Prestwick House
The Help
Kathryn Stockett's The Help opened up a rich, vivid world of strong female characters and stark societal injustices. As high schoolers read the novel, they complete a crossword puzzle that includes clues from all chapters of the book.
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A Teacher's Guide to the Holocaust: Headlines
Students examine newspapers to research public opinion about the Holocaust. In this critical thinking lesson, students research the information Americans received in U.S. newspapers about events like Kristallnacht, the Berlin Olympics,...
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Block the Shock Jock or Not?
Students examine their own experiences with racist and sexist speech by deciding whether or not they agree or disagree with statements related to this subject. They explore the limits of public speech by reading about the controversy...
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The Women's Suffrage Movement Signature Debacle
Students examine the Women's Suffrage Movement in Nebraska. For this women's rights lesson, students explore primary and secondary sources regarding suffrage in the state and obstacles that women in the state faced when it came to...
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Match the Umbrellas
In this uppercase and lowercase letter matching worksheet, students cut out the umbrella cards and match the uppercase letters to the correct lowercase letters. This worksheet covers all of the letters in the alphabet and there are some...
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Write On!
Help empower your class by learning about the editorial section of the newspaper. They will have the option to also write to a politician. The goal is to teach students how to speak-up and express their opinions on important issues....
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Get in the Newspaper Habit
Dive into journalism with your high schoolers! The resources provided here will help your learners write unbiased, clear, and succinct newspaper articles. First they spend time sifting through stacks of articles, filling out a graphic...
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The Campaign: Issues and Strategies. What do you think?
Students research a candidate in an election and discuss how the media portrays that candidate and how the media influences voters. In this candidate lesson plan, students also distinguish fact from opinion, look at political cartoons,...
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The Rights of Bike Riders
Students write a letter to the editor of a newspaper about the bicycle helmet safety issue. They gather statistics about bicycle helmet use and discuss the statistics as a class and explain how to interpret the numbers accurately. They...
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Cat Study Article
Students write a letter to the editor of USA Today. In this letter writing lesson plan, students read a newspaper article about cats and consider a dog or cat's view on current events. Students reflect this perspective in their letters.
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Impact of the Progressive Era
Eighth graders examine the impact of the Progressive Era on the state of North Carolina. Using primary source documents, they discover the reason for the creation of schools during this time period. After reading news articles, they...
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Debating the Over-the-Counter Sale of the "Morning After" Pill
Students examine the controversy at the F.D.A over Plan B. They read an article, answer discussion questions, conduct research, role-play a panel of experts at a mock conference, and write a letter to the editor their own opinion about...
Southern Poverty Law Center
Evaluating Online Sources
All sources are pretty much the same, right? If this is how your class views the sources they use for writing or research projects, present them with a media literacy lesson on smart source evaluation. Groups examine several articles,...
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Elizabeth Fry
After youngsters learn about the life and work of Elizabeth Fry, they pretend that they are a child in the Newgate Prison. They write a thank you letter to Elizabeth Fry thanking her for making their lives better while in the prison....
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Unauthorized Immigration and the U.S. Economy
High schoolers examine unauthorized immigration in the United States. In this current issues lesson, students examine 4 letters written to the editor regarding unauthorized immigration. High schoolers act as editors and analyze the...
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Scooting Away from Justice?
Students examine President Bush's July 2007, decision to commute the 30-month sentence of former White House official, I. Lewis 'Scooter' Libby by reading a New York Times article. They scan editorial sources on various sides of the...
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Letter Writing Basics
Young scholars write a business letter with information regarding specific writing mechanics. In this writing lesson, students learn to write a business letter and they focus on one area of concern. Young scholars follow a business...
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Trading Up?
Students explore the benefits and drawbacks of free trade from the perspective of the United States, Canada, Brazil, Argentina, Venezuela, Chile and Mexico. For homework, they each write a letter to the editor expressing their personal...
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Understanding Tibet
Young scholars work in cooperative groups to read one current situation of Tibet. They respond to a set of discussion questions. Pupils write a newspaper article expressing the current information explored. Students write an editorial...
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Persuasive Letter Writing
Students write a persuasive letter. In this persuasive letter writing lesson, students review the standard business form letter and the elements included. Students discuss ways to persuade in writing and write a short letter...
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To Go Solar or Not to Go Solar!
Middle schoolers imagine that they are on a panel to consider if a solar energy system would be advantageous to a new school as it is being built. They read the included handout and then each play a role as a participant in a community...
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The Reader's Recourse
Students discover the recourse newspapers face for reporting wrong information. After reading an article, they examine the dispute between a pharmaceutical company and the New York Times. They evaluate the roles of the editor and the...
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Immigration Reform: Understanding the Issue From Different Points of View
Young scholars examine the topic of immigration reform. They conduct research on groups representing various viewpoints on immigration, write and perform a role-play, and write a persuasive essay or letter to a state senator on their...
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Government Reform - Term Limits
Students consider the need for term limits. In this U.S. government instructional activity, students read selected articles about the pros and cons of term limits. Students then survey their class regarding their opinion of term limits....