PBS
Rosa Parks: Civil Rights Activist
Scholars examine the courageous efforts made by civil rights activist, Rosa Parks. Discussion questions and a brief writing assignment follows a short film. A photograph and a silent film delve deeper into Park's history and three...
Poetry4kids
Forced Rhymes and How to Avoid Them
Ready to take your poetry writing to the next level? Use an independent lesson to iron out all those forced rhymes, wrenched rhymes, and near rhymes from first-draft poems.
Curated OER
Getting the Word Out
Discuss and generate blogs in this technology instructional activity. Middle and high schoolers explore examples of blogs and create their own blogs. Use this instructional activity throughout the year to reinforce concepts from your...
Maine Content Literacy Project
Understanding Theme
The ninth in a fourteen-lesson series, this plan marks a sort of midpoint in a unit devoted to the study of short stories. Pupils learn about theme and work on their short story projects by adding to their blogs, checking in with the...
Maine Content Literacy Project
Process of Reading
Assist your pupils with literary analysis by discussing and exploring theme. This plan, the twelfth in a series of fourteen, builds in some time to explore theme as a class. Learners also blog about the main event in their stories and...
Curated OER
Blogging My Life 24-7
Students write sticky blog entries to practice instant communication that is simple, concrete, credible, and emotional. In this blogging lesson, students discuss blogs and visit examples to find 'sticky' writing examples. Students write...
Newspaper Association of America
Critical Thinking through Core Curriculum: Using Print and Digital Newspapers
What is and what will be the role of newspapers in the future? Keeping this essential question in mind, class members use print, electronic, and/or web editions of newspapers, to investigate topics that include financial literary,...
Echoes & Reflections
Contemporary Antisemitism
Despite the recognized atrocities of the Holocaust, anti-semitism continues. The 11th and final installment of the Teaching the Holocaust series explores the long-term effects of the Holocaust on modern anti-semitism, asking pupils to...
Jefferson County Schools
Teaching Persuasive Reading and Writing
With the increasing emphasis on persuasive and argumentative writing, the lessons and strategies in the sample unit are sure to prove valuable—whether you are new to or an experienced pro at teaching persuasive reading and writing.
American Psychological Association
How Psychology Benefits Society
How do people form their opinions about certain social issues? Scholars research current global issues to find out how psychology plays a role in swaying thoughts. Using blogs, writings, and presentations, they uncover why people think...
Curated OER
Tell Me; I’ll Listen
Encourage respect, responsibility, and caring within your classroom with a collection of lessons that spark dialogue and self reflection. To address character traits, lessons touch on topics such as staying safe in the cafeteria,...
Anti-Defamation League
Addressing Hate Online: Countering Cyberhate with Counterspeech
Cyberbullying is the focus of much discussion. Here's a lesson that offers suggestions for addressing cyberhate. After groups examine different examples of cyberhate, the class adds their suggestions to a list of ideas for how to counter...
Curated OER
Express Yourself Lesson Seed 18: Investigate
Prepare your class for argumentative writing with a close inspection of the controversy surrounding Theodore Taylor's novel, The Cay. All necessary articles and materials are linked at the beginning of the resource. Kids use the provided...
Curated OER
Hot Off the Web
Students read an online article about blogging and its culture especially in the workplace. They create their own blogs based on current events.
EngageNY
Introducing Research Folders and Generating a Research Question
Take the next step in the writing process with a lesson plan geared towards the completion of writing an evidence-based essay about a rule to live by, as Bud did in Bud, Not Buddy by Christopher Paul Curtis. Pupils collaborate with their...
EngageNY
Analyzing Structure and Theme in Stanza 4 of “If”
Here is a lesson that provides scholars with two opportunities to stretch their compare-and-contrast muscles. First, learners compare and contrast their experience reading the fourth stanza of If by Rudyard Kipling to listening to the...
Nemours KidsHealth
Concussions: Grades 3-5
Two lessons focus on concussions. The first lesson uses cards and role-playing to detail signs of a concussion. Through readings, discussions, and worksheets, the second lesson looks closely at parts of the brain and offers ways to keep...
EngageNY
Writing: Drafting Body Paragraphs and Revising for Language
Begin the drafting phase of the writing process with a lesson plan focused on logically writing three body paragraphs. Then, revise the writing to make it more formal after a teacher-directed mini-lesson plan. Each paragraph highlights...
EngageNY
Pitching Your Claim with Best Evidence
Does Bud use his rules to survive or thrive? That is the driving question of a lesson plan following the reading of Bud, Not Buddy by Christopher Paul Curtis. In an argument essay prewriting activity, pupils use textual evidence to...
Nemours KidsHealth
Getting Along: Grades 3-5
Two lessons boost social awareness and spread gratitude. In the first lesson plan, scholars write a newspaper article that describes a conflict and ways to solve it. In the second lesson plan, pupils offer kindness coupons to family and...
Nemours KidsHealth
Bullying: Grades 6-8
Two lessons promote social awareness and build relationship skills. In lesson one, scholars define bullying and role-play coping strategies. Lesson two challenges learners to diffuse a bullying situation using their knowledge of...
EngageNY
Asking Probing Questions and Choosing a Research Topic
Begin the writing journey of an evidence-based essay detailing a rule to live by with various activities to familiarize learners with the topic and jump-start brainstorming. First, pupils take part in an in-depth review and discussion of...
Overcoming Obstacles
Clarifying Values
Encourage thoughtful decision making with a lesson that highlights the importance of values. Scholars take part in a grand conversation, listen to stories, and make decisions based on their personal values.
Stanford University
Declaration of Independence
Scholars work in pairs to decide whether leaders wrote the Declaration of Independence for the rich and powerful or for every man. To draw their conclusion, pairs read excerpts from two historians and complete a graphic organizer citing...