Plan
Literacy Design Collaborative

Catching a Grenade: How Word Choice Impacts Meaning and Tone

For Students 8th Standards
Beyonce's "Halo" and Bruno Mars' "Grenade" provide eighth graders with an opportunity to consider how a writer's choice of words can create a very different tone even when the subject is the same. After a close reading of both lyrics,...
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Lesson Plan
Literacy Design Collaborative

Analyzing the Development of Theme through Pivotal Moments

For Students 6th Standards
Liliana Heker's "The Stolen Party" and Martha Salinas' "The Scholarship Jacket" provide sixth graders with an opportunity to identify key scenes that authors use to develop their themes.
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Lesson Plan
Literacy Design Collaborative

Text Analysis and Character Revelations: Flowers for Algernon

For Teachers 7th - 8th Standards
What does your character reveal about you? Scholars carry out several activities to determine the reveal of character in Flowers for Algernon. Readers answer text dependent questions, complete diary entries, write reflections, and use...
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Lesson Plan
Literacy Design Collaborative

Rhetorical Analysis of Frederick Douglass

For Teachers 11th - 12th Standards
Is the Fourth of July a celebration for all Americans? Scholars carry out a close read of What to the Slave is the Fourth of July? Readers talk with partners about the speaker's point of view, the author's debate, reasoning, and...
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Lesson Plan
Literacy Design Collaborative

Words Matter: Diction and Orwell's "Shooting an Elephant"

For Teachers 10th Standards
Watch your tone! Scholars analyze how diction in George Orwell's Shooting an Elephant contributes to the tone of the text. Readers watch a video, participate in a word splash, and work through a PowerPoint lesson plan to help them...
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Lesson Plan
Literacy Design Collaborative

Structure Forming Meaning

For Teachers 7th Standards
Teach literary lovers how to form opinions about form. Scholars read informational text about the form used in villanelles. After analyzing the structure used in the poetry with graphic organizers and gallery walks, writers create...
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Lesson Plan
Literacy Design Collaborative

Student-Determined Data Analysis

For Teachers 11th - 12th Standards
You can't argue with the numbers. Scholars complete activities to prepare for writing a data analysis report. Writers select a research topic and complete a data analysis tool. They share their questions based on the data with peers and...
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Lesson Plan
Literacy Design Collaborative

Whom Do We Trust, and Why?

For Teachers 9th - 10th Standards
Is it possible to regain trust? Scholars put much thought into the subject of trust after reading Shakespeare's Macbeth. Readers work together to analyze how the character relationships develop the a message about trust. They then create...
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Lesson Plan
Literacy Design Collaborative

Using Textual Evidence to Analyze Literary Responses to Historical Events

For Teachers 9th Standards
Scholars analyze Animal Farm to learn how to add textual evidence into essays to support their ideas. They search for a deeper meaning to the story and how it relates to the text Totalitarianism and Revolutions in Russia. To finish,...
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Lesson Plan
Literacy Design Collaborative

Tracing Character Development in Miss Awful

For Teachers 6th Standards
Scholars take a close look at Roger in Miss Awful. As the plot develops, readers track Roger's perceptions of his substitute teacher. Learners then discuss how Roger's actions toward the substitute changes as the story progresses before...
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Lesson Plan
Literacy Design Collaborative

The Sunflower: The Possibilities and Limitations of Forgiveness

For Teachers 11th Standards
After reading Simon Wiesenthal's The Sunflower, pupils form opinions either for or against forgiveness as well as analyze Wiesenthal's choice about forgiving. Before completing their essays, learners participate in class discussions to...
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Lesson Plan
Literacy Design Collaborative

The Power of Language

For Teachers 8th Standards
There is power in words. Readers take a close look at three text to determine how language structures affect meaning, including include poems and recipes. Scholars analyze the language authors use by circling important words, underlining...
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Lesson Plan
Literacy Design Collaborative

"The Gettysburg Address" Close Reading Module

For Teachers 9th - 10th Standards
It's time to think deep and narrow. Scholars focus close reading on one short text but task take their thinking to a deep level. Readers use a Rhetorical Analysis Chart to analyze The Gettysburg Address and determine how Lincoln used...
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Lesson Plan
Literacy Design Collaborative

Elie Wiesel's Acceptance Speech Analysis

For Students 9th - 10th Standards
Elie Wiesel's Nobel Prize Acceptance speech provides young historians with an opportunity to demonstrate their ability to use evidence from the speech. They work together to analyze how Wiesel uses rhetorical devices and syntax to...
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Lesson Plan
Literacy Design Collaborative

"Masque of the Red Death" - Symbolism and the Development of an Allegory

For Teachers 7th Standards
Analyze chunks of Masque of the Red Death to determine Edgar Allan Poe's use of symbolism and development of allegory. Readers learn new vocabulary words, answer comprehension questions, and identify symbols throughout the story. They...
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Lesson Plan
Literacy Design Collaborative

Identifying Points of View through Character Responses in R.J. Palacio's "Wonder"

For Teachers 6th Standards
Readers examine the book Wonder by R.J. Palacio to determine how characters respond differently to situations and events. Readers annotate and analyze the text and carry out group discussion using accountable talk. They work in small...