Louisiana Department of Education
Hatchet
Accompany a novel study of Hatchet by Gary Paulson with a unit consisting of 16 lessons focused on physical and emotional survival. Reading the story along with a variety of informational texts, scholars compare and contrast reading...
Oakland Writes
Exploring Thematic Motifs in The House on Mango Street
Explore identity and community through an expository essay based on The House on Mango Street by Sandra Cisneros. This two-week unit on writing an essay provides a brief description of each day and all of the worksheets and...
Poetry4kids
How to Create Book Spine Poetry
Can you create a poem without writing a word! With found poetry, you can! Practice one version of found poetry with a lesson on book spine poems. Learners create poems by stacking books and reading the lines created by their spine titles.
Curated OER
The New Kids on the Blog
Students consider the role of a critic by creating top ten lists for arts-related topics and participate in a simulated blog activity. They write newpaper articles to accompany their top ten lists and submit them for publication.
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The Powers That Be
Students investigate past energy legislation, then write letters to Congress from the perspective of citizens trying to influence the original passage of these bills. Each small group does their research using a website imbedded in this...
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Covering the News
Students compare the coverage of two crime stories Using local or national newspapers, news magazines and other reference materials, each group trace the "unfolding" of two crime stories: The Laci Peterson investigation plus one students
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Performance Poppers
Students examine the controversies surrounding the use of performance-enhancing supplements in sports by interviewing athletes and writing feature articles that compare the skills required to compete in different sports.
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The Persuasive Art of Portraiture
Students first explore the power of the visual image to convey a message by examining the portrait of George Washington on American dollar bills. They next use, 'Prolific Chinese Painter Is Anonymous No More,' to explore a famous...
Curated OER
Encapsulating Moments in Time
Students look back at this year in history and evaluate important events, discoveries and people from 1998. They, in groups, create 1998: Year in Review. While 1998 has come and gone, the idea and intent for this lesson can be used now.
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Swinging with the Times
Young scholars examine the many changes in the Tarzan character from Edgar Rice Burroughs' first novel to Disney's newest movie version to explain how student movies are often used to mirror and promote cultural attitudes and beliefs.
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Playing with History
Students consider the elements that make computer games compelling, then use these elements to develop game 'narratives' based on historic events.
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Suitable Schools
Students explore education requirements for different professions, and define the skills and knowledge that adults use in their everyday lives. They define and describe what students, teachers and parents expect from formal schooling.
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Active Voice
Students identify the qualities that contribute to effective verbal and non-verbal communication. They use those qualities as criteria by which to judge an in-class political debate on education.
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Picture Perfect
Students explore how photographic images can be used to convey the intentions of the photographer based on Hiroji Kubota's photojournalistic show "Can We Feed Ourselves? A Focus on Asia"
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"I Cannot Tell a Lie"
Students examine and debunk historical myths, using the American Revolution as a starting point. They create and play a game of "American History: Fact or Fiction?"
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Mouse Call
Students examine how high-tech consultants use patience and experience to solve the problems facing the 'computer illiterate.' students brainstorm about possible problems that may arise for a computer illiterate person.
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Political Puzzles
Students investigate how different liberal democracies around the world organize their governments and decide major policies. They compare their findings to the American political system, using examples of current political issues.
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Got the Picture?
Learners explore the power of photographic images to influence public opinion. Then, using both news images and personal photographs, they create dual timelines documenting their own life experiences and memories.
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What Sticks from '06
Young scholars identify significant events that helped shaped 2006. Completing a news quiz, they discuss the importance and impact of each event mentioned. They create their own news quizzes to be used as a class. They create a poster...
Curated OER
Radical Reads
Students recreate an "American Idol" contest in which they present their favorite books to their classmates using arguments for and excerpts from the books. Following the presentation, students will be polled and the least popular books...
Curated OER
Golden Globe as Gauge
Students discuss the significance of the Golden Globes and other awards as indicators of the current cultural and political climate. After reading an article, they identify the nominees for the 2006 Golden Globe awards. Using the...
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Ghosts of Holidays Past
Students write in their journals to analyze the use of nostalgia. After reading an article, they identify aspects that are universal for holidays. They describe and examine their own memories of a specific holiday and interview someone...
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Viral Invaders
Students conduct a critical investigation of the West Nile Virus. They assess the relationship between the sources of information and their credibility. Students use their findings to create a public health campaign about the virus.
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A Sense of Place
Students read "Fish Tale: Falling For a Live One" from The New York Times and discuss the methods and techniques the writer uses to create a strong mental image. Students pick a place in their community they wish to write about and...