Curated OER
The Rest Cure: Gender in Medicine and Literature
Read and discuss "The Yellow Wall-Paper" and the gender issues that the story brings up. Use articles from the time period to analyze, complete with specific discussion questions. After two days, scholars write an essay based on topics...
East Lyme Public Schools
To Declare or Not to Declare Independence?
Class members adopt the persona of real figures in American history, Patriots and Loyalists, research these individuals to determine their stance, and then debate the question of whether or not to declare independence from England.
Curated OER
May the Best Character Win
Running an election campaign takes money. Class groups must effectively budget money in order to design and purchase sufficient advertising aimed at procuring classmates' votes. After completing an online tutorial, they also write and...
iCivics
Emphasize Minimize
Encourage your class members to consider what points they are really emphasizing when they are making an argument, whether in writing or in speech. Watch out though, as this lesson may just leave your learners eager to debate you!
K20 LEARN
Trigger Warnings - Intellectual Rights and Responsibilities: Banned Books, Censorship Part 1
"Warning: Conducting this lesson may be harmful." Such statements, called "Trigger Warnings," are the focus of a two-part lesson that looks at censorship, especially the pros and cons of trigger warnings. Class members read two articles,...
Student Handouts
Logical Fallacies
Help your learners grow their critical thinking and analytical skills by asking them to examine logical fallacies. After reading an example, pupils determine if two sets of premises and conclusions are logical fallacies or not and...
Curated OER
The Enemy that Never Was
Students write speeches explaining why Japanese Canadians were not a threat to Canada during World War 2. In this Japanese Canadians lesson plan, students learn about racism, and how the Japanese were targeted but not a threat during the...
Curated OER
Let Me Convince You
Students discuss the purposes of persuasive speaking and writing with emphasis upon what makes them different from other kinds. They brainstorm and discuss ways to select "The Greatest American Who Ever Lived" and prepare a persuasive...
Curated OER
Introducing the Essay: Twain, Douglass, and American Non-Fiction
Young scholars analyze American essayists Mark Twain and Frederick Douglass in an introduction to American literary non-fiction writing. In this essay history lesson, students identify methods for writing essays. Young scholars read and...
Curated OER
Making Decisions About Public Land
Students write a proposal. In this public land lesson, students discuss the difference between private and public property and brainstorm what problems might occur if a citizen changed public property. Students work in groups to write a...
Curated OER
The City Life or the country Life: conventions: Comparative and Superlative Forms of Adjectives and Adverbs
Reinforce knowledge of adjectives and adverbs by game playing. To better understand English conventions young writers, use flashcards to identify the base word and its comparative or superlative form.
Curated OER
Writing a How-To Paper
Students discover that when writing a how-to paper, they are telling readers how to do something such as cook a particular recipe. They then choose one of the provided topics and write their own how-to paper.
Curated OER
Celebrate the U.S.A
Students, working in teams of four, take on the role of marketers hired to promote one state in the U.S.A. Each team researches their state in order to create a brochure highlighting its most intriguing features. Groups give a 25 minute...
Curated OER
Connotation in Propaganda
High schoolers assess persuasive techniques in propaganda. They identify and critique rhetorical devices in primary source documents (sources are not specified, but links to sites that contain various documents are included). Groups make...
Curated OER
Word Wake
Put your common writing errors to rest with this resource, which prompts high schoolers to create eulogies and tombstones for overused and incorrect words. They work on correcting common errors in spelling and usage mistakes in their own...
Curated OER
Classroom Lincoln-Douglas Debate
Unfamiliar with the Lincoln-Douglas Debate format? Check out this resource that details the procedures of the debate, the roles and responsibilities of each participant, and the timing of each round.
Curated OER
Land, Liberty and the Struggle for the American Dream
Students investigate equality by reading a historical fiction book in class. In this civil rights lesson, students read the story Roll of Thunder, Hear my Cry with their classmates and define the Jim Crow Laws that kept blacks...
Curated OER
Weighing the War
Study opposing viewpoints with this lesson, which examines President Bush's September 2004 address at the United Nations. Middle schoolers study the text of the address, and then stage formal debates arguing for or against the reasons to...
Curated OER
Author's Day
Have your learners choose an author to study. One resource link gives a list of approved authors. Scholars read at least three works produced by that author and produce three separate book reports as well as a two-page author report....
Curated OER
Preparing to Speak
Students articulate what elements must be present in a successful, persuasive speech by composing a "presentation plan." They explain what they know about speech delivery in preparation for the presentation of their final projects.
Curated OER
Persuade Me
Seventh graders give persuasive presentations based on the questions they have researched. They examine appropriate delivery techniques for effective persuasive presentations. (Note: This activity should be taught, after students have...
Curated OER
Forms Of Knowledge
Students put writing pieces into categories to show different organizational features in writing. In this writing lesson plan, students are shown examples of speeches, poems, editorials, cartoons, parodies, historical fiction, and more.
Curated OER
The Aftermath of War
Students share their opinions on the war in Iraq. After reading an article, they identify the thoughts of President Bush on the conflict. In groups, they share their opinions for and against current United States policy in Iraq and the...
Curated OER
Seventeenth Century Pick-up Lines
High schoolers analyze passages from The Mysteries of Love and Eloquence, or the Arts of Wooing and Complementing, written in the seventeenth century. Students analyze the images, words and figures of speech the author used and compare...