Prestwick House
Understanding Language: Slant, Spin, and Bias in the News
We live in a time of fake news, alternative realities, and media bias. What could be more timely than an activity that asks class members to research how different sources report the same topic in the news?
Curated OER
6th Grade: Express Yourself, Lesson 2: Close Read
The second lesson of a pair about Paul Laurence Dunbar, this plan focuses in particular on his poem, "We Wear the Masks." After a short historical introduction, class members conduct a series or readings, marking up the text and...
Curated OER
Debate over the Ratification of the Constitution
Twelfth graders discuss the creation of the United States, the Articles of Confederation and the Constitution. Through a class debate, role-playing Federalists and Anti-federalists, they identify the reasons for and against ratification...
Curated OER
Bronte and Rhys' Portrayal of Bertha
Students, while reading and discussing the two texts by Charlotte Bronte and Jean Rhys, compare/contrast the two main characters and juxtapose them as the same character told from two different points of view. They gain insight of how to...
Curated OER
A Modest Proposal: Irony Made Understandable with Rock and Roll
Who doesn't love music? Poems and songs will engage your high school class in a discussion about irony. Use songs like "Rockin' in the Free World" or "Born in the U.S.A." to illustrate the ironic point of view. Print the lyrics so...
Curated OER
Films About World War II
Ninth graders focus on how filmmakers have changed their view of the Second World War. They create portfolios or their own documentary to investigate the various screen interpretations of the wartime era and explain different points of...
Curated OER
Friar Margil & The Spanish Missions
Students explore the life of Friar Margil de Jesus as well as other Spanish friars. They research Friar Margil and write a paragraph explaining why Spanish friars came to Texas. In groups, students create a PowerPoint presentation...
Curated OER
Writing a Personal Letter Using the Short Story "Eleven"
Challenge your class to connect to the text of "Eleven" by Sandra Cisneros with this activity, which prompts them to write a personal letter from the main character's point of view. The story, prompt, and letter template are all included...
Curated OER
For the Record
Young scholars read a New York Times article in order to examine the importance of cultural artifacts. They create essays from the point of view of one cultural artifact to demonstrate the knowledge they gained by doing research.
Calisphere
The 6 C's of Primary Source Analysis
Arm your class members with the six C's of primary source analysis—content, citation, context, connections, communication, and conclusions—and help them to establish a solid system for analyzing historical sources of...
Curated OER
Hawthorne: Author and Narrator
Students examine the difference between a narrator and author. They read Nathaniel Hawthorne's novel, 'The Scarlet Letter,' write a description of the narrator, and research how Hawthorne was impacted by the politics of the time.
Curated OER
Lord of the Flies
Learners participate in a panel discussion to decide who was responsible for each development on the island. In this Lord of the Flies lesson, students divide into groups supporting Jack and Ralph with a third group acting as...
Curated OER
Writing in Different Viewpoints
Young scholars read and analyze the point of view of a selected classic short story. They take notes while reading the story, select a character, and rewrite the story from a different viewpoint.
Curated OER
The WPA, Zora Neale Hurston, and the Cross City Turpentine Camp
Students read Zora Neale Hurston's essay "Turpentine" and analyze the document using the Document Analysis Worksheet. They determine the author's purpose and point of view and their effects on the text.
Curated OER
Literary Tour of California via Podcast
Young scholars explore California's authors and their lives. For this author study, students research different authors from California. They create podcasts about their authors, walking the audience through the author's life and points...
Curated OER
What's My Point?
Sixth graders move through the process of defining persuasion, identifying persuasive arguments and techniques in writing and evaluating their own use of accurate details. Students also define an author's point of view.
Prestwick House
The House on Mango Street Activity Pack
Enrich a unit on The House on Mango Street by Sandra Cisneros with a selection of related activities. The packet contains nine activities that go from pre-reading through wrapping up the novel. Young readers work on studying...
Deer Valley Unified School District
Close Reading: Analyzing Mood and Tone
The AP Literature and Composition exam is all about close reading. Test takers are presented with a passage and asked to analyze how an author uses literary devices to create a desired effect. Prepare your students for the exam with 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
Frederick Douglass, Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass an American Slave, Written by Himself
Foster reader confidence when encountering complex text and reinforce the skills readers have acquired to build and extend their understanding of text. The plan uses a section of Douglass’ narrative as an exemplar text. Directions for...
Curated OER
Cold War Era Film Censorship: High Noon- a Slice of Americana Or Communist
Young scholars study of the effects of the Cold War on the home front. They analyze the film High Noon according to an abbreviated version of the standards that films were judged by in the early 1950s and determine whether or not High...
Curated OER
Coca Cola vs. People of India
Learners study the presence of Coca Cola in India and what it has done to the water supply there. Students research web articles. They compare and contrast diverse cultural points of view. Learners participate in a mock trial to...
Curated OER
Quality of Information: Point of View and Bias
Fifth graders identify stereotypes of Indian people based on perceived characteristics. They discuss the misconceptions. Students define quality of information and give an example from the story "Seaman's Journal: On The Trail With Lewis...
Curated OER
Total English Advanced: Our Points of View
In this discourse markers and colloquial expressions worksheet, students identify the writers and artists in the box and match them to the colloquial phrases listed. Students also choose a subject from the provided list to organize a...