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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Reformers versus Residents in Five Points: A Role Play

For Teachers 8th - 10th
Social Studies and role-playing can go hand in hand. Learners use supporting evidence found in primary and secondary source material to develop a character from the Five Points neighborhood in the 1850s. Each student takes on the role of...
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Interactive
Texas Education Agency (TEA)

Drawing Conclusions Based on the Sufficiency and Strength of Research (English III Reading)

For Students 11th Standards
High school juniors learn how to construct a strong argument by crafting a claim and using neutral language backed by evidence from reliable sources. To do so, they learn to evaluate sources and evidence to support claims. They then...
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Lesson Plan
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Utah Education Network (UEN)

7th Grade Poetry: Sonnet Poem

For Teachers 7th Standards
Two sonnets provide seventh graders with examples of Shakespearean sonnets. After discussing the story of the poems and analyzing their rhyme scheme and rhythm, young poets craft a Shakespearian sonnet and share their work with two...
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Lesson Plan
K20 LEARN

Reframing the Argument: Examining Argument through a New Lens

For Teachers 9th - 12th Standards
As part of a study of crafting compelling arguments, class members tackle the problem presented in Lawrence Kohlberg's "The Heinz Dilemma." After discussing the dilemma with classmates, writers draft an essay with a claim, support it...
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Lesson Plan
K20 LEARN

Is Pizza Epic? Word Choice

For Teachers 7th - 8th Standards
Remember when everything was Fantastic! Fabulous! Awesome! Iconic! A series of activities encourages young writers to move beyond these overused descriptors and instead choose a more precise language.
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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
Anti-Defamation League

Should Washington's NFL Team Change Their Name?

For Teachers 8th - 12th Standards
"What's in a name?" Is it irrelevant, as Juliet suggests in Shakespeare's play, or is nomenclature deeply significant? Young scholars weigh in on the debate by examining the controversy over the NFL's Washington, D.C. Redskins. Groups...
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Lesson Plan
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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 may be harmful." Such statements, called "Trigger Warnings," are the focus of a two-part lesson that looks at censorship, especially the pros and cons of trigger warnings. Class members read two articles,...
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Lesson Plan
K20 LEARN

Who Are They Really?: Characterization In The Outsiders

For Teachers 8th Standards
Ponyboy, Johnny, Winston, and Darry come alive in a lesson plan that focuses on the details S. E. Hinton uses to characterize the Greasers and the Socials. The class first observes the actors' words; the thoughts revealed their effect on...
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Lesson Plan
Anti-Defamation League

Bias, Bullying and Bad Behavior in the NFL

For Teachers 9th - 12th Standards
A 2014 case of locker room behavior in the National Football League offers high schoolers an opportunity to get involved in the conversation of bullying and abuse. Class members read about the case and analyze quotes that reveal...
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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

Let Us Start The Lettuce Club (Or Not): Writing A Thesis Statement

For Teachers 9th Standards
Let us be frank! Writers learn that crafting a thesis statement is not that difficult if one peals back the layers. After watching several videos about the elements of a thesis, class members read the article "Lettuce Club helps students...
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Lesson Plan
K20 LEARN

Friends, Romans, Countrymen, Lend Me Your Emotions: Julius Caesar

For Teachers 9th - 10th Standards
Scholars, high schoolers, class members! With the help of this lesson, you too can identify the three persuasive appeals (ethos, pathos, and logos) the characters in William Shakespeare's tragedy Julius Caesar used to convince their...
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Lesson Plan
K20 LEARN

Between The Lines: Inferences In The Narrative Life Of Frederick Douglass Excerpt

For Teachers 11th - 12th Standards
Good literature can be much like an iceberg requiring readers to presume that the bulk of the meaning may be inferred to be found below the surface. Here's a lesson that asks scholars to conduct a close reading of passages from The...
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Lesson Plan
K20 LEARN

Arguing With Evidence: Deconstructing Arguments Part 1

For Teachers 9th - 12th Standards
In the first instructional activity in a two-part series, high schoolers pick a social issue important to them and examine an article about the topic, the arguments and evidence used to support the writer's stance, and craft two...
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Lesson Plan
K20 LEARN

Alienstock: Analyzing Information, Media, And Validity

For Teachers 7th - 8th Standards
One only has to watch MSMBC and FOX News to realize that media can present the same story in very different ways. Middle schoolers have an opportunity to test their ability to determine the validity and trustworthiness of information by...
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Lesson Plan
NASA

Introduction: Building Claims from Evidence

For Teachers 6th - 8th Standards
Making a claim without supporting it has little value. Learners work on their claim-making skills in a well-designed instructional activity. They view still images from a video and make claims using support from the visual...
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Activity
University of California

Migration of Early Humans: Evidence and Interpretations

For Teachers 6th Standards
While much of prehistory is cloaked in mystery, ancient ancestors left evidence in DNA, languages, and materials from their time. Using photographs of items such as cave paintings and ancient tools, as well as maps of linguistic patterns...
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Lesson Plan
Newseum

Civil Rights: Knowns and Unknowns

For Teachers 6th - 12th Standards
Class members generate a list of research questions to review the civil rights movement and determine what scholars still need to learn. Groups then select a different compelling question, create a hypothesis and find evidence to support...
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Unit Plan
Simon & Schuster

Classroom Activities for The Call of the Wild by Jack London

For Teachers 5th - 8th Standards
Three activities are designed for readers of Jack London's The Call of the Wild. First, class members research and create posters that reflect the setting of the novel. Next, groups create posters with images that represent each chapter...
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Unit Plan
Simon & Schuster

Classroom Activities for Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë

For Teachers 9th - 12th Standards
A curriculum guide for Jane Eyre focuses on Charlotte Bronte's portrayal of women. Readers engage in three activities that prepare them for an essay in which they argue whether the novel is a work of female rebellion or affirms...
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Unit Plan
Simon & Schuster

Classroom Activities for Ethan Frome by Edith Wharton

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Edith Wharton's Ethan Frome is the focus of an 11-page packet that includes three lesson plans, three worksheets, and a homework assignment. The first lesson introduces readers to the historical context of the novel. At the same time,...
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PPT
Livaudais-Baker English Classroom

Literary Theories

For Teachers 9th - 12th Standards
Introduce ELA scholars to the basics of literary criticism with a 41-slide presentation that identifies eight different approaches to critical analysis. Each approach is defined, and advantages and disadvantages are listed. Also included...
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Lesson Plan
EngageNY

End of Unit Assessment Part II: Science Talk

For Teachers 5th Standards
Scholars complete Part 2 of their end of unit assessment by having a science talk. Pupils pair up to answer questions about what makes a natural disaster. As one learner talks, the other records what is said. They then trade places.