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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Say Hi to Haibun Fun

For Teachers 10th - Higher Ed
What is a haibun? With this interesting lesson, writers will experience the Japanese writing form haibun, identify elements important to Japanese writing styles, analyze a haibun, and compose their own. Different from the typical journal...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Surviving AIDS

For Teachers 8th - 12th
Enhance your middle and high schoolers' research skills with this lesson. After viewing a video clip about HIV and AIDS, high schoolers identify the facts and issues surrounding the disease. They work together to create a newspaper...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Following the Leaders

For Teachers 6th - 12th
Examine the historic election of Pope Benedict XVI and reflect on the challenges he faces as the new leader of the Catholic Church. This New York Times lesson investigates how other world leaders are chosen in different forms of...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Check It Out: Verifying Information and Sources in News Coverage

For Teachers 7th - 12th
If it’s in the news it must be true, right? Prompted by a New York Times article, class members consider the importance of accuracy in reporting and validating sources. The detailed plan includes warm-up exercises, discussion questions,...
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Organizer
Curated OER

Reading Study Guide: I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings

For Students 8th - 11th
Meant for use with Maya Angelou's first autobiographical volume I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings, the materials here are designed for a homeschool setting, but they'd suit any classroom or text. Graphic organizers, chapter summary guides,...
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Lesson Plan
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Curated OER

The Gift of Gatsby

For Teachers 11th - 12th Standards
A reading of “Gatsby’s Green Light Beckons a New Set of Strivers,” a New York Times article by Sara Rimer, triggers a discussion of the American Dream and what it means to strive for something. Following the discussion, class members...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

A Better Class of Journal-ists

For Teachers 1st - 12th
Young academics create a current events journal by skimming newspapers for articles that fit defined guidelines for informational texts. After cutting out two articles each week to add to their journals, they write a brief description of...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Macbeth News Broadcast

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Here is an authentic assessment task for Shakespeare's Macbeth. Young literature scholars prepare, perform, and record a news broadcast about the major events in the play. For example, groups may choose to report on the death of Lady...
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Activity
Curated OER

A River Runs Through It; Writing Assignment

For Teachers 9th - 12th
While reading A River Runs Through It, have your high schoolers work on their final project, a multi-genre research paper. There are 10 clear steps for completion but not much additional help. For early high schoolers (or lower-level...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Global Warming: Writing and Editing a Research Report

For Teachers 6th - 12th
Bring environmental issues into your classroom! Practice writing and peer editing research reports on global warming and the greenhouse effect. Middle schoolers can work on their research skills, their writing skills, and how to...
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PPT
Curated OER

The Paragraph

For Teachers 7th - 12th
Review the components of a well-written paragraph with your class. Be sure your writers include a topic sentence supported with main ideas and followed by a conclusion. Unity, coherence, and transition words are emphasized. Experiment...
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Lesson Plan
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Curated OER

Writing Effective Thesis Statements and Introductory Paragraphs for Research Papers

For Teachers 9th - 12th Standards
After reading on the topic of their paper, high schoolers work in pairs to assess how to write powerful, precise thesis statements. The introduction contains three statements: a universal statement, a bridge statement, and a thesis...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Teens Making a Difference

For Teachers 10th - Higher Ed
Is your opinion significant? Help your class discover the influence their opinions hold and encourage them to make a positive change in their community. To start, they get in teams and brainstorm why their school should have more healthy...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Formal versus Informal Language

For Teachers 7th - 12th Standards
Engage in an activity that focuses on the concepts of formal and informal language use. Middle and high schoolers compare and contrast each style by using a Venn diagram that includes some examples. They read and hear a passage of lyrics...
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Worksheet
Curated OER

Report Writing Exercise

For Students 8th - 12th
There's specific language that is commonly used with each type of writing. With report writing, the writing is direct, clear and focused. Writers categorize 14 different phrases common to this style of writing and place them under the...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Night Compare Contrast

For Teachers 10th - 12th
Using a constructivist approach and a graphic organizer, small groups work together to begin a paper, comparing and contrasting the novella Night and the movie Life is Beautiful. Assuming that your learners have studied both of these...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

World War II Home Front

For Teachers 10th - 11th
Eleventh graders examine the political demands put on one of four groups living in America during WWII. Each class member is asked to research and write a paper describing the homefront experience for women, Hispanics, African-Americans,...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Who Was That Man?

For Teachers 6th - 12th
Develop historical analysis and interpretation with your older students. They will study and analyze three given interpretations of Christopher Columbus' life, which includes significant events, his character, and the impact he made on...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Creating Compassionate Communities

For Teachers 6th - 12th
Have you ever lost someone? Middle and high school learners journal about a time they experienced the loss of someone through death, divorce, moving, or another type of change. They share their responses and discuss an article relating...
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Worksheet
Curated OER

Transitions

For Students 10th - Higher Ed
Give examples of transitions and why they are necessary in writing. A bit verbose, this handout is very thorough and provides many examples. The second page lists plenty of transitional phrases in a convenient chart.
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Tornado Brainstorming

For Teachers 3rd - 12th Standards
While the focus of this lesson is on writing about tornadoes, any topic could be substituted. The lesson provides a well-thought out overview of the writing process. Learners come up with a thesis statement, supporting  details, and a...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

History Personified

For Teachers 5th - 12th
In 1856 Congressman Preston Brooks of South Carolina beat Senator Charles Sumner of Massachusetts over the head with a cane. This event, which highlighted the acrimonious debate over the expansion of slavery, is the focus of a paper...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Step-By-Step

For Teachers 11th - 12th Standards
For many emerging writers, essays are completed step-by-step. With the help of this lesson, learners will narrow down a topic, develop a thesis statement, develop a preliminary outline, conduct Internet research, and understand the...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Please No Posers

For Teachers 6th - 12th
How do you reference information correctly? Avoid plagiarism by accurately summarizing a New York Times article with your middle or high schoolers. Young researchers then insert properly attributed quotations and paraphrases into their...