How do you assure that the resources you find for your classes are of good quality? Check out a vetting rubric that suggests eight questions to ask when considering lesson plans, activities, demonstrations, and pictures for classroom use.

Learn to write right. Scholars analyze the model essay Adversity Faced by Townspeople in the Middle Ages. They discuss the essay and make annotations working with an elbow partner. Learners then take another look at the essay using a...

Pupils walk through the process of writing essays for their final assessment of Unbroken. They begin by reviewing the rubric using Rubric Criteria strips that assign a portion of the rubric to each pair of learners. They then participate...

Class members dig into the expectations for the end-of-unit assessment for A Mighty Long Way by studying the rubric. The Rubric Criteria strips help pairs of readers look more closely at specific rubric points. They share ideas with the...

Write it down. Scholars take a close look at essay writing by examining the New York state writing rubric. They then discuss a model essay and compare the model essay to the What Makes a Literary Analysis Essay Effective? Anchor...

It's time to choose a position! Scholars read a model position paper about fracking to practice identifying the topic and argument. Then, working with a partner, they use a rubric to assess the essay. 

Ready, set, write! Scholars work on the end-of-unit assessment by completing a writing prompt. They then look at the model performance task from instructional activity two to create a rubric for scoring the exercise. Using turn and talk,...

What are the qualities of a strong written response to a prompt? Class members use the provided text analysis rubric to self-assess their responses to their homework assignments to prepare for the mid-unit assessment.

Writers review the provided essay rubric, edit and rewrite if necessary, polish their work, and then submit their argument essay.

Team up! Scholars begin working with their research teams to review the components of an effective poem. They then move on to independent work by beginning the end-of-unit assessment. Writers complete the draft of their "Back Again"...

Writers near the end of the unit and begin working on the end-of-unit assessment. They analyze the prompt and a model performance task. The class then begins creating a rubric for the assessment by writing bullet points from their think...

To conclude a study of Upton Sinclair's The Jungle, groups create a multi-media magazine in which they investigate one aspect of the foods industry. The packet details the requirements for the project, and includes rubrics for...

Learners explore potential learning, earning, and living goals that align with their personal goals and interests in a comprehensive unit that includes complete lesson plans, interactive notebooks, worksheets, overheads, rubrics,...

Need an extra challenge for your best readers? Check out a unit that uses Hannah Webster Foster’s epistolary novel, The Coquette, published in 1797, as the anchor text. The resource is packed with project ideas; each with its...

The fabulous four. Scholars learn the four key components for creating an excellent journal entry. They then work to create a journal entry rubric and participate in a mini lesson about organizing and outlining journal entries. 

Young orators demonstrate what they have learned about persuasion and persuasive devices throughout the unit by analyzing a persuasive speech and then crafting their persuasive essays. Class members engage in a role-play exercise, use...

Some things are complicated. Scholars continue to look at the model essay and rubric related to A Long Walk to Water. This time, they focus only on row three of the rubric because it is a more complicated portion. Writers think about the...

Show me the evidence. Writers analyze the Command of Evidence row of the rubric for A Long Walk to Water essay. Pupils work in pairs to determine how the writer of a model essay meets the demands of the rubric. They then use a Forming...

Where's the evidence? Scholars take a look at the evidence section of a Literary Argument Essay Rubric. They discuss terms used in the rubric and then begin thinking about collecting evidence for their own essays. They also revisit their...

This review of a novel project is a great way to ensure accountability for independent reading. The assignment sheet, templates, samples, and rubrics are all part of the packet materials.

Conclude a study of Viktor Frankl's Man's Search for Meaning with a research project that asks readers to investigate what various religions and philosophies believe is the meaning of life. The resource packet includes a list of...

As an introduction to a series of related resources that examine political advertising and commercials from 1952-2012, class members use the provided rubric to analyze and rate the effectiveness of the emotion, persuasion, factual...

Young entrepreneurs research and develop a Shark Tank-style pitch for a solution to help people who have a mental illness. After the presentations, research groups complete a rubric for each product and vote for the one product they feel...

Here's an assignment sheet that models for readers how to craft a literary analysis of William Golding's Lord of the Flies. The packet includes a graphic organizer, a model outline, a model essay, and a detailed rubric.