Curated OER
Print & Go ESL
Improve reading comprehension with a set of ESL worksheets. Kids read through various passages, note which facts are true or false, mark their opinion on two statements, and write a short reply based on a writing prompt.
New York State Education Department
Comprehensive English Examination: August 2013
Individuals exercise their minds by taking the Comprehensive Examination in English, which assesses listening and reading comprehension and writing aptitude. Scholars answer multiple-choice questions and write two short-response essays....
Facebook
Online Presence
What happens when an online post gets the wrong kind of attention? Learners evaluate the good, the bad, and the occasionally ugly side of social media posting with a instructional activity from a vast digital citizenship series. After...
EngageNY
Grade 9 ELA Module 4, Unit 1, Lesson 3
What is the connection between the spread of ideas and the expansion of the sugar trade? Class members continue their reading of Sugar Changed the World and use an analysis tool to identify how critical ideas in the chapters are...
Curated OER
Rights and Responsibilities: Grass Born to Be Stepped On
Students use the Internet and other resources to research an aspect of history that illustrates rights and responsibilities, including historical events, issues and ideas, and the people involved.
Curated OER
Let's Get Critical!
Students write a letter to a classmate recommending a favorite book and brainstorm ways in which a person would encourage others to read a book, focusing on specific elements of novels.
Curated OER
Information Overload: Looking at News
How do events reported in mainstream newspapers, on television news, blog posts, and social network sites differ? Ask your class to investigate the way the same news item is presented in the many information sources available. Groups...
Curated OER
Responding to Literature: James and the Giant Peach
Fifth grade reader/writers create an alternate ending to an episode in Roald Dahl's James and the Giant Peach in which our protagonist "loses" the chance to magically solve all his problems. Prompts students not only to write creatively...
Curated OER
Awesome Stories: Vincent van Gogh
Who was Vincent van Gogh? Most of the questions can be answered in two or three sentences; however, there is at least one essay prompt and one personal response question that require longer answers. Questions call for a good mix of...
Curated OER
The Electronic Exit Portfolio (EEP)
Here's a fresh take on the student writing portfolio. Consider having learners create an electronic portfolio. After examining sample e-portfolios, class members explore various software programs they will use throughout the course and...
Curated OER
What Famous Landmarks Have You Visited?
Responding to blog posts can increase written communication skills, critical thinking skills, and the use of social media as a means for discussion. Kids will compose a blog post in response to the provided article related to famous...
Global Oneness Project
Freedom to Change
Here's something unusual and thoughtful: have your scholars do some pensive reflection themselves before tackling how such meditative techniques are used in prison rehabilitation programs. They watch the "Path of Freedom" video found...
Global Oneness Project
Far From Home
A timely and provocative lesson inspires high schoolers to tackle the Syrian refugee crisis. They analyze a compelling photo essay before discussing and writing about it.
Curated OER
Project Based Learing: Social Responsibility
Students explore social responsibility. In this service learning lesson, students participate in 4 weekly activities that require them to research "communitarians", write poems about their contributions, and create works of art that...
Curated OER
What Is Courage?
Students brainstorm definitions of the word "courage." They work in cooperative groups to complete tasks related to critical lense statements. Students write an essay of critical analysis. They write a first draft, and peer edit . Essays...
Curated OER
The Lion and the Mouse
Students write a story. In this critical thinking and writing activity, students read a fable, answer the provided thinking skills questions, and write their own fable.
Curated OER
Research Activity: Grades 10-12
Students discuss the war in Iraq, Adam Michnik's essay "We, the Traitors," and the notion that we bear a collective responsibility to rise up against oppression, within a modern geo-political context. They each write a research report on...
Curated OER
Breaking News English: New Orleans
In this New Orleans worksheet, students read the article, answer true and false questions, complete synonym matching, complete phrase matching, complete a gap fill, answer short answer questions, answer discussion questions, write, and...
Curated OER
You've Got Mail
First graders study the postal system and letter writing. They exchange class letters with another class in a different area and become pen pals with residents in a local nursing home.
Social Media Toolbox
Social Media Roles
Social media has changed the news publishing process, so how does it affect school news publications? Lesson nine in a 16-part series titled The Social Media Toolbox explores the traditional publishing roles through the lens of social...
New York State Education Department
Comprehensive English Examination: January 2016
Poetry and prose often have more in common than it initially appears. A sample comprehensive English exam has test-takers compare and contrast two passages to answer short response questions. The exam, which is part of a larger set of...
New York City Department of Education
Grade 5 Literacy in English Language Arts: Should the School Day Be Longer?
Scholars read newspaper articles relating to a longer school day and complete note-taking organizers as they read. They then form opinions and complete outlines before writing essays supporting their point of view.
EngageNY
Grade 9 ELA Module 1, Unit 2, Lesson 2
Class members continue their analysis of Letters to a Young Poet, paying particular attention to how Rilke uses metaphor to develop his ideas about the source of inspiration.
EngageNY
Grade 9 ELA Module 3, Unit 3, Lesson 2
After a peer review of their outlines, class members examine a model of an effective, engaging introduction and then craft the first draft of the introduction to their research paper.