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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Home Smart Home

For Teachers 6th - 12th
How smart is your home? Middle and high schoolers write a journal entry describing the types of technology found in their homes. After reading an article, they are introduced to "smart" home technology. In groups, they identify and...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

The Learning Network: Re-envisioning Classic Stories

For Teachers 5th - 8th
Readers reflect on enjoyable stories they know, brainstorm criteria that make a story "good," analyze a New York Times article about innovative children's performances, re-envision classics on their own, and peer edit drafts. Use this as...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

The Tempest: The K-W-H-L Strategy

For Teachers 9th - 12th Standards
What does your class want to know about William Shakespeare's The Tempest? Host a discussion about the questions high schoolers have about the play with a KWHL activity in which they write down their inquiries, what they already know,...
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Lesson Plan
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C-SPAN

Presidential Candidate Research

For Teachers 7th - 12th Standards
Don't let the young citizens in your social studies class get all their election information from inflammatory commercials and arguing pundits. Use a lesson plan from C-SPAN to guide class members through an election season with a...
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Lesson Plan
Virginia Department of Education

Deciding the Mode

For Teachers 6th - 9th
Are your young writers having difficulty distinguishing between expository and persuasive writing? Discuss the difference between the two, and how some prompts can be responded to in either fashion. Included here is a simple lesson plan...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Writing and Scholarship Planning For College-Bound Students: Brainstorming Time

For Teachers 11th - 12th
Students examine the process of scholarship and college essay writing. They develop a list of key words and concepts, complete handouts, and complete an outline of an essay.
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Persuasive Writing: Fact or Opinion

For Teachers 6th - 8th
What is the difference between a fact and an opinion? Middle schoolers categorize statements as either facts or opinions before writing a persuasive essay to support a thesis statement they create. This is a great introduction to...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Language Arts Writing Project

For Teachers 6th - 8th
Young scholars practice writing open-ended questions about a specific topic. They use proper grammar and syntax in their questions that are typed into a word processing file. A rubric is included in this lesson plan to help with assessment.
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Unsent Letter: Characterization in Briar Rose

For Teachers 7th - 12th
After completing Jane Yolen’s Briar Rose, class members assume the voice of Gemma and craft a personal letter to her granddaughter telling Becca how she feels about Becca’s actions and the discoveries at Chelmno. Complete directions for...
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Lesson Plan
EngageNY

Grade 9 ELA Module 1, Unit 1, Lesson 16

For Teachers 9th Standards
Prepare for the end-of-unit assessment in a unit focused on Karen Russell's "St. Lucy's Home for Girls Raised by Wolves." As your class continues gathering evidence to support or argue against the success of Claudette's adaptation into...
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Lesson Plan
California Academy of Science

Conservation Island

For Teachers 3rd - 12th Standards
Why not walk in the footsteps of Teddy Roosevelt and become a conservationist? After discussing issues and reasons for animal extinction, the class creates their own conservation plans. Each small group is given mock data regarding a...
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Lesson Plan
EngageNY

Grade 10 ELA Module 1: Unit 1, Lesson 7

For Teachers 10th Standards
Can three works of literature work together to establish and develop a common central idea? Put your thoughts into writing with a final assessment focused on a unit-long analysis of Christopher Marlowe's "The Passionate Shepard to His...
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Lesson Plan
EngageNY

Grade 10 ELA Module 1: Unit 3, Lesson 13

For Teachers 10th Standards
A parent's influence on a child is one of the most formative factors in developing life. Discuss the importance of the parental relationships in Amy Tan's The Joy Luck Club and H.G. Bissinger's Friday Night Lights with a written...
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Lesson Plan
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Poetry Society

Simile and Metaphor

For Teachers 3rd - 8th
Young poets use word cards to prompt a metaphor poem comparing to very dissimilar items.
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Moms of the Future

For Teachers 6th - 8th
Students explore the roles of mothers. For this writing skills lesson, students discuss what motherhood will look like in the future and what it looked like in the past. Students respond to a writing prompt that requires them to write...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Homemade Holidays

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Foster your high schoolers' creativity - and generosity - with this writing instructional activity. After reading the article "Homemade Holiday Gifts" by Frances Janisch (from the GALE Student Resource Center - Gold), pupils meet in...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Flowers for Algernon: RAFT

For Teachers 7th - 8th
Should Charlie undergo an operation to increase his intelligence? A mini-lesson for a unit on Daniel Keyes novel Flowers for Algernon uses a RAFT activity, which prompts students to write a letter to Charlie's doctors explaining why they...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Marketing to Teens: Introduction

For Teachers 7th - 12th
An introductory activity shows learners how pervasive and influential advertising is in our culture; particularly, how teenagers are actively targeted by advertisers. As teenagers, your students already have all the information they need...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

The Search for Shangri-La

For Teachers 7th - 12th
What is your idea of paradise? Middle and high schoolers share their visions of paradise on earth in this lesson, in which they view a video segment about Shangri-La. Your high schoolers can discuss and then write about their ideas in a...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Brainstorm This!

For Teachers 3rd - 8th
Students discuss the advantages and types of brainstorming as a prewriting tool. They experiment with different styles of brainstorming and produce prewriting samples for assessment.
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Quick Writes

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Students write on a variety of topics, maximize creative and expository writing skills, develop focused writing, organize ideas, incorporate detail in writing, and exhibit varied and precise word choice.
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Drafting

For Teachers 3rd - 5th
Students engage in the writing process. In this drafting lesson, students research different types of genres to find which they enjoy reading and writing. They review the drama in a story and discuss different story prompts. 
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Web It!

For Teachers 8th
Looking for a way to bring prewriting into your informative writing unit? Use this lesson to reinforce writing skills in your eighth grade language arts class. Young writers use a web graphic organizer as a prewriting tool for expository...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Blogging to Create a Community of Writers

For Teachers 6th
One of the keys for successful teaching is connecting curriculum to real-life experiences. This lesson on blogging does this, by making writing, revising, and publishing a reality. Pupils create a character for a story, write about their...