Curated OER
Fate vs. Mind: A Macedonian Folk Tale
High schoolers examine the work of Carla Bachechi as a Peace Corp volunteer in Macedonia. Individually, they read various folktales from the country and break into groups to discuss how it is different than a novel. To end the...
Curated OER
Media Literacy Unit - Part 4
Seventh graders study how advertisers use techniques to sell their products. In this persuasive media lesson, 7th graders analyze media messages to find the advertiser's purpose. They examine different advertising techniques and their...
Curated OER
MLK Letter From Birmingham Jail Analysis
Designed as a PowerPoint presentation for AP English class, this resource provides a detailed analysis of the content, format, and purpose of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr’s “Letter from the Birmingham Jail.” Because much of the...
Curated OER
Persuade Me
Students develop their writing skills. In this writing strategies lesson, students examine persuasive writing techniques on order to write persuasive mailers.
Curated OER
Screening the Silver Screen
Young scholars write New York Times Movie Guide Reviews using descriptive and persuasive language.
Curated OER
The Purpose and Power of Persuasion
Seventh graders are introduced to and discuss the power of persuasion. After reading text, they identify the author's purpose, perspective and argument. They write their own fiction and non-fiction texts and develop a perspective after...
Curated OER
The Movement of Ideas
Twelfth graders read and analyze the literary elements of Alphonse Daudet's "The Last Lesson" and Abraham Lincoln's Second Inaugural Address. They compare the two works and write an essay describing the reasons they feel the authors...
Curated OER
Silent Spring
High schoolers read background information about Rachel Carson found on the listed website links. They analyze and answer questions about her work and how it is linked to science then they research pesticide usage and alternative methods.
Curated OER
Literary Analysis: Summary vs. Analysis
What is the difference between summary writing and literary analysis? A 16-slide presentation offers some basic requirements for both types of writing and helps readers identify each based on keywords used in both types of writing....
Curated OER
What Are the Advantages and Disadvantages of Conforming?
Dive into Arthur Miller’s The Crucible and determine what it means to conform in society, and discuss as a group with the thoughts and plans available in these documents. Included are multiple activities and brain targets that form the...
Polk Bros Foundation
Common Core Constructed Response Organizer
Get your writers ready to compose a constructed response essay in response to either an informational or fictional text. Pupils note down the big idea they wish to address as well as up to nine examples from the text that they wish to...
Novelinks
The Tempest: Anticipation Guide
Begin your unit on William Shakespeare's The Tempest with a helpful anticipation guide. Learners read ten statements that connect to the play's literary themes, and note whether they believe the statement is true or false.
Library of Congress
Determining Point of View: Paul Revere and the Boston Massacre
If you're teaching point of view, this is the lesson for you! First, decipher the writer's point of view from a primary resource, then compare and contrast the primary source with a secondary source to explore the Paul Revere's engraving...
PBS
The Sixties: Notes from the Ho Chi Minh Trail
Young historians research the rationales for fighting the Vietnam War, and the controversies surrounding it. They watch film clips, examine photographs, and read Lyndon B. Johnson's message to Congress to gather information for a...
Albert Shanker Institute
Dream Under Development
As part of their study of the 1963 March on Washington, class members do a side-by-side comparison of the original text of Martin Luther King's "I Have a Dream Speech" with a transcript of the speech he delivered. The take away from the...
Curated OER
Do We Have to Do This?
Young scholars conduct Internet research, and read articles about education to determine why particular educational practices are used, and why they are important in terms of No Child Left Behind. Students create PowerPoint presentations...
Curated OER
Persuasive Elements
Investigate letters to the editor and their persuasive qualities. Break your class into reading groups and give each one a different article. As they read, they complete a graphic organizer to record their thoughts and opinions. There is...
Shmoop
ELA.CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RI.11-12.8
It is no easy feat to wade through legal and political documents. And incorporating this type of informational text into a literature class can also be a challenge. Here’s a resource that includes suggestions for how to address this...
Curated OER
Unit Plan for Mark Twain and American Humor
Students create brochures about the humor of Mark Twain. In this literature-analysis lesson plan, students read "The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County" and other short stories by Twain. Students write analytical paragraphs and...
Curated OER
My Brother Sam is Dead: A study of the Revolutionary War
Fifth graders complete an analysis of the Revolutionary War through literature. After "My Brother Sam Is Dead," students create a time capsule containing items that would be relevant during the Revolutionary War. They identify key...
Curated OER
Understanding Rhetoric and Evaluating Bias in Text
Students can learn about bias in text and the rhetorical principles proposed by Aristotle.
Curated OER
Dream of the Red Chamber - Essay Questions
In this literature worksheet, learners respond to 15 short answer and essay questions about Dream of the Red Chamber. Students may also link to an online interactive quiz on the novel at the bottom of the page.
Curated OER
Trekking to Timbuktu: Restoring the Past
Students describe the environmental conditions that presently threaten Timbuktu. They explain what efforts are being made to restore the ancient mosques, describe the condition of the ancient manuscripts and tell what is being done to...
Curated OER
Stowe's Reviewers
Young scholars read, evaluate and respond to both positive and negative reviews of Harriet Beecher Stow's, Uncle Tom's Cabin.