Curated OER
Newspapers: A Connection to Our Past
Students discuss current events and importance of understanding historical context for events today. They research current event and its historical context, and plan, shoot, and edit iMovie video essay using AppleWorks storyboard.
Curated OER
Weekly Current Events Podcasts
Students create a weekly current event podcast. In this podcast lesson, students find current events for the week and write out a script to explain this event. They add in music and sound effects and record their final product.
Curated OER
Who Am I?
Your budding journalists need to understand the five W's for writing a news story. They read a story, complete several graphic organizers to help them organize and write their article, and then use a self-assessment worksheet to edit and...
Media Smarts
The Citizen Reporter
Ripped from the headlines! Discuss topical social issues like racism, discrimination, and diversity while exploring the concept of citizen journalism. Begin with a professional-looking presentation on the history of citizen journalism....
Dream of a Nation
Writing a Narrative Essay
Imagine using narrative essays to encourage change. This multi-week unit plan does just that. After reading a series of articles from Tyson Miller's Dream of a Nation: Inspiring Ideas for a Better America, class members examine the...
Curated OER
The Shape of Disaster - Current Event- Swine Flu/Hurricanes/Tornadoes/Wild Fire
Pupils create a disaster preparation book. In this disaster preparation lesson plan, students research disasters and use the kidspiration program to create a shape to represent each disaster. They create a page for each disaster.
Curated OER
Extemporaneous Speeches
Students analyze current events and write and deliver extemporaneous speeches to the class. They define and discuss extemporaneous speeches, conduct research and deliver their speech, and participate in a peer evaluation of students'...
Curated OER
Neighborhood Rubrics
Learners use a rubric to analyze their neighborhood and write a persuasive essay about changes that should be made. In this writing lesson, students use a rubric to grade their neighborhood and brainstorm improvements. Learners write a...
School District No. 43
Writing a Greek Myth
Ask your learners to dream up a myth set in modern day. These mythology writing prompts require individuals take on the role of an ancient Greek citizen who just woke up to a totally different world. Through this lens, class members...
Curated OER
Mapping the News
Students explore cartography. For this map skills and map making lesson, Students work in groups to create wall size world maps including legends, compass roses, latitude and longitude, and physical features. Students collect current...
University of Florida
The Magic School Bus and the Electric Field Trip
Energize a shared reading of the Magic School Bus and the Electric Field Trip with this collection of supplemental materials. Whether your looking for discussion questions, reading comprehension worksheets, or writing prompts, this...
US Mint
Absolutely and Relatively: The Puerto Rico Quarter Reverse
How much does your class know about Puerto RIco? How much can they learn from the back of a 2009 quarter? Use the coin, part of a series of quarters that depict US territories, to teach learners about the geography, culture, and history...
Channel Islands Film
Magic Isle: Lesson Plan 3
Middle schoolers complete a writing assessment task to demonstrate their ability to craft a narrative based on a variety of informational texts. They view West of the West's documentary Magic Isle, read three print resources about the...
Dream of a Nation
Writing Interdisciplinary Essay
The Grapes of Wrath. The Jungle. Native Son. The Things They Carried. The Absolutely True Diary of a Part Time Indian. To address a current social, political, economic, or environmental issue, class groups pair the reading of a classic...
Teaching Tolerance
Consuming and Creating Political Art
A picture is worth a thousand words, but political art may be worth even more! After examining examples of political cartoons, murals, and other forms of public art, class members create their own pieces to reflect their ideals and...
American Documentary
The Benefits and Drawbacks of Plea Bargains
The outcome of 90 percent of criminal cases in the US is determined by plea bargains. Clips from the documentary Better This World create the backdrop for an investigation of the benefits and drawbacks of the plea bargaining process....
Curated OER
Writing the Newspaper Article
The class reads several newspaper articles and analyze them for purpose, style, tone, length and organization. They interview each other about important events in their lives and write journalistic articles.
Curated OER
Research Paper
An outline for a research paper assignment lists the expectations, grading rubric, and due dates for an extended research writing project.
Channel Islands Film
The Legendary King
After viewing two documentaries about the history of the Channel islands, individuals craft an essay in which they compare the lives of Juana Maria, the Lone Woman San Nicolar Island, to Lester Holt and his family featured in the...
Curated OER
Oregon Trail Art
Pupils describe events that happened on the Oregon Trail and in the daily lives of Native Americans by writing a narrative essay of a family traveling through Nebraska based on Thomas Hart Benton's paintings.
Curated OER
Superhighway Scholars
Students study the states of their choice by using Superhighway Scholars website. In this Unites States history lesson plan, students create a collage using information collected about a state of their choosing. This lesson plan provides...
Curated OER
News Anchor
Students view selected clips from news programs, analyzing the volume, stress and pacing of the deliverance. They prepare and deliver a one-minute presentation based on a current news story.
Curated OER
Guided Journal
Pupils complete Dossier handouts that define qualities of fictional journal characters, and then write journal entries with specific grammar requirements, while assuming identity of fictional adults.
Curated OER
I Need More Information!
Students research a topic of their choice. In this researching instructional activity, students gather information and take notes about a topic they feel strongly about.