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Lesson Plan
K20 LEARN

Just Say No!: Exploring Temptation Through The Lotus Eaters

For Teachers 9th - 10th Standards
Teenagers face many temptations, and just saying "No!" can be very difficult. Here's a lesson that provides some help. Learners use a Venn diagram to compare and contrast excerpts from The Odyssey, Tennyson's "The Lotus-Eaters," and the...
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Lesson Plan
K20 LEARN

The Anatomy Of A Story: Story Structure

For Teachers 9th - 11th Standards
Somebody. Wanted. But. Then. Introduce your classes to the structure that supports stories with a lesson that teaches readers how to identify the four basic components writers use to craft their tales. After identifying these elements in...
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Lesson Plan
K20 LEARN

Motivations In "The Gift Of The Magi": Motivation In Characters

For Teachers 8th - 10th Standards
O. Henry's short story, "The Give of the Magi," launches a study of what motivates people to act as they do. Class members identify what they believe are the motivations of the characters in O. Henry's tale and then craft a one-page...
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Lesson Plan
K20 LEARN

Taking a Bite! Exploring Cultural Identity Through Food

For Teachers 9th - 11th Standards
High schoolers are asked to consider the connections between food, culture, and identity. They read articles and share what they learned in a jigsaw activity, read a short story, and make a claim about the story's theme, backing up their...
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Lesson Plan
Penguin Books

A Guide to the Works of Jacqueline Woodson

For Teachers 6th - 10th Standards
The works of Jacqueline Woodson introduce readers to diverse characters and themes. A guide covers many of the author's best-known books such as Brown Girl Dreaming and Locomotion. Dive & Discuss and Explore & Extend activities...
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Lesson Plan
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Penguin Books

An Educator's Guide to the Works of Laurie Halse Anderson

For Teachers 9th - 10th Standards
Laurie Halse Anderson tackles challenging topics for teens. An educator's guide shares activities for many of her novels such as Prom, Shout, and Wintergirls. Questions, perfect to use as either discussion or as essay prompts, accompany...
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Lesson Plan
K20 LEARN

The Power of Poetry: Perspectives in Poetry

For Teachers 9th - 10th Standards
What do Abraham Lincoln, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., and Amanda Gordon have in common? They all believe in the power of words—the power of words to create change. After analyzing the rhetorical strategies in several poems and speeches,...
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Lesson Plan
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K20 LEARN

The K20 Chronicle, Lesson 4: Putting It All Together - Layout and Final Product

For Teachers 9th - 12th Standards
Senior Spotlight! Read all about them! Young photojournalists put together their articles and photographs, craft a layout, and publish their interviews with a senior from their high school.
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Lesson Plan
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K20 LEARN

The K20 Chronicle, Lesson 3: Crafting the Article

For Teachers 9th - 12th Standards
Picture your class members as photojournalists! Using their interview with a senior as a starting point, would-be photojournalists begin developing an outline for their article by examining their notes from the interview, gathering...
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Lesson Plan
1
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K20 LEARN

Trigger Warnings - Intellectual Rights and Responsibilities: Banned Books, Censorship Part 1

For Teachers 9th - 12th Standards
"Warning: Conducting this lesson plan may be harmful." Such statements, called "Trigger Warnings," are the focus of a two-part lesson plan that looks at censorship, especially the pros and cons of trigger warnings. Class members read two...
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Lesson Plan
K20 LEARN

The Million Dollar Question: Informative Writing

For Teachers 9th Standards
Introduce high school freshmen to the characteristics of informative writing with a 5-day lesson that distinguishes informative writing from other modes. Scholars learn how to search for and cite reliable resources, then research and...
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Lesson Plan
K20 LEARN

Writing Is Elementary, My Dear Watson: Writing Paragraphs With Evidence And Reasoning

For Teachers 9th Standards
Did Smitty do it, or is he a victim? Sleuths apply their observation and reasoning skills to build a case for an argumentative paragraph. Class members closely observe a cartoon, make a claim, cite evidence from the image, and support...
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Lesson Plan
K20 LEARN

Writing Wrongs Mini Lesson: Peer Editing And Revising

For Teachers 8th - 11th Standards
High schoolers draft a paragraph about their stance on the issue of school uniforms and share their work with a peer for editing. After watching a  parody video about peer editing and revising, class members generate a "Top 10 list" of...
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Lesson Plan
1
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K20 LEARN

Lord of the Flies Unit, Lesson 8: In The End

For Teachers 9th Standards
To end the unit, groups use the Honeycomb Harvest strategy to show connections among a character, symbols, and themes in the novel and then create an Anchor Chart for the character that includes a symbol that best represents him. They...
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Lesson Plan
K20 LEARN

Introduction to Arguing Effectively: Argument Writing

For Teachers 10th - 11th Standards
Which is better—Chick-fil-A or MacDonalds? High schoolers learn how to craft an argument essay by beginning an opinion statement. They state a claim, back up their claim with evidence, and consider counter calms. Scholars then create a...
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Lesson Plan
K20 LEARN

Brushstrokes: Communication/Using Descriptive Language

For Teachers 7th - 11th Standards
Sometimes a picture reflects a thousand descriptive words. To illustrate the importance of sensory words in descriptive writing, scholars listen to a song and craft a painting in response. After sharing their work with the class,...
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Lesson Plan
K20 LEARN

Blackout Poetry: Re-Envisioning Writing

For Teachers 10th - 11th Standards
Introduce young poets to Blackout Poetry. Much like Found Poems, Blackout Poetry challenges scholars to rethink the process writers may use to craft their poems. After watching a short video in which poet Austin Kleon describes his...
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Lesson Plan
K20 LEARN

Building Arguments With Evidence: Constructing Arguments Part 2

For Teachers 9th - 12th Standards
The second session in the two-part "Building Arguments with Evidence" lesson asks scholars to craft an argument essay on a topic of interest to them. Writers establish a claim, locate evidence, and justify their stance.
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Lesson Plan
2
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Common Sense Media

My Online Code

For Teachers 9th - 12th Standards
Approach ethical online behavior with a series of activities geared toward teaching pupils about digital citizenship. After a brief discussion about ethics, small groups inspect a fictional social networking profile with ethics in mind....
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Lesson Plan
Academy of American Poets

Poems about Poetry

For Teachers 9th - 12th Standards
Learners of all ages hear the words “Today we’re going to start poetry” and begin their plans to drop out of school. It is not the teacher's fault! Use this resource to help young scholars understand the genre of poetry and why it is...
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Lesson Plan
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NASA

The Big Climate Change Experiment Lesson 2: The Influence of Climate on Culture

For Teachers 9th - 12th Standards
No conversation about culture is complete without considering climate. Scholars first view videos of climate witnesses who describe the climate in their regions and how climate change affects their daily lives. They then write essays or...
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Lesson Plan
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Nemours KidsHealth

Peer Pressure: Grades 9-12

For Teachers 9th - 12th Standards
Peer pressure is not always negative. It can also inspire, encourage people to get involved, and help push change. Class members select a quotation from a provided list and craft a paragraph about the meaning of the statement, how it...
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Activity
Thoughtful Learning

Using Perspective Shifting to Persuade Readers

For Students 4th - 12th Standards
One of the key competencies of social and emotional learning is social awareness and being able to see things from another's perspective. This ability to shift perspective is particularly important when crafting an argument to persuade...
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Lesson Plan
EngageNY

End of Unit 2 Assessment, Part 1:Drafting the Argument Essay

For Teachers 8th Standards
An informative resource instructs pupils on how to write their essay drafts about the theme of control in Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream. Next, scholars complete an Exit Ticket, listing their three favorite characters from the...