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Unit Plan
Core Knowledge Foundation

Classification of Animals Tell It Again!™ Read-Aloud Anthology

For Teachers 3rd Standards
Animal classification is the theme of a three-week read-aloud anthology. Scholars listen to and discuss a reading and complete extension activities throughout nine lessons. Writing opportunities delve deep into the process of writing an...
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Lesson Plan
EngageNY

Grade 9 ELA Module 2, Unit 3, Lesson 5

For Teachers 9th Standards
After rereading the full text of Walter Mosley's essay "True Crime," groups complete an evidence collection tool worksheet, and then class members independently draft a multi-paragraph, evidence-based response that identifies how Mosley...
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Lesson Plan
EngageNY

Writing to Inform: Colonial Trades

For Teachers 4th Standards
Fourth graders who are studying life in colonial America engage in an instructional activity that has them create a "Help Wanted" ad that would have been written by a master craftsperson from back in the day. They utilize a graphic...
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Worksheet
Curated OER

Peer Editing #2 for Expository Essay

For Students 8th - 12th
Peer editing can be such an asset if it's done correctly! Help your kids provide constructive, meaningful feedback with this peer editing guide, designed for expository essays. The editor checks the format, introduction, body,...
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Lesson Plan
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Curated OER

Lyddie: An Instructional Unit Resource Guide

For Teachers 6th - 8th Standards
Katherine Paterson’s young adult novel Lyddie is the foundation of a differentiated instruction unit that not only explores the rise of industrialization and labor but women’s rights issues as well. After learners read the novel, they...
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Worksheet
Curated OER

Eastern European Studies

For Students 6th - 10th
One worksheet, three projects. Learners explore Eastern Europe and mark Eastern European countries on a map. They then collect and record census data on thirteen different countries, and write a 3-5 page expository essay on one of the...
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Lesson Plan
K20 LEARN

Introduction to Expository Writing

For Teachers 6th - 9th Standards
Move beyond the five-paragraph essay with a lesson introducing young writers to various forms of expository writing. Class members examine description, cause and effect, problem solution, sequence, and comparison forms. They create an...
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Lesson Plan
K20 LEARN

Writing An Argumentative Paragraph: Argumentative Writing

For Teachers 7th - 9th Standards
Learning how to craft a cogent argument based on a solid claim, supported with evidence and solid reasoning, is an important life skill. Teach middle schoolers about argumentative writing with a lesson asking them to analyze the claims,...
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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
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National Endowment for the Humanities

The Glass Menagerie: Impact of Expressionism

For Teachers 9th - 12th Standards
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...
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Lesson Plan
Discovery Education

Writing about Symbolism and Emotion in Huckleberry Finn

For Teachers 9th - 12th Standards
To complete a study of The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, readers select a well-known quotation or symbol from the novel to use in an essay that analyzes how the quotation or symbol relates to the novel's themes.
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Performance
Curated OER

The Odyssey: Hospitality or Divine Intervention Essay

For Students 9th - 12th
Conclude a study of The Odyssey with a writing assignment that asks readers to investigate a central theme in Homer's tale. Scholars either provide positive and negative examples of hospitality or look for evidence of how the gods...
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Lesson Plan
EngageNY

End of Unit 2 Assessment: Final Literary Analysis

For Teachers 6th Standards
Get ready to review and revise! Scholars peer edit each other's literary analysis essay drafts. Next, using peer and teacher feedback, pupils compose their final drafts. 
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Lesson Plan
EngageNY

Qualities of a Strong Literary Analysis Essay

For Teachers 6th Standards
Read like a writer. Scholars read a model literary analysis in preparation for a similar writing assignment before annotating each paragraph for the gist. Next, pupils devise a list of qualities of a strong literary analysis essay. 
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Lesson Plan
Scholastic

The First Thanksgiving Feast for Grades 3-5

For Teachers 3rd - 5th Standards
Scholars examine the first Thanksgiving through books and interviews while they complete a KWL chart. Pretending they are part of the feast, learners craft a scrapbook page that features images related to their experience. Pupils reflect...
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Lesson Plan
EngageNY

End of Unit Assessment, Part 1: Drafting Body Paragraphs of an Essay to Inform

For Teachers 6th Standards
Anybody can write a body paragraph! Pupils analyze the development of ideas in a body paragraph from a model essay. Next, using what they've learned, they draft the body paragraphs of their My Rule to Live By informative essay. 
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Lesson Plan
EngageNY

Informational Essay Planning: Analyzing and Selecting Evidence

For Teachers 8th Standards
Class members look again at the end-of-unit essay prompt for A Mighty Long Way. After reviewing the requirements of the essay, they use their Gathering Evidence note-catchers and color-code the evidence that matches the two questions in...
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Lesson Plan
National Woman's History Museum

Creating a Historical Thesis Statement

For Teachers 7th - 10th Standards
A strong thesis statement not only identifies the subject of an essay but also presents a claim that must be supported with evidence. After researching how nursing has evolved in the United States since the Colonial era, young writers...
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Lesson Plan
EngageNY

End of Unit 3 Assessment: On-Demand Writing— Photograph and Song Choices for a Film

For Teachers 8th Standards
Ready, set, write! Every great film begins with a script, and every presentation starts with a plan. Directors use their research and experience to compose an essay explaining the rationale behind their film's musical and visual choices...
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Lesson Plan
Literacy Design Collaborative

Analyzing the Development of Theme through Pivotal Moments

For Students 6th Standards
Liliana Heker's "The Stolen Party" and Martha Salinas' "The Scholarship Jacket" provide sixth graders with an opportunity to identify key scenes that authors use to develop their themes.
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Lesson Plan
EngageNY

End of Unit Assessment: On-Demand Informational Paragraph About How the Poison Dart Frog Survives

For Teachers 3rd Standards
A final assessment marks the end of a unit that takes a close look at a variety of informational texts all about frogs. A graphic organizer aides scholars in planning an accordion paragraph using their recorder forms from previous...
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Lesson Plan
EngageNY

Shared Reading: Learning About Colonial Trades

For Teachers 4th Standards
Trading in Colonial America is the focus of a lesson plan that boosts reading skills. As a class, scholars examine the informational text for crucial details, use their newfound knowledge to share information with their peers, and write...
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Lesson Plan
Literacy Design Collaborative

Elie Wiesel's Acceptance Speech Analysis

For Students 9th - 10th Standards
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...
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Lesson Plan
Literacy Design Collaborative

Building Ideas and Making Connections: "Monkey See, Monkey Do"

For Students 9th Standards
Reading a scientific article about cross-species synchronization may sound like a yawner. But "Monkey See, Monkey Do" is a fascinating tale that just happens to be about yawning, within and across species. After a close reading, class...