Curated OER
Pardon Me
Students examine the pardon process and the controversy surrounding the Clinton pardons through reading and discussing "Lobbying for Forgiveness." They write a forgiveness letter and create pardon guidelines for President Bush.
Curated OER
Conflicting Views
Students complete a Venn diagram comparing the United States and Afghanistan. They research the history of the Taliban and how they relate to the United States and its foreign policy. They write a paper on possible solutions.
Curated OER
The Secret is Out
Students explore ideas about journalism ethics as they relate to Watergate and discuss various issues related to an anonymous source being revealed. They write letters to the public editor of The NY Times about credibility and anonymous...
Curated OER
Can I Get A Witness?
Students consider difficulties involved in students testifying in criminal trials. Through first-hand experience in the position of either a witness to a crime or an investigator, students explain how various factors shape a person's...
Channel Islands Film
Arlington Springs Man: Lesson Plan 1
Learning to craft quality questions is a skill that can be taught. Class members use the Question Formulation Technique to learn how to create and refine both closed-ended and open-ended questions. They then view West of the West's...
Deliberating in a Democracy
National Service
Uncle Sam wants you to serve! Scholars investigate the role of mandatory national service in an open democracy. They research, watch a video, and hold a debate surrounding the issue of requiring one year of service to gain a better...
New York State Education Department
TASC Transition Curriculum: Workshop 11
You'll C-E-R a difference in classroom achievement after using a helpful lesson. Designed for economics, civics, government, and US history classes, participants practice using the CER model to craft arguments about primary and secondary...
Curated OER
Flipped: A Before Reading Strategy
Prior to reading Flipped, Wendelin Van Draanen’s young adult novel about teen romance, class members engage in an anticipation guide activity. Individuals post their responses to a series of prompts, and after reading all the responses,...
TV411
How Do You Read Your News?
Words carry baggage. Class members are asked to consider the weight of words in an exercise that contrasts the word choices in two versions of the same event. Consider following the exercise with an activity in which pairs craft positive...
University of North Carolina
Letters of Recommendation
Letters of recommendation play a key role in the college admissions process. A handout on the topic, part of a series on specific writing assignments, helps applicants through the process of choosing recommenders and requesting a letter....
Shmoop
ELA.CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RI.9-10.6
What does the author believe about his topic? Why did he write in the first place? Challenge your class to figure out the answers to these questions as they read through informational texts. The resource provides a breakdown of the...
Curated OER
Finding the dress code balance
Learners write a persuasive essay, expressing their opinions of how the school dress code should be changed. Students investigate their own school's dress code, developing their own opinions of whether the dress code should be more or...
University of North Carolina
Blogs
The blogosphere may be overwhelmed with content, but there's still room for unique points of view. Creating a blog that stands out, however, is the bigger challenge. A handout on blogs, part of a series of handouts on specific writing...
Curated OER
A Midsummer Night's Dream
You might not be able to put a girdle around the earth in forty minutes but you can generate interest in A Midsummer’s Night Dream in that length of time. As an introduction to Shakespeare’s comedy, pairs of students assume the roles of...
Curated OER
Genetic Engineering: Friend or Foe?
Young scholars brainstorm and discuss ways genes can be altered, transferred and cloned. They will complete a subject sampler, opinion paper and prepare to debate their opinion on genetic engineering.
Curated OER
I Am Special and You Are Special Too #6
We are All Alike…We Are All Different is the springboard for the creation of an illustrated book in which young writers record their impression of themselves, their families, and their interests. Sharing the completed books in circle...
Novelinks
Romeo and Juliet: Anticipation Guide
To prepare readers for some of the themes in Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet, individuals complete an anticipation guide and then share their ideas in small groups.
Curated OER
Student Travel in the Shadow of War
Students research and discuss pros and cons of study abroad during times of war, and document decisions and positions of local school administrators on topic. Students then write editorials voicing their opinions.
Sinclair Community College
Sentence Sense Editing Exercise
This one-page sentence editing practice is a beast! Grammar masters make corrections in punctuation and capitalization in a lengthy paragraph that is about writing process (how post-modern). This efficient resource can be used as...
Curated OER
Hawthorne: Author and Narrator
Students examine the difference between a narrator and author. They read Nathaniel Hawthorne's novel, 'The Scarlet Letter,' write a description of the narrator, and research how Hawthorne was impacted by the politics of the time.
Curated OER
Teaching Others About Being Deaf
Students read two articles about how college students taught others about being blind or deaf. In their school, they interview students with a physical challenge and use the internet to research how to write about those with...
Curated OER
Abercrombie & Fitch Catalogue: Is it Pornographic?
Students use their textbook to find a legal definition of the word pornography. Using the Abercrombie and Fitch catalog, they write a column about whether the pictures are borderline pornographic or not. They also may present their...
Curated OER
George Winter
Who is George Winter? Learners review knowledge of George Winter, an artist who captured images of the Trail of Tears. They distinguish the difference between primary and secondary sources and determine the reliability of a document....
Curated OER
Plagiarism in the Real World
How would you feel if someone plagiarized your work? After class members turn in an assigned newspaper article, you rewrite the piece using elements of their writing. Then you claim you will be selling the story and that you will profit...