C-SPAN
Should States Shift to Mail-In Voting during the Coronavirus Pandemic?
With the coronavirus pausing many norms in American society, officials are trying to decide how to safely hold voting in the 2020 presidential election. Using curated video clips, including speeches from Congress, journalists, and...
C-SPAN
Historical Presidential Campaign Announcement Analysis
Using the announcements of presidential candidacies, pupils consider how contenders make their initial arguments to the public. A worksheet helps structure collaborative work to analyze 10 video clips. Writing prompts allow for extension...
University of Minnesota
Writing for Success
You can be a success! Scholars learn skills required for successful writing with a step-by-step process. They begin with the basics of parts of speech, such as indefinite pronouns, and writing a simple sentence. Individuals then build...
University of Victoria
Agreement with Indefinite Pronouns
Why can't they agree? Scholars learn about agreement with indefinite pronouns with online materials. First they learn what indefinite pronouns are as well as examples. They look at examples of indefinite pronouns used in sentences before...
Curated OER
1863: Shifting Tides
The victory at Gettysburg is forever immortalized in the famous speech given by Present Abraham Lincoln. Designed for secondary pupils, an interesting lesson plan explains how 1863 was a pivotal year for the Union. Academics explore the...
EngageNY
Analyzing a Model Position Paper
What's the difference between a position speech and a position paper? Scholars use a rubric to analyze a model essay about Michael Pollan's food chains to understand what makes them unique. Additionally, pupils create anchor charts...
EngageNY
End of Unit Assessment: Presentation of Position
What is the difference between formal and informal language? Pupils rewrite their position speeches to adapt them for an audience of adults. Next, they present their speeches in small groups, attempting to answer the question, "Which...
EngageNY
Analyzing Different Mediums: Advantages and Disadvantages
How do authors play to people's moods? After briefly reviewing mood using a Conditional and Subjunctive Mood handout, learners practice identifying conditional and subjunctive sentences in the Montgomery Bus Boycott speech before reading...
American Battlefield Trust
Gettysburg Address: Abraham Lincoln's Greatest Speech
Most Americans have heard of the Gettysburg Address, but may not know what it means and why is it so important. Following guidance and scaffolded prompts, scholars analyze the short document that left an undeniable impact on the American...
American Battlefield Trust
1861: The Country Goes to War
What was it like to know the Civil War was coming? Using a graphic timeline activity and excerpts of speeches from Abraham Lincoln and Jefferson Davis, learners consider the early days of the conflict. The resource includes prompts for...
EngageNY
Writing a Position Speech: Which Food Chain Would Be Best?
Eeny, meany, miny, moe. It's time to choose a side. Scholars learn about taking a position by watching a video of a speech about local organic food. Next, pupils use graphic organizers to plan their speeches about which food chain is...
Literacy Design Collaborative
The Art of Persuasion: How Rhetorical Devices Influence Audiences
Scholars analyze a variety of text to identify the development of claims and persuasive techniques writers use. In each text, pupils determine the argument and the persuasive techniques and complete a task introduction worksheet. The...
Stanford University
Chinese Immigration and Exclusion
The Chinese Exclusion Act was the first race-based restriction on immigration in American history. Why was the act passed after Chinese immigrants helped build the Transcontinental Railroad? A series of documents, including speeches and...
EngageNY
Analyzing a Thematic Concept: Becoming Visible Again, Part 2 (354–380)
Scholars take a close look at the life of Louie in Unbroken. They discuss events considered turning points in their life and use several graphic organizers and guides to help direct their thinking. After thinking about their responses,...
Literacy Design Collaborative
A Pale Blue Dot: That's Here. That's Home. That's Us.
21st-century learners live in such a visual world that many are unused to letting their minds imagine the picture that words create. An excerpt from Carl Sagan's lecture, "The Pale Blue Dot: A Vision of the Human Future in Space,"...
EngageNY
World Cafe: Analyzing Sojourner Truth’s “Ain’t I a Woman?”
May I take your order? Scholars read "Ain't I a Woman" and participate in a World Cafe. They work in small groups to discuss text-related questions and then complete a Note-Catcher sheet to organize their thoughts. For homework, learners...
EngageNY
Taking a Stand: Equal Rights for Women
Equality for all? Scholars talk with partners to predict Shirley Chisholm's stand in her speech "Equal Rights for Women." They then read the speech and circle unfamiliar words to understand the meaning better. Readers go on to answer...
University of California
The Cold War (America)
The Cold War—with its roots in World War II—impacts the world today. Using an extensive curriculum, scholars consider its impact through primary sources, including speeches and propaganda, as well as other skills-enhancing activities. An...
Literacy Design Collaborative
Rhetorical Analysis of Frederick Douglass
Is the Fourth of July a celebration for all Americans? Scholars carry out a close read of What to the Slave is the Fourth of July? Readers talk with partners about the speaker's point of view, the author's debate, reasoning, and...
Literacy Design Collaborative
Elie Wiesel's Acceptance Speech Analysis
Elie Wiesel's Nobel Prize Acceptance speech provides young historians with an opportunity to demonstrate their ability to use evidence from the speech. They work together to analyze how Wiesel uses rhetorical devices and syntax to...
National WWII Museum
Pearl Harbor: Analyzing FDR's Pearl Harbor Address
FDR's words calling the attack on Pearl Harbor a "day in infamy" have been immortalized. Learners use analysis and discussion questions to consider the origins and drafting of the famed speech that brought the United States into World...
College Board
2000 AP® English Language and Composition Free-Response Questions
No one is perfect. George Orwell argues imperfection is preferred over sainthood. Scholars write essays describing how he expresses his argument in writing. Writers also respond to Eudora Welty's recollection of life experiences with...
College Board
2002 AP® English Language and Composition Free-Response Questions
It is not what you say but how you say it. Scholars use an essay prompt from the 2002 AP® English Language and Composition Free-Response Questions to analyze how an author uses language to describe her past. They also support or argue a...
Poetry4kids
How to Write a Tanka Poem
Take your haikus to the next level with tanka poems, another form of Japanese poetry that regulates the length and rhythm of each line by syllables. Young writers read the explanation, examples, and tips for tanka poems before writing...