Curated OER
Narrative Writing Lesson
Sixth graders experience the stages of process writing, work cooperatively, to critique and to incorporate software tools to enhance writing and problem solving skills.
Curated OER
Write Your Own Screen Play
Middle schoolers critique the transition of "Holes" from a novel to screenplay and consider how the details in a book are brought to life in a movie. They then choose a scene in a book and transform it into an original script after...
Curated OER
The Editing Process
Students read a sample essay and evaluate them in groups. They write their own essay on a topic of their choice and use peer editing. They share their essays with the class.
National Endowment for the Humanities
The Glass Menagerie: Impact of Expressionism
Young scholars are challenged to write a realistic analysis of Tennessee Williams' nonrealistic memory play, The Glass Menagerie. Writers use the evidence gathered on their worksheets to craft an effective thesis and concluding statement...
Education Development Center
Adding Fractions with Unlike Denominators
If the fractions don't have a common denominator, make them have one. Learners first read and analyze a conversation of pupils trying to add 2/5 and 1/2. They compare the process of adding fractions to the process of adding quantities...
Curated OER
Macbeth News Broadcast
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...
Curated OER
Picturing America: Images and Words of Hope from Romare Bearden and Langston Hughes
A carefully crafted three-day lesson integrates poetry and visual art. By analyzing and comparing Langston Hughes' poem "Mother and Son" and Romare Bearden's collage "The Dove," readers explore the theme of hope. The lesson activates...
EngageNY
Writing the Children’s Book: Day One
With a brief mini-lesson, scholars learn about using strong verbs, sensory details, and precise descriptions. Next, pupils continue working on their children's book storyboards before choosing their strongest pages for peer critiques.
Turabian Teacher Collaborative
Parts of Argument II: Article Critique
Break down the parts of argumentative writing with a critical thinking activity. High schoolers read an article of your (or their choice), and use a graphic organizer to delineate the ways the author structures his or her arguments.
Curated OER
Paradise Lost: Bloom’s Taxonomy of Thinking Processes
Chapter II of John Milton's Paradise Lost provides the text for a series of comprehension questions crafted using Bloom's Taxonomy.
Sargent Art
Improvisation: Dada and Surrealism
Images of works by Salvador Dali, Luis Bunuel, and Man Ray launch a study of Dada and Surrealism. After critiquing works by these and other artists, class members gather their own images and arrange them into a cohesive composition.
Overcoming Obstacles
Writing Reports and Presenting to an Audience
A two-part lesson introduces learners to a six-step process for writing and presenting oral reports. Participants learn how to select, limit, and research a topic, how to organize their notes, draft and revise their reports, and practice...
Curated OER
The Editing Process
Learners in upper-level college-bound English classes review the editing process and terms such as, tone, diction, transition, and conclusion. They read and evaluate a sample essay and identify parts they feel they could improve on. ...
Curated OER
The People's Design Award
Students analyze, critique, and evaluate information from various sources and learn about the design process. In this design lesson, students critique work submitted to People's Design Award and create a design of their own to present to...
Maine Content Literacy Project
Process of Reading
Assist your pupils with literary analysis by discussing and exploring theme. This plan, the twelfth in a series of fourteen, builds in some time to explore theme as a class. Learners also blog about the main event in their stories and...
Curated OER
Art Criticism: Understanding Wayne Thiebaud's Salads, Sandwiches, and Desserts
Analysis consists of an understanding and interpretation of evidence and elements found in any number of expressive mediums. Upper graders critique the work of American Realist Wayne Thiebaud through a series of excellent guided...
Curated OER
English Lesson Plans for Grade 12
HIgh schoolers respond to a persuasive article on using animal research. In this english lesson, writers listen to a conversation, and discuss the point of arguments. They write a critique on a certain film and share it with their...
Curated OER
Peer Review Meets D.I.Y.: Publishing a Student Science Journal
Peer review of science laboratory reports? You bet! First, learners work in pairs to review a scientific article. Then they trade lab reports for peer review. The end result is the publication of a classroom scientific journal!
Science 4 Inquiry
Atmospheric Layers
Space diving refers to the act of jumping from outer space and falling through Earth's atmosphere before parachuting to land. Scholars learn about this extreme activity and study the layers of the atmosphere they must conquer in the...
Smithsonian Institution
Students’ Response to 9/11—A Documentary Report
Young historians research the devastating attacks of 9/11 and use that information to script their own documentaries. The follow-up activity includes recording the documentary and conducting classmate interviews,
EngageNY
End of Unit 2 Assessment: Final Draft of Literary Argument Essay
Take the last step in writing a literary argument essay using Bud, Not Buddy by Christopher Paul Curtis in an activity focused on feedback. Using the stars and steps revision method, pupils consider teacher and peer feedback to revise...
EngageNY
End of Unit Assessment: Commentary on Confessional
What does commentary have to do with narrative? Before scholars explain the narrative choices in their Character Confessionals, they review provided commentary to explain the score they received on previous assessments. They review...
Curated OER
The Workshop
Kids take a critical look at each other's work in order to understand the editing process while providing constructive suggestions. This handout really sets learners up to successfully offer constructive critique to their peers. Helpful...
Scholastic
Persausive Writing
A unit on persuasive writing guides elementary learners through the writing process. The first part examines the elements of persuasive writing, including expressing an opinion, connecting ideas, using supporting facts, and writing...