Curated OER
Persuasive Writing
Eighth graders study persuasive writing. They analzye an editorial for introductory,body, and concluding sentences. They develop arguments for and against various topics in small groups.
The New York Times
Fill-In | Valentine's Day
Learners read an editorial on Valentine's Day and either fill in the blanks with their own words, or try to place the words from the word bank in the correct spots. This may be useful for English learners.
Curated OER
Interactive Duty
Students consider the role of multimedia news features. They analyze the New York Times coverage of the president's State of the Union address.
Curated OER
Using Political Cartoons and Propaganda in Teaching the Holocaust
Students gain an understanding of the Holocaust through analysis of political cartoons. In this Holocaust lesson, students examine propaganda in political cartoons that were used in Nazi Germany.
Curated OER
Reading the Movies: Another Approach To Teaching Critical Thinking Skills And Writing
Students explore the elements of film to analyze character, action, and the themes in the movie, "Quiz Show." The lesson plan encourages students to make personal connections and real life applications as they view the movie, critically.
Curated OER
Political Cartoons: Symbols of Fear
Students brainstorm a list of reasons for fear, hate, and mistrust. They assess political cartoons for symbols, messages, and points of view. After researching cartoons, they choose one that best depicts fear or hatred and write...
Curated OER
Drawing on Terror
Students assess the ways in which editorial cartoons offer insight into events that shape our world, specifically focusing on the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks on the United States.
Curated OER
A Long Way Home
Learners examine the difference between hard news and editorial writing by considering several pieces written about the Elian Gonzalez custody battle. They then craft their own hard news and editorials on the case.
Curated OER
What Now?
Students consider local and national divisiveness over the presidential elections by examining a New York Times editorial and then writing op-eds suggesting how to address post-election discord in their schools and/or communities.
Curated OER
A Free and Open Press: Evaluating the Media
Students compare and critically evaluate the different media as sources of news, develop criteria for defining "news", experience the editorial process of selecting news stories and detect bias in news reporting.
Curated OER
Fair Judgment
Students consider the demands of the judicial process and work in small groups to write editorials in response to the one that is read in class. For homework, they grade a television judge and write reflective essays.
Curated OER
Scooting Away from Justice?
Young scholars 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...
Curated OER
Crisis Management
Students research the issues facing President Bush and write short political commentaries predicting what course the president take. For homework, they write editorials stating what they think the president should do to best serve the...
Curated OER
Laws and Force in Law Enforcement
Students investigate the issues of police brutality, use of excessive force, and the underlying issues by participating in a round-table discussion. They compare how these issues are explored differently in different types of...
Curated OER
A New Deal for Peace in a Land of War
Students explore the causes and effects of recent conflicts in the Balkans, and discover the current peacekeeping attempts by NATO and the new Yugoslav government. They research an aspect of the Kosovo conflict and prepare skits based...
Curated OER
The Civil Rights Movement
Students analyze the tensions that existed in American society during the Civil Rights Era as well as the problems that children experienced. They evaluate editorial cartoons dealing with the American Civil Rights movement to view the...
Curated OER
Looking at Life through the Creation of Personal Metaphors
Students focus on the creation of personal metaphors, which are first illustrated in pictures and caricatures and then extended to descriptive/analytical paragraphs. They teach the lesson to others using their own personal metaphors as...
Curated OER
Focus on the Media
Students critically examine news articles and editorials for attitudes of discrimination and prejudice. Students then complete checklist in which they analyze news reports for context, content, point of view, language, graphics, and...
EngageNY
The Painted Essay for Opinion Writing: Writing Proof Paragraphs
It's time to proof read! Pupils read and analyze proof paragraphs from a model essay. They then practice writing their own proof paragraphs to express an opinion about offshore oil drilling.
EngageNY
The Painted Essay for Opinion Writing: The Introductory Paragraph
The answer is blowin' in the wind. Using the resource, scholars read and analyze a model essay about wind power. Next, they work in groups to write an introductory paragraph that expresses an opinion about the topic.
National Center for Families Learning
The Summer Fun Summer Learning Poetry Unit
Focus on poetry this summer to enhance those comprehension, fluency, and language skills with a set of resources intended to explore different types of poetry, specifically lyric poetry. The daily activities contain differentiation ideas...
Curated OER
Civil Rights after MLK and RFK
Students are assigned to groups representing minority populations who produce a research project in a digital format from the list. A few of the choices are: speech, letter to the editor, editorial cartoon, etc.
Curated OER
Pachyderms on Planes! The Amazing Angolan Ambassadors
Students investigate international aid by researching the history of Angola. In this world crisis lesson, students investigate the history, civil wars and poor economy of Angola and discuss ways to turn the poor nation around. Students...
Curated OER
Why Is Evolution Controversial?
Students examine the legal side of the teaching of evolution. They study the Scopes Trial and reflect on what it means for a teacher to be denied the right to teach a key scientific concept. In addition, they design their own editorial...