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Unit Plan

Building Evidence-Based Arguments: Grade 9

For Teachers 9th Standards
High schoolers investigate the dilemma of a proportional response with a lesson about the history of terrorism and militant extremists in the United States. As they examine memos from the FBI and speeches from President Bush and Obama,...
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Lesson Plan
K20 Learn

Blackout Poetry: Re-Envisioning Writing

For Teachers 9th - 12th Standards
Shed light on the beauty of language with a great poetry activity. After learning about Austin Kleon's blackout poetry model, pupils respond to some of his poetry and use it as a model to produce their own. Young writers also share their...
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Unit Plan
2
2
Odell Education

Making Evidence-Based Claims: Grade 8

For Teachers 8th Standards
American women have been working toward equal rights since the ink dried on the Declaration of Independence. Focused on the words and actions of Sojourner Truth, Shirley Chisholm, and Venus Williams, a language arts lesson takes eighth...
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Unit Plan
Core Knowledge Foundation

Unit 9: The Science of Breakable Things by Tae Keller

For Teachers 5th Standards
A novel study examines The Science of Breakable Things by Tae Keller. Fifth graders participate in daily readings, discussions, and assignments following an "ask, explore, imagine, observe, and understand" routine. A final performance...
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Unit Plan
Core Knowledge Foundation

Unit 7: Poetry

For Teachers 5th Standards
Over the course of a 12-lesson language arts unit, young scholars analyze a variety of poems taking a close look at figurative language and tone. They learn to compare and contrast, improve comprehension, and identify settings. To...
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Unit Plan
Core Knowledge Foundation

Unit 5: A Midsummer Night’s Dream

For Teachers 5th Standards
Fifth graders analyze William Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream, paying close attention to character development, plot, and dialogue. With daily reading and thoughtful discussion, scholars take pen to paper to respond to journal...
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Unit Plan
Core Knowledge Foundation

Unit 4: The Renaissance

For Teachers 5th Standards
The Renaissance is the theme of a five-week unit designed to boost reading comprehension, spelling, vocabulary, and expository writing skills. Scholars listen to and discuss daily readings and engage in skills practice activities...
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Unit Plan
Core Knowledge Foundation

Unit 3: Adventures of Don Quixote

For Teachers 5th Standards
Fifth graders explore the Adventures of Don Quixote in a four-week language arts unit. Scholars listen to and discuss a new chapter each day as well as examine vocabulary and practice word work including suffixes, subject-verb agreement,...
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Unit Plan
Core Knowledge Foundation

Unit 2: Early American Civilizations

For Teachers 5th Standards
Fifth graders explore early American civilizations in a four-week ELA unit. Every lesson offers an opportunity to read and discuss a selected passage followed by word work that covers vocabulary, grammar, and morphology. Learners write...
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Unit Plan
Core Knowledge Foundation

Unit 1: Contemporary Fiction - They Call Me Güero: A Border Kid’s Poems by David Bowles

For Teachers 5th Standards
They Call Me Güero: A Border Kid's Poems by David Bowles is the focus of a five-week language arts unit unit. Fifth graders listen to various poems and participate in thoughtful discussions, examining vocabulary and learning new words in...
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Lesson Plan
Utah Education Network (UEN)

Hamlet Soliloquy Artwork

For Teachers 9th - 12th Standards
Though this assignment may be thought madness, there is an actual method. Scholars perform a close reading of the original text of the soliloquies in Hamlet and modern translations to ensure they understand the speeches. They then select...
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Lesson Plan
National Endowment for the Humanities

In Her Shoes: Lois Weber and the Female Filmmakers Who Shaped Early Hollywood

For Teachers 9th - 12th Standards
Lois Weber has been forgotten. So have Dorothy Davenport Reid, Gene Gauntier, and many others. High school sleuths use advanced search engines to investigate these women and discover clues to their disappearance from filmography and...
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Unit Plan
Core Knowledge Foundation

The Civil War

For Teachers 5th Standards
A unit covers many aspects of the Civil War. Over six weeks, fifth graders delve deep into the history of slavery, the Civil War—before, during, and after—Abraham Lincoln, women's contributions, the Emancipation Proclamation, and...
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Unit Plan
C3 Teachers

Black Women Writers: What Gets Black Women Heard?

For Teachers 9th - 12th Standards
Zora Neal Hurston, Toni Morrison, and Maya Angelou are featured in a guided inquiry unit. High schoolers research the lives and works of these and other Black women writers and craft an argument, using evidence from their research, to...
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Unit Plan
C3 Teachers

Uncle Tom’s Cabin: Can Words Lead to War?

For Teachers 7th Standards
"Words, words, words." Despite Hamlet's opinion, words can be significant. In this inquiry lesson, middle schoolers learn how the words in Harriet Beecher Stowe's Uncle Tom's Cabin, in the view of many, lead to the American Civil War. To...
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Lesson Plan
K20 LEARN

OPTIC - A Reading Strategy Recipe: Visual Literacy

For Teachers 6th - 12th Standards
A visual literary lesson provides learners with OPTIC (Observations, Predictions, Themes, Inferences, Conclusions), a reading strategy to help them understand and interpret visual and written texts. Scholars practice the strategy with a...
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Lesson Plan
K20 LEARN

Move, Flip, and Slide! Building Relationships and Community In the Classroom

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Here's a fresh take on those first days of school introductions. Learners use Flipgrid to create a video that introduces themselves to their classmates. The richly detailed and carefully scaffolded lesson provides specific directions for...
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Lesson Plan
1
1
K20 LEARN

To Ban or Not to Ban? Intellectual Rights and Responsibilities: Banned Books, Censorship Part 2

For Teachers 9th - 12th Standards
After examining different perspectives on book banning, scholars select a book from a list of frequently banned books and research the controversies surrounding it. They then craft an argument about their chosen book, including arguments...
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Lesson Plan
K20 LEARN

Wherefore Art Thou So Difficult, Shakespeare? Understanding Shakespeare

For Teachers 9th Standards
'Tis not easy to understand the language of the Bard! But, hark! Fret not! With the assistance of this joyous instructional activity, young players learn how to translate Shakespeare's English into modern language. Groups examine...
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Lesson Plan
1
1
Anti-Defamation League

The Revealers: Discussion Guide for Grades 6-8

For Teachers 6th - 8th Standards
Suspense! Rebellion! Cyberbullying! No wonder Doug Wilhelm's novel The Revealers appeals to middle schoolers. Instructors new to using the novel and experienced veterans will find this discussion guide invaluable. Discussion questions,...
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Lesson Plan
1
1
Anti-Defamation League

The Skin I’m In: Discussion Guide for Grades 8 and Up

For Teachers 8th - 12th Standards
Words can hurt! But self-esteem can blunt the impact. That's the takeaway when discussing the themes in Sharon G. Flake's powerful novel The Skin I'm In. A discussion guide leads groups through a study of this narrative of a girl who is...
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Lesson Plan
Anti-Defamation League

8 Ideas for Teaching National Hispanic Heritage Month

For Teachers K - 12th Standards
Here are eight ideas to celebrate National Hispanic Month! Scholars have the opportunity to read and discuss literature, include people and events in history, examine art, watch and discuss films, listen to and dance to music, explore...
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Lesson Plan
Anti-Defamation League

Dolls Are Us

For Teachers 2nd - 5th Standards
Representation matters! A activity examines the looks of dolls and discusses whether the design is inclusive or not. Scholars create a paper doll representing a characteristic about themselves or highlights another diverse quality....
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Lesson Plan
Anti-Defamation League

Who Am I? Identity Poems

For Teachers 2nd - 5th Standards
A lesson celebrating identity begins with a something-about-me activity, then moves on to writing favorite words. Class members then brainstorm metaphors and comparisons and read a poem to inspire their poetic abilities. Scholars craft...