New York State Education Department
Comprehensive English Examination: June 2012
Don't be so critical! During the final task of the Comprehensive English Exam, scholars choose two texts from their reading to discuss a perspective given from a critical lens. The exam also includes multiple choice reading comprehension...
Penguin Books
An Educator’s Guide to Gayle Forman
Sometimes a novel is the best way to tackle a tough topic. A helpful educator's guide for the novels of Gayle Forman discuss tough topics such as teenage suicide. Discussion questions and writing activities encourage readers to think...
Curated OER
The 16 Habits of Mind
Study the 16 Habits of Mind with a professional resource. Based on Describing 16 Habits of Mind by Arthur L. Costa and Bena Kallick, the resource details 16 ways learners perceive problems around them and produce ways to deal...
NPR
Distracted by Everything - Being Wired at All Times
This multimedia activity challenges media-savvy learners to look at the critical issue concerning the inundation of technology and multitasking in the classroom, and its effects on the education of themselves and others. The tasks...
Curated OER
Ensemble Rehearsal Critique
Students discuss how to critique a musical piece properly. After listening to different types of music, they identify the strengths and weaknesses of the piece. They also develop solutions to the problems in the music for further...
Curated OER
Nureyev: After Petipa
Incorporating the arts into regular classroom practices isn't an easy task. Learners will research background information regarding Russian culture, history, and conflict then see how those things have applied to the rigors of Russian...
Curated OER
Bullying and Homophobia
Having difficulty in class broaching controversial issues? This lesson offers several linked online tools to get students engaged in discussion about bullying and homophobia. Coastkid.org offers an interactive scenario activity, which...
Curated OER
Putting on Beowulf
Students read "Putting on Beowulf" then, in separate groups, choose a segment of Beowulf to perform. They prepare a performance either "live" or on videotape. After listening and watching each performance, Students evaluate each...
Curated OER
Vanishing Verbs
Students analyze recent media trends, and develop critical thinking skills by summarizing main ideas, extracting details, formulating opinions, drawing inferences, and comparing and contrasting attitudes. They also practice paraphrasing...
Curated OER
Assessment Task Assessment Task
The learners discuss what the purposes of performances are and what different types of performances a musician can participate in. The students analyze both visually, and audibly different performances, discuss the performances, and...
Curated OER
A Movie in Your Mind: Persuasive Text
Students listen to a broadcast of War of the Worlds and illustrate what they hear. For this persuasive text lesson students prepare for making a movie poster intended to persuade a director to make a film based on a short story.
Student Achievement Partners
Laura Hillenbrand's "Unbroken" and Jeanne Wakatsuki Houston and James D. Houston's "Farewell to Manzanar"
Passages from Unbroken and Farewell to Manzanar provide the context for a study of the historical themes of experiencing war, resilience during war, and understanding the lasting trauma of war. Appendices include extension...
National WWII Museum
World War II in Photographs
A picture is worth a thousand words, and this activity is worth so much more! Learners closely analyze a series of photographs from World War II, matching them with their appropriate captions and sequencing them into a correct...
Curated OER
Zen and the Work of Frank Lloyd Wright
Young scholars experience Zen philosophies reflected in artwork, poetry, and architecture. Students will explore these connections and expand the discussion to include a professional author of their choice.
Curated OER
Website Evaluation
Students examine how to differentiate between authentic and unauthentic websites on the Internet. They view and discuss a photo of a shark that is a hoax, then discuss the eight ways to evaluate websites. Students then evaluate three...
Curated OER
Conexiones CD-Rom
Students complete an activity in Spanish. Writing in response to an email message, they write it in Spanish and print it out. They also read an article related to a specific chapter and research a topic of interest to them using the...
Curated OER
Who's Sharing Our Stories on "The Hill"?
Students explore parliamentary structure. They study the roles & responsibility of key players or representatives. This lesson presents a wide variety of rich activities students can engage in to further their understanding of...
Curated OER
Creating a School Web Site
Students create websites for their school. They work in groups as a web team and devise a self-management plan. As they work on projects reflecting school life, the team edits what may appear online as the school's web site. Writing...