Curated OER
Creative God or Goddess
Who causes sinkholes? Or acid rain? High schoolers try their hand at myth-making as individuals create a god or goddess responsible for the modern-day phenomenon. They introduce their deity in an essay that reveals the name, parentage,...
College Board
2018 AP® English Language and Composition Free-Response Questions
Discussions of eminent domain sometimes trigger strong emotions. A set of free-response questions from the 2019 AP® English Language and Composition exam tackles the concept with a series of persuasive pieces. Learners analyze all six...
Curated OER
How To Do an AHAP DBQ
How is an essay like a hamburger? Detailing the "meaty" parts of a well-written essay, this presentation takes students through the process of using a strong thesis statement to write a thorough and engaging response to a Document Based...
Curated OER
Lesson: Urs Fischer: Your Choice: Reality or Illusion?
Young analysts write a comparative essay, but about what? They compose a paper based on several critical discussion about reality and illusion, and how both are blurred in art. They analyze several theatre pieces that exemplify Brechtian...
Curated OER
The Iditarod Race Compared with the Movie, Iron Will
Feel the freezing rush of an Alaskan sled dog race in this reading lesson plan. Using research about the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race, seventh graders compare and contrast the depiction in the movie Iron Will. The lesson plan lasts for...
K20 LEARN
Barbie™: Blessing Or Curse? Style, Format, And Genre
How does a writer's choice of genre, style, and format impact the effectiveness of an argument about a social issue? After reading a poem and an essay about Barbie dolls, class members choose a social issue important to them, select a...
Curated OER
Persuasive/Argumentative Essay vs. Opinion writing
Reinforce persuasive and argumentative writing skills with this instructional activity, which utilizes SchoolNet News Network's website/SNN Monthly magazine. Young writers review journalism writing styles that help them explain that...
Santa Barbara City College
Structure of a General Expository Essay
A great student reference tool and graphic organizer in one worksheet! Young writers can read a detailed description of each section of a standard five-paragraph essay before completing a graphic organized with their own writing. The...
Curated OER
"I Believe..." Podcast Style
Use this communication skills lesson to emphasize evaluating a speaker's main point and argument. After reading Martin Luther King's, "I Have a Dream Speech" and John F. Kennedy's speech, "I Believe in an America Where the Separation of...
Curated OER
Introducing the Essay: Twain, Douglass, and American Non-Fiction
Students analyze American essayists Mark Twain and Frederick Douglass in an introduction to American literary non-fiction writing. In this essay history lesson, students identify methods for writing essays. Students read and analyze...
Curated OER
MLA Documentation & Style
Bring your class to the computer lab to learn MLA format. As you progress through the presentation's 28 slides, simply pause for your class to make any necessary adjustments to their personal essay as needed. The last few slides contain...
Curated OER
Thoreau's Writing Style
Students analyze Thoreau's writing style. In this writing style lesson plan, students describe Thoreau's literary style and use the devices he employs in a response to one of his essays.
Curated OER
The Abstraction Ladder (Using Examples in Essays)
Students examine and discuss most appropriate format for giving examples in the American discourse style.
Curated OER
Role-Playing and Discovery: Literary Analysis
Introduce your class to the personal essay with this worksheet. Learners identify the subject of an essay and then record examples from the essay that represent the author's thoughts and feelings regarding the subject. While this...
Curated OER
Narrowing a Topic & The Importance of Audience
Help your young writers through the sometimes difficult process of beginning to write. Direct them through how to choose a topic and write to a specific audience. Great refining statements guide them to writing focused, clear essays.
Curated OER
Visible Speech: A Short Course in the Fundamentals of Writing/Lesson 3
Focusing on writing an introduction, this presentation provides a variety of techniques for how to begin. Although the question marks on slide six obscure the writing, the other slides are clear and legible and display good examples for...
Southern Nevada Regional Professional Development Program
The Columnist Project
Imagine a list that includes Alan Abelson of Baron's, Bob Woodward of the Washington Post, and Mother Jones. High schoolers select a national columnist, read and annotate five columns by this author, noting the rhetorical strategies,...
College Board
1999 AP® English Language and Composition Free-Response Questions
A released Advanced Placed exam provides scholars with an opportunity to practice their English language and composition skills. After reading two passages about Florida's Okefenokee Swamp, they write essays analyzing how the distinctive...
Heritage Foundation
The Purpose of the Constitution
What does the Constitution have to do with my life? This is a question teachers hear on a day-to-day basis. Teach high schoolers just how relevant the US Constitution is to them today with essays, real-life connection activities, and more.
College Board
AP® English Language: Reading and Writing Analytically
How can teachers ensure their pupils are well prepared for the AP® English exam? The reference material is a good place to start! Educators read seven essays detailing best practices for teaching scholars to read critically and write...
Maryland Department of Education
The Concept of Diversity in World Literature Lesson 4: Proverbs
"Eneke the bird says since men have learnt to shoot without missing, he has learnt to fly without perching." As part of their study of Things Fall Apart, class members read Paul Hernadi and Francis Steen's essay, "The Tropical Landscapes...
College Board
2006 AP® English Language and Composition Free-Response Questions
What does your lawn decoration say about you? The 2006 AP® English Language and Composition Free-Response Questions offers three prompts in which scholars express themselves through essay writing. One of these tasks includes analyzing...
College Board
2017 AP® English Language and Composition Free-Response Questions
In the age of the Internet, are libraries still important? A collection of sources, part of a set of sample free-response questions from the AP® English Language and Composition exam, discuss that question. A variety of sources,...
College Board
2015 AP® English Language and Composition Free-Response Questions
Many schools have honor codes, but scholars do not always choose to follow them. As part of a series of free-response questions from the AP® English Language and Composition Exam, learners discuss the benefits or disadvantages of honor...