To prepare for the end-of-unit multi-paragraph essay, class members review Rainer Maria Rilke's collection, Letters to a Young Poet, and David Mitchell's Black Swan Green and identify central ideas in both texts. Writers then formulate a...

Keeping animals relaxed and comfortable has numerous benefits. Explore Temple Grandin's unique perspective on animal behavior with a lesson that concentrates on a central idea within the text. High schoolers prepare for the final...

As the first in a two-part, end-of-unit assessment that encourages readers to synthesize the unit's main ideas, class members review their notes for each of the three texts they read and develop three open-ended discussion questions...

As part of a mid-unit assessment, class members exchange their draft of a multi-paragraph essay with a classmate, review their partner's writing using the provided text analysis rubric, and evaluate the strength of evidence, the...

Writers review the provided essay rubric, edit and rewrite if necessary, polish their work, and then submit their argument essay.

Scholars review the previous nine lessons of analysis of King's "Letter from Birmingham Jail" and use their work to create a formal essay responding to a writing prompt about the purpose of the work. This mid-unit assessment is a quick...

Scholars take a close look at evaluating sources and the information that comes from them. Learners review their research plans, use a handout organizer to learn how to take notes, and begin annotating correctly. They practice what they...

Is that your final answer? As part of the last lesson, scholars finalize their research portfolios. They review all of their claim tools and gain the perspective of others as they discuss their work with a group. To finish, they write...

Scholars compare and contrast two informational texts about Poison Dart Frogs. A brief vocabulary review and discussion lead the way to a two-part close reading—the first reading for gist the second reading for details. Followed by a...

Change for the better. Scholars continue their study of the chapter "Of Our Spiritual Strivings" by looking at paragraph eight. They study how Du Bois continues to develop his ideas by describing the changes after the passing of the...

You can never be too prepared. Scholars begin preparing for the end-of-the-unit assessment of Du Bois’s "Of Our Spiritual Strivings" and Washington’s "Atlanta Compromise" speech. They use peer discussion to discuss the relationship...

Scholars analyze the fifth paragraph of Booker T. Washington's "Atlanta Compromise" speech. They learn more about his point of view toward color as he addresses the "white race." Pupils review their Idea Tracking Tools in pairs, answer...

It's my right, not a privilege! Scholars review the details of the claims in the speech "Equal Rights for Women." They meet with one of their discussion appointments from a previous instructional activity to locate evidence to support...

Class members closely examine the use of words in the poems "Inside Out" and "Back Again" to determine if different words would create more powerful poetry. They then conduct peer reviews of the poems they created and offer suggestions...

Scholars consider how dialogue reveals aspects of a play's characters as they read Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream and complete a written conversation note-catcher. Additionally, pupils participate in an I Have/Who Has jigsaw...

Time to revise! Scholars revise their argument essays based on Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream using feedback from their teacher and peers. They begin their revisions after reviewing a mini-lesson on proper writing conventions.

Scholars discuss a reading selection in Unbroken by writing to a partner about text selection. After completing the writing, learners revisit the use of active and passive sentences by reviewing a second Active and Passive Sentences...

What are the consequences of the local, sustainable food chain? Research teams explore the question as they review Michael Pollan's The Omnivore's Dilemma. The teams complete Cascading Consequences charts and then choose research topics...

Researchers review how to create citations, find reliable sources, and paraphrase. Next, using guided task cards and their researcher's notebooks, they investigate the question they developed in instructional activity eight about the...

How do authors play to people's moods? After briefly reviewing mood using a Conditional and Subjunctive Mood handout, learners practice identifying conditional and subjunctive sentences in the Montgomery Bus Boycott speech before reading...

Class members look again at the end-of-unit essay prompt for A Mighty Long Way. After reviewing the requirements of the essay, they use their Gathering Evidence note-catchers and color-code the evidence that matches the two questions in...

Class members dig into the expectations for the end-of-unit assessment for A Mighty Long Way by studying the rubric. The Rubric Criteria strips help pairs of readers look more closely at specific rubric points. They share ideas with the...

Readers use sticky notes and a close reading guide to identify the gist of "My Pig" on pages 240–245 of The Omnivore's Dilemma. After reviewing their thoughts with peers, they answer text-dependent questions about the section.

What is the purpose of an introduction and conclusion? Using the resource, scholars review the model position paper from activity one and discuss the author's choices. Next, they draft their position papers' introductory and concluding...