Media Smarts
Bias
See how bias operates firsthand. Half of the class reads one article while the other half reads another article on the same event. The obvious differences emerge when the two sides talk about their observations though. Several handouts...
Library Sparks
Reference Tools Vocabulary Challenge
Young scholars love the opportunity of going to the library to jump into that one comfy chair in the whole room with a book, or be a lucky one to get to the computers before anyone else. But knowing how to locate books and other...
iCivics
Mini Lesson A: Monetization
Advertising is everywhere! Does your class know that their attention span is for sale, even when they're watching a simple news story? The second installment in a five-part series from iCivics examines the relationship between news...
Curated OER
Let There Be Peace: Nobel Prize Winners
What is the Nobel Peace Prize? After they establish criteria for great leadership, secondary learners read a New York Times article about President Jimmy Carter's acceptance of the Nobel Peace Prize in 2002. Individuals research the...
Curated OER
Influential People Taking A Stand
Seventh graders explore how influential people have taken a stand on difficult issues and the consequences that followed. This lesson connect American studens with students in England who present their own person for exploration.
Curated OER
Read All About It! California History of the 30s and 40s
Explore the Great Depression! Discover the challenges people experienced during the time period. Learners investigate photographs from the Dust Bowl and WWII era and create a story line about the photographs, writing a newspaper article...
Curated OER
Blogging to Create a Community of Writers #6: Writing a Review
Looking for a good social media lesson for your class? Then, this lesson is for you! They study various written reviews, then must choose an item to review of their choice. They can choose from: a book, restaurant, CD/musical...
For the Teachers
Fact vs. Opinion
Many informational texts are written as factual, but can your learners determine when an opinion is presented as fact? Have your kids read several articles on the same topic and record the statements that contain either facts or...
EngageNY
Writing Interview Questions
And now for the star witness! Scholars take a look at a model newspaper article and discuss the importance of eyewitness accounts. In groups of three, they take turns underlining text from eyewitnesses. They then regroup to talk about...
Curated OER
Creating a Colonial Newspaper
Students identify people, events and issues of importance during the French and Indian War and compare them with issues that only affected New Hampshire. They discover how newspapers gave people a sense of identity.
Curated OER
How-To Books
Students apply their knowledge and create a how-to book of their own. In this early childhood language arts worksheet, students learn about non-fiction books and write their own procedural non-fiction booklets.
Curated OER
The Furry News: How to Make a Newspaper
Students investigate the process of making a newspaper using children's literature to create context for the lesson plan. The readers are asked to predict the events of the story as it is read to them. Then the teacher uses guided...
Curated OER
Extemporaneous Speeches
Students perform the six steps of writing an extemporaneous speech including, choosing a topic, researching, writing, practicing delivering and processing.
Curated OER
Newspaper Reporting and Writing
Learners will examine advertisements, explore ways to inform, locate pictures of Hemingway, read sports articles, and follow directions to create a finished project - a newspaper. their newspapers are multifaceted with not only...
Curated OER
Setting Up Shop
Seventh graders investigate what goes in to starting a retail store. In this business economics lesson, 7th graders brainstorm products they would like to sell and use magazines, newspapers and real estate listings to bring their store...
Curated OER
Elements of Satire
Learners analyze satirical articles. In this elements of satire lesson, students read and analyze satirical articles from newspapers. They create Venn diagrams to compare and contrast articles. Learners use calculators...
Curated OER
Brothers Grimm
Class members participate in a read aloud of an illustrated version of fairy tales by the Brothers Grimm. They discuss the tale,"A Fisherman and His Wife" to discover how fairy tales can help us think about our own situations. They also...
Curated OER
Depicting Motherhood in Family Stories
Students explore triptychs. For this art history lesson, students define the terms "photograph" and "triptych". Students discuss changes that occur between mothers and daughters and create an original triptych using...
Curated OER
Technology Newsletter
Learners discuss impact and value of modern technological inventions on society, contemplate world without technology, skim magazines and newspapers for advertisements highlighting modern technologies, and work with partner to create...
Curated OER
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...
Curated OER
Second Sun
Explore the elements of newspaper from the view of the front page. Young analysts create a front page of a newspaper geared toward teen readers. They use their inference skills to determine why some front pages are more eye-catching than...
Curated OER
Navajo Code Talkers
An engaging lesson focuses on the contributions of the Navajo people during World War II. Learners read the book Navajo Code Talkers by Andrew Santella, answer a series of comprehension questions about the text, and write a letter...
Curated OER
Campaign Trailblazers
Explore the backgrounds, qualifications, and platforms of the presidential candidates for the 2000 election. Though the lesson is outdated, the activities within the informational text could be good practice for your young learners as...
Curated OER
Word Up!
Study the importance of word choice in informational text. Middle and high schoolers locate unfamiliar words and phrases in newspaper articles of their choosing, and use online word sites to explore the definitions and histories of each....