K12 Reader
A Local Organization
Individuals select a local organization, research its purpose and membership, and then include these facts and details in a paragraph about the group.
Curated OER
Evaluating Accuracy and Adequacy
Evaluate non-fiction works with your English class. While practicing a variety of strategies detailed in the plan, readers compare and contrast the information in three non-fiction passages about the same topic. They then discuss the...
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Essay Prewriting Lesson Plan
Students explain the steps to making a sandwich to their teacher while he/she completes the steps. After the demonstration, they identify any part of the process that could use clarification. They are introduced to the practice of...
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Staying in Phoenix
Read to learn! Here is a one-page informational passage about inhabitants of Phoenix, Arizona. Learners will read to make logical inferences and determine the central idea or theme. Prompts ask the class to identify the main idea and...
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Public-Choice Economics
Review the principles of public choice economics using this resource. Learners read background information on the theory and theorists. Then they answer five writing prompts in which they are asked to propose a course of action and...
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Color Graphs and Poetry
Students explore color as they create graphs, write poetry, and examine varied interior designs. They respond to writing prompts describing their favorite color. Students collect data and create a bar graph based on a class survey. They...
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Number the Stars, Lesson 11
Students analyze point of view in the novel Number the Stars. Their writing prompt is how would this chapter(11) be different if Peter were telling the story? Students create a class concept web about pride on the board.
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Kool Kumara Lesson Plans
Students examine the Kaipara region of New Zealand and practice research and writing skills. In this social studies lesson, students use a template to create their own Kool Kumara Pal. Students explore a day in the life of...
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Writing an Autobiography
Students identify life goals as they write an autobiography. They write a strong introduction for their autobiography. Students write a sequences of events using their Life Map as a graphic organizer. They write facts accurately...
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George Says Thanks
In this writing prompt worksheet, students, after reading Revolutionary War on Wednesday, fill in five blanks to a thank-you note that George Washington may have written to thank a soldier for his war efforts.
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Express Yourself Lesson Seed 17: Obituary
The Cay has been criticized by groups such as the Council on Interracial Books for Children because of the way race is portrayed. Explore the argument against the book while taking the author's perspective into account. Class members...
Virginia Department of Education
Identifying Audience and Purpose
Use a fun and creative activity to introduce junior high learners to how writing changes for different audiences and purposes. The activity begins with a reading by the instructor where teens visualize a food fight in the cafeteria. In...
Constitutional Rights Foundation
Saved from the Gallows — the Trial of Leopold and Loeb
Was justice served for Bobby Franks? An informative article about the 1924 trial of Richard Loeb and Nathan Leopold includes an overview of the murder of Bobby Franks, the defense’s legal strategy, and excerpts of closing arguments from...
PBS
The Diary of Anne Frank
While designed to supplement a viewing of the PBS Masterpiece Classic The Diary of Anne Frank, this resource can also serve as an excellent informational text and activity source for your students on the historical context and timeline...
C-SPAN
Presidential Candidate Research
Don't let the young citizens in your social studies class get all their election information from inflammatory commercials and arguing pundits. Use a lesson plan from C-SPAN to guide class members through an election season with a...
Penguin Books
An Educator's Guide to the Works of Laurie Halse Anderson
Laurie Halse Anderson tackles challenging topics for teens. An educator's guide shares activities for many of her novels such as Prom, Shout, and Wintergirls. Questions, perfect to use as either discussion or as essay prompts, accompany...
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Journaling
Students explore journal writing. For this writing lesson, students are given writing prompts such as "how the choices I make affect our water quality?" and use critical writing skills to express their feelings in a journal. There are...
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Writing: Lesson 3
Eighth graders are read the material in the boldface print inside the boxes. They study several key elements of composition and examine sentence structure using the English Language Arts Writer's Checklist. They then critique another...
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Take a Stand
Students defend their stances regarding topics. In this writing process lesson, students read The Sunflower by Simon Wiesenthal and participate in writing activities that require them to determine how the feel about a...
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Easy Essays Step 2
Third graders write essays after participating in mini-lessons that encourage better writing. They write using the model of a skeleton to which they add the muscles.
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Story Generators
Students develop news stories for the high school paper based on current issues in the local news. Students identify different sources for articles, and develop interviews questions. In this news ideas and sources lesson plan, students...
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Women of the Twenties and The Great Gatsby
Students research social elements of the 1920s. In this persuasive writing lesson, students make comparisons between women of the 1920s and women in the 21st century. They work in small groups to discuss the women in The...
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Shelling a Pecan
In this pecans worksheet, 3rd graders fill out a graphing organizer sequencing how someone shells a pecan. Students also draw someone shelling a pecan and write a story about it.
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Absent from Work
In this practical writing instructional activity, students write a note to their employer explaining why they will be absent from work. The students are provided an example to get them started.