Curated OER
Using Details from Text to Identify Author's Purpose
Explore writing techniques by analyzing newspapers and magazines with middle schoolers. They will collaborate in small groups to read local news stories and identify the main ideas and author's intent. They also utilize an information...
Curated OER
Reading-Author's Purpose
Students review what author's purpose is by understanding that authors either persuade, inform, describe, or entertain with their story. For this language arts lesson, students bring in junk mail and in small groups discuss what the each...
Curated OER
Turning Literature into News
Students examine the newspaper. In this writing purposes lesson, students read the newspaper and discuss the purpose: to inform, entertain and persuade. Students identify facts and opinions. Students write an article and discuss acts of...
Curated OER
Categorizing Texts According To Author's Purpose
Young scholars categorize books into the 3 different kinds of author's purpose. In this author's purpose lesson plan, students categorize them into the categories of entertain, inform, and persuade.
Curated OER
Lesson 1: Identifying an Author's Purpose
Different types of text are written for very different reasons. Learners discuss the differences in writing to entertain, to inform, and to persuade their audiences. They work on identifying the author's purpose by reading and charting...
Curated OER
Using Logos and Mission Statements to Communicate Sustainable Forestry Information
Young scholars survey forestry foundations to see how they represent important information into their logos and mission statements. In this forestry lesson plan, students use the information to better understand visual representations...
Sharp School
Real Life Economics 101
Your learners will take key economic concepts, such as identifying needs versus wants and the four factors of production, and design a video to explain their topic choice to the class. Rather than have one person in charge of dispensing...
Curated OER
Youth Helping to Elevate Awareness
Eighth graders read a book whose main character has a physical disability, and complete various related activities. They listen to a guest speaker, simulate experiences at school as a disabled individual through the use of wheelchairs,...
Madison Public Schools
Journalism
Whether you are teaching a newspaper unit in language arts, covering the First Amendment and censorship in social studies, or focusing on writing ethics in journalism, a unit based on the foundations of journalism would be an excellent...
Curated OER
Writing Limericks
Eighth graders compose or create works of communication for specific audiences and purposes. They locate, access, and select relevant information from a variety of sources. They revise and edit their work to improve content, organization...
Curated OER
Why We Communicate
Young scholars identify the three common reasons for communication: information, persuasion, and entertainment. They create media messages for different purposes and develop a purpose of message shapes and how it helps shape the message.
Curated OER
Fighting The Horse Race: Creating Ads Which Explore 2008 Presidential Candidates & Issues
What is advertising? What role does it plan in an election? Middle and high schoolers discuss advertising and its purpose by sifting through different magazines and discussing the products they find. Then they relate advertisements to...
Curated OER
The Origins of Heraldry
Students design a personal coat of arms which depicts themselves and explain their shields to the class in an informal presentation.
Curated OER
Assignment #4 Time Capsule-Your Future
Class members create a PowerPoint presentation showing artifacts they would include in a time capsule. The artifacts and explanations reflect personal hobbies, grooming choices, school life, etc. A great way for class members to...
Curated OER
Adventures in Creating Hypertext Stories
Use hypertext to make a multimedia choose-your-own adventure story! Young writers incorporate knowledge of story writing elements to write their own stories, and rewrite the adventure with various scenarios and endings. Use technology to...
Curated OER
Creatively Creating Expository Essays
Students, after reading Fahrenheit 451, brainstorm inventions that could have been in the novel. They present their invention to the class and writing an expository essay about their creation.
Curated OER
Everyone's an Author
Students examine variety of written pieces of quality fiction, discuss what different story elements are present and how those elements make stories as effective as they are, and create a class story.
Curated OER
Senior Scrapbook Assignment
Twelfth graders write creatively and reflectively on 20 different events or memories that shaped their senior year. They organize memorabilia into a scrapbook with 20 entries and create a cover that represents their senior year. They...
Alabama Learning Exchange
On the Farm with Wilbur and Charlotte
Students understand Charlotte's web through the completion of a web-quest. In this Charlotte's Web instructional activity, students complete comprehension tasks such as role playing their favorite scene, choosing a character and making a...
Curated OER
Come On, You Can Trust Me
Fourth graders see how to define and then recognize a variety of propaganda techniques at work in their everyday world. Choosing one technique, they creatively demonstrate a thorough understanding from real world experiences. A very rich...
Curated OER
Charlie and the Chocolate Factory
Fourth graders read and take quizzes over the book, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.
Curated OER
The Legendary Raptors
How are raptors and airplanes alike? Combine science and language arts in this fun and interactive project. Young scientists research the animal in order to design their own aircraft, and compete in a contest for farthest, fastest, and...
Curated OER
The Extinction and Rediscovery of the Ivory-Billed Woodpecker
An incredibly thorough, and well-designed lesson teaches youngsters about the presumed extinction and rediscovery of the ivory-billed woodpecker in Arkansas. Learners discuss the environmental factors that led to the birds disappearance....
Curated OER
Into the Wilderness: Habitat vs. Development
By studying the once-assumed extinction, then rediscovery of the Ivory-Billed Woodpecker, learners look at the physical changes that have occured in habitats throughout Arkansas. This outstanding lesson is chock full of terrific...