Curated OER
Sentence Combining
Learners practice sentence combining at increasingly difficult levels throughout a week. They begin with nouns and verbs and build to contrasts, parallels, etc.
Curated OER
Parallelism
Students use writing to show their understanding of parallel writing structures. In this ESL grammar lesson, students view PowerPoints, listen to short lectures and audio presentations. Students categorize phrases, write stories...
National Endowment for the Humanities
Lu Shih — The Couplets of T’ang
Writing poetry in ancient China was the modern equivalent of sending a greeting card. Scholars learn about the ancient Chinese poetic form called the lu shih. They read about the context of poetry during the T'ang Dynasty and complete a...
Southern Nevada Regional Professional Development Program
A Mini lesson on Semicolons
Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.'s "Letter from Birmingham Jail" serves as an exemplar for a mini-lesson on semicolons. Working alone or in small groups, class members first circle all the semicolons in the letter, and then consider how this...
Curated OER
Thesis Statement Exercises
Highlight the importance of introductions and thesis statements by having writers edit and re-write nine different paragraphs that serve as poor introductions. In addition to correcting the grammar and spelling mistakes, your leaner will...
Curated OER
Proofreading - Spelling, Capitalization, Grammar and Punctuation
Fourth graders practice proofreading a passage. In this proofreading lesson, 4th graders complete a worksheet by reading a passage and circling twelve errors. They proofread for errors in spelling, capitalization, grammar, and punctuation.
Curated OER
Native American Culture: The Light in the Forest
Seventh graders read the novel, The Light in the Forest. They work in groups to research and create artifacts for a Native American Living Museum. They complete a Powerpoint presentation of their virtual museum to classmates.
Curated OER
The Final Copy
Write short stories in which events are presented in logical order, point of view is clear, theme and characters are developed. Middle schoolers also work on sensory language, concrete language and/or dialogue. They establish their...
Curated OER
Propaganda
How does word choice affect the reading of a text? Compare two headlines that were written about the same event. Is one biased? Discuss how word choice often reveals the author's feelings about a topic. Then look at different techniques...
EngageNY
Scale Factors
Is it bigger, or is it smaller—or maybe it's the same size? Individuals learn to describe enlargements and reductions and quantify the result. Lesson five in the series connects the creation of a dilated image to the result. Pupils...
Curated OER
If I Could Have Lived in Another Time or Culture
Third graders develop multi-paragraph compositions. They include an introduction, first and second level support, and a conclusion. They use a variety of sentence structures (e.g., simple, compound/complex) and sentence types (i.e.,...
Curated OER
Defining American Culture Photographic Parallels
Students assess the diversity of the photographs taken by a Czech photographer, that illustrate how existed in 1920's Texas. Then students compare and contrast these photographs with more current photographs of Texans and evaluate in...
Curated OER
Royal Letter for Sale
Students read an article about the sale of a letter written by a 16th century queen, Catherine of Aragon. They define vocabulary, complete comprehension worksheets, analyze the use of parallel form in the article and write a letter of...
Curated OER
Paul Revere's Ride
Third graders read and discuss the selection "Paul Revere's Ride" (included with the lesson). Students imagine they live in one of the villages that Paul Revere stopped. They are awakened by his knock on the door. Students write an essay...
Curated OER
Provide His/Her Gender
Learners write, speak and read his/her gender and the stress the importance of communicating this information accurately especially when completing forms or n various kinds of interviews. Included is a Gender Pre-Test, Gender Grammar...
Curated OER
Preposition Pizazz
Students examine examples of poems and identify the prepositions in them. They write original poems using prepositional phrases and create illustrations to go with them.
Curated OER
Three Reasons Why I Want To Be...
Learners investigate the process of writing an expository paper. The purpose of the paper is established in the introduction and the supporting details are sequenced in a logical order. The paper possesses punctuation and grammatical...
Curated OER
Hello, How Do You Do?
Students role play proper greetings and etiquette in formal and informal work and social situations. Students compare and contrast introductions and conversational conventions in their native country and in the United States by writing...
Curated OER
Writing the Position Paper
Learners write position papers on a form of alternative energy production. They use several class periods to develop and write their paper and them participate in an extensive peer review session.
Novelinks
The Book Thief: Cubing Strategy
Whether used to review prior to a reading assessment or as a way to generate ideas for an essay, this activity is sure to encourage critical thinking about Markus Zusak's The Book Thief. Kids create a six-sided question cube with each...
Curated OER
A Formal Analysis of Science Fiction
Students write a five paragraph expository theme. They explain in their theme how the story they read qualifies as science fiction. Students write using all the conventions of English correctly.
Curated OER
Writing a Legal Brief
Twelfth graders work together to write appeals for their side in a famous case. Using a format, they write a legal brief and incorporate the legal, scientific and environmental information needed to make a strong case. They share their...
Curated OER
World Literature From Africa
Students prepare for and respond to literature selections. This package includes twenty-four lessons from the World Literature series, each covering a different reading selection from Africa. Pre-reading and response activities are...
Curated OER
Peer Editing
Sudents read and critique three of their fellow classmates' science fiction short stories on three consecutive days for mechanics, short story elements, style, and informational elements.