The Grapes of Wrath. The Jungle. Native Son. The Things They Carried. The Absolutely True Diary of a Part Time Indian. To address a current social, political, economic, or environmental issue, class groups pair the reading of a...

Students investigate the concept of writing a five paragraph essay. They go through the steps to develop an essay from prewriting to a final draft using a writing prompt of Olauda Equiano. The handout for the assignment has questions for...

Emerging writers observe and demonstrate the process of writing an essay. As a class, they read and discuss the writing steps, read a sample essay, and write an outline for a three-paragraph essay. Then they write a final version of...

Students are introduced to how to properly write an informative essay. In groups, they review the steps of prewriting and how to make an outline for their essay. Individually, they practice completing their outlines and share them with...

Seventh graders examine the five-paragraph essay format, including the main idea and supporting sentences. After outlining their essay ideas, they write their rough drafts and proofread them in preparation for writing their final papers.

Students examine their own political party affiliations and political beliefs. After reading an article, they discuss how students at Duke define their political philosophies. They brainstorm events, people and experiences that have...

Twelfth graders look deeper into a controversial or global issue. They complete five "Level 3" activities. Students complete three "Level 2" activities and complete one "Level 1" activity. They must complete a title page and table of...

Originally designed for a physical education classroom, this lesson plan asks learners to argue for their school to keep their PE class during budget cuts. Whether your school is facing this challenge or not, it does pose a great...

Students write their memoir. For this memoir lesson, students study the differences between an autobiography and a memoir. Students construct an outline as the basis for their memoir.

Young scholars compose essays outlining the effects of floods on humans and their environments. Included in their essays are methods explaining how people have tried to adapt to floods. Using the Internet or provided written materials,...

Ninth graders investigate the growth of Christianity in Rome. In this Roman Empire lesson plan, 9th graders listen to a SMART Board lecture about the Jesus, Christianity, and the empire prior to composing thematic essays about the spread...

Seventh graders complete a timeline about the evolution of the peppered moth. In this biology lesson, 7th graders write an essay about how human can affect evolution. They share their essay with the class.

Young scholars use a five-step process to write a persuasive essay about an issue that is related to the Mississippi River. Students build an argument based on prior knowledge and information from a variety of sources. Young scholars...

Eleventh graders write a two to three page paper addressing one of the following topics: Analyze the values and beliefs of the two conflicting cultures. Explain which values seem to dominate within the conflict and why. They brainstorm...

After identifying the parts of a persuasive piece of writing, young writers explore different prewriting activities for the persuasive essay. They have the option to write a news article, personal narrative, or persuasive essay to...

Students identify and discuss the images on the back of the South Dakota quarter. They discuss the differences between facts and opinions, and research information about the four presidents memorialized on Mount Rushmore.

Tenth graders write an autobiography about their future.  In this career education instructional activity, 10th graders write about the future based on their career goals. Students troubleshoot possible obstacles to...

Students examine the ways in which a work of art represents the culture or lifestyle of people living in a state. They analyze the back of the Iowa quarter and discuss how art reflects the time period in which it was created.

Ninth graders research a future career and write a resume for the job. In this job skills lesson, 9th graders work in groups to identify future job skills and duties. Students then write a resume for the job.

Sixth graders identify how geography and climate determine the lives of early hominids, the characteristics of hunter-gatherer societies, how animals affected the lives of early hominids, and how hominids overcame their physical...