Author, filmmaker, and anthropologist Zora Neale Hurston was also a dialectologist. The dialogue of the characters in her novel Their Eyes Were Watching God reveals her fascination with accents and dialects. A short video from the Great...

It's all in the technique. Scholars revisit the model narrative they covered in lesson four to analyze the author's writing techniques. Readers compare techniques they spot in the narrative to those in the essay rubric. They then work to...

Scholars begin writing an argument essay based on Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream. They read and analyze a model essay, considering the author's thinking before writing it.

What was life like in the American South following the Civil War? Scholars watch a video that discusses the aftermath of the Civil War and the events during the Reconstruction Period. Additionally, they continue reading Carlotta Walls...

Pictures and photographs help build background knowledge about a topic. Scholars participate in a gallery walk to learn more about the Jim Crow era of US history and the desegregation of schools following Brown v. Board of Education....

How do incidents in A Mighty Long Way provoke the author, Carlotta Walls LaNier, to make certain decisions that shape her story? Scholars engage in a close reading of the memoir, analyzing events in US history and Carlotta's personal...

The authors of the court's decision and the dissenting opinion on Plessy v. Ferguson disagreed on their interpretations of the Thirteenth and Fourteenth Amendments. Scholars set out to show how with an on-demand writing prompt. They...

How do authors play to people's moods? After briefly reviewing mood using a Conditional and Subjunctive Mood handout, learners practice identifying conditional and subjunctive sentences in the Montgomery Bus Boycott speech before reading...

What is the purpose of an introduction and conclusion? Using the resource, scholars review the model position paper from activity one and discuss the author's choices. Next, they draft their position papers' introductory and concluding...

Readers engage in discussion with partners to answer questions about A Long Walk to Water by Linda Sue Park. Next, they complete exit tickets, writing about how the author creates different points of view for her characters.

How does an author develop and contrast character points of view in a work of literature? Using a graphic organizer, readers continue gathering evidence about character point of view from Linda Sue Park's A Long Walk to Water. Next,...

Successful poetry writing requires three P's: planning, preparation, and practice. Pupils read a model two-voice poem and discuss how the author uses evidence to develop the theme. With a partner, scholars use a rubric to analyze the...

Class members pair up to discuss how the author of A Long Walk to Water altered history. They then work independently on Mid-Unit 2 Assessment: Comparing Water for Sudan and A Long Walk to Water. Readers close the lesson plan...

Copy that! Writers carefully analyze a model essay to gain a better understanding of their upcoming essays about A Long Walk to Water. They begin by circling unfamiliar words in the model as teachers read it aloud. They then pinpoint...

Ravenous or hungry, happy or ecstatic—why does word choice matter? Scholars continue to analyze working conditions in the mill and how the conditions affect the protagonist of Katherine Paterson's novel, Lyddie. They engage in a close...

Using a Venn diagram, class members generate similarities and differences between narratives and summaries. Next, pupils co-create an anchor chart to capture their thinking about how an author zooms in on a particular part of a story. 

Howdy partner! After discussion and teacher model reading of Slaveships, scholars pair up for a partner reading of the poem. They then use equity sticks to discuss their thoughts of the poem with the class. Readers talk about allusion,...

Writing is a craft. Scholars take a mid-unit assessment where they answer questions about the author's purpose and craft in Douglass's narrative. After completing the assessment, pupils look continue with their independent reading text.

Aspiring artists and budding writers combine their skills in an interactive lesson. Young scholars become authors when they create their own picture books focused on social justice. The resource guides learners through the writing and...

The proof is in the reading. Scholars read an article, "Attached to Technology and Paying the Price," and answer text-dependent questions. Next, they complete a Venn diagram to contrast two authors' use of evidence on the topic of screen...

When it comes to comparing texts, it's apples to oranges. As part two of the mid-unit assessment, learners compare and contrast two texts about the Internet and brain health. While reading, scholars use a Venn diagram to compare two...

Each presidential election year, the debate about the electoral college rages. Michael C. Maibach's "A Defense of the Electoral College" offers young political scientists an opportunity to examine a reasoned argument for why the...

Water is life! Using the informative resource, scholars first read two informational articles about water management in agriculture. Then, they use a Venn diagram to contrast the different types of evidence authors use to support a...

It's the half-way mark! Pupils demonstrate understanding of unit standards by completing a mid-unit assessment. After reading an informational article about water management strategies, scholars complete a graphic organizer to identify...