Curated OER
States Research Project
Eighth graders create an in-depth research report on a state. They conduct Internet research, write a comparison essay about New York State and their assigned state, create a 3-dimensional map, and develop a Powerpoint presentation.
Curated OER
Who's Your Favorite Author?
Students investigate their favorite authors through focusing upon readings that are selected and then following with research to find more information about the author. Then they share writings from their favorite authors in literature...
Curated OER
Research and Technical Writing
Students summarize information from their research on to note-cards. In this technical writing lesson students examine examples of note-cards that contain main ideas from research previously conducted. They will then compose their own...
Curated OER
Write like David Shannon
Students distinguish various books by David Shannon from other authors, compare three of Shannon's books for similarities, list various possible settings for stories, integrate Shannon's pattern of writing into their own, and formulate...
Curated OER
The Writing Process
Show your young researchers how to find information, brainstorm a topic, map or outline their own stories, and create rough drafts. This lesson also shows learners how to peer edit, conference with the teacher, and write their final...
Scholastic
Ask the Author
Here is a quick activity that could help your kids with their reading comprehension. They practice a classic strategy that gets them to start asking questions about what they are reading, while they are reading it. They write out...
Virginia Department of Education
Writing Counterarguments
This activity is better utilized as a peer-editing exercise and not as an activity on how to write counterarguments. Writers take their argumentative rough drafts, peer edit in groups of four, and review the author on common essay...
Curated OER
The Research Paper - Searching for a Subject
Students research a website to look for potential topics for a research paper. They develop a narrowed prioritized subject list on an index card (3X5) using word processing program.
Stanford University
Historical Thinking Chart
Narrow down your questions about author perspective, historical context, and veracity of claims in a document with the help of a historical reading chart. Learners track the basics of the document along with advanced evaluation skills...
College Board
Calculations Aren't Enough!
Unlike mathematics, statistics comes with a context. The author reminds teachers that data analysis involves using the context to make sense of the numbers. The article stresses good communication skills by highlighting the scoring...
Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
Surprise!: Challenge Activities (Theme 2)
Surprise! is the theme of this series of challenge activities. The surprise comes from the information your scholars will discover when researching topics such as alligators and crocodiles, living in other countries, becoming a...
Vanderbilt University
Stories from the Panama Canal
The stories of the Silver People, the West Indies immigrants hired to work on the Panama Canal, come to life in a lesson about the building of the Panama Canal. Groups research why the canal was built, how it was build, the working...
EngageNY
Drafting Introduction and Conclusion
In conclusion ... Scholars analyze the model essay Adversity Faced by Townspeople in
the Middle Ages to gain a better understanding of introductory and concluding paragraphs. After studying the author's strategies, learners begin writing...
Orlando Shakes
The Great Gatsby: Study Guide
Uncover the exciting world of the Roaring Twenties with The Great Gatsby study guide. Individuals become critics as they write a review of the production. Scholars also read historical information and analyze the differences between the...
Orlando Shakes
Pericles: Study Guide
Everyone loves a great riddle, right? Everyone except for the characters in Shakespeare's Pericles, who will be killed unless they answer the king's riddle correctly. With the study guide, scholars use words coined by Shakespeare to play...
Curated OER
Write Like David Shannon
Students listen to several of David Shannon's books and identify patterns in the text. They write and illustrate a story of their own in the style of David Shannon, and share their books with classmates.
Curated OER
Awesome Authors
Students are introduced to authors and discover they are real people. Using the author's stories, they are incouraged to write their own stories using technology. Using the internet, they research facts, ideas and stories and develop a...
Curated OER
Author Study
Students focus their attention on the study of one author's works - not just one book, but a variety of works written by the same author - to discover what themes and/or other commonalities might run throughout the body of one person's...
Curated OER
Writing to Learn History: Annotations and Mini-Writes
Students use their critical thinking skills to write about historical events. In this historical perspectives lesson, students read documents about historical events and make annotations and marginal notes. Students then respond to...
Curated OER
The Research Report
Students brainstorm criteria for reliablility, currency, and accuracy of information. They research a given topic, write a research report then develop a bibliography of sources for the research report using the designated format.
Curated OER
Patricia Polacco, Author and Illustrator
Students conduct Internet research about the studenT author and illustrator Patricia Polacco. They compose letters to Ms. Polacco and, after revising and editing their work, send them in the mail.
Curated OER
The Purpose and Power of Persuasion
Examine the power of persuasion and have learners consider how it influences events in their own lives. After reading and analyzing informational texts to understand the author's purpose, class members take a written test and craft a...
Curated OER
Who's Your Hero/Heroine?
Students use research skills on the Internet and write a biographical report and present it to the class. They utilize a worksheet that's imbedded in this plan to guide them in their research. students come to school dressed up as their...
Curated OER
My Name is___________.
Read to gain an understanding of the author's intent or purpose. Learners analyze a persuasive text, identify the author's purpose, and evaluate the claims used as support. They then compose a persuasive essay of their own.