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Critical Reading- Air Pollution and Asthma
Students read two different articles which present the scientific issue of asthma, the causes, and the rising rates in our society. Students read for facts and examine whether or not the scientists have a political point of view....
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Persuasive Writing Lesson Plan: Dress Codes
High schoolers examine the pros and cons of the implementation of public policy matters and the specific issue of dress codes. They develop a list of pros and cons of a school dress code, examine and discuss a local editorial newspaper...
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Writing a Letter to the Editor
Students examine the structure and elements of a letter to the editor. They identify letter elements, read and discuss newspaper letters, and write and submit a letter to a local newspaper.
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Creating Life Maps (Elementary, Reading/Writing)
Young scholars create a personal life timeline to better explain how a historical timeline is effective in studying history. They also write a poem about themselves.
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PICTURE READING - PARAGRAPH WRITING
Students investigate the elements found in a media image. The image is used to compose a descriptive paragraph. They exchange papers to discuss the writing and make changes using constructive criticism. Students also make connections...
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Writing a Letter to the Editor
Students identify the main elements/structure of a letter to the editor. They brainstorm for thoughts and opinions on a specific topic and write a first draft of a letter to an editor of a newspaper. They give each other preliminary...
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Writing Process
Students read Macbeth and work in groups to organize and create an outline for a persuasive essay. In this persuasive essay lesson, students work in tiered learning groups to organize their thoughts for a persuasive thesis about the...
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Story Writing
Students work in groups to create a story that will be presented to the class. In this story writing lesson, students complete a project planning sheet, work together to create a story that includes a hero and at least two other...
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Revision Lesson
Students, through a series of 4 lessons, explore what it means to revise their written work. They revise a bland story together and then practice revising their own papers by identifying the main action and "exploding" that moment into...
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Factual writing: leaflets
Learners identify persuasive words in provided leaflets. In this factual writing lesson, students complete an online activity. A worksheet is provided for extra practice.
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Writing Exercises: Political Revolutions
Political Revolutions are fascinating! Historians explore the 18th century revolutionary period through writing with these three broad short-answer prompts. They consider the long-term effects of the Napoleonic Code and describe the...
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Testing... Testing...
Students demonstrate critical- and creative-thinking skills to develop test questions. They write clear test questions or statements using correct grammar, spelling, and sentence structure.
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Making Predictions:
Pupils of all ages practice making predictions about what will happen next in a fairy tale as the teacher reads it aloud. They demonstrate how to support their predictions with information and facts from the story.
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Publishing Book Reviews
After reading "How to write a good book review" and browsing some book reviews, class members generate a list of things they would like to see in a book review. Then young reporters read a book, write a review and post their polished...
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That Is Not My Opinion!
Being an informed citizen requires distinguishing fact from opinion and understanding persuasion methods. Secondary learners evaluate newspaper editorials. They read opinion pieces, identify the writer's purpose and position on an issue,...
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Brog-Cube-the Spam
A Middle school special ed class uses the acronym SPAM to learn the 4 parts of writing. They employ 4 different colors to help them visually distinguish each part of writing in a given prompt. This lesson is vague and uses a strong...
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The Learning Network: Reactions to Rating Teachers
Meant to be used in connection with the article "In Teacher Ratings, Good Test Scores Are Sometimes Not Good Enough" also available on The New York Times website, this resource provides 12 short-answer writing prompts that ask both basic...
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Friendly Letter: Big Sky Country
Here is a worksheet on editing. Learners read and find the errors in a friendly letter, then answer five multiple choice questions about the letter. An answer key is included.
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Can you Follow Me? Conventions
Use the present tense to create written assignments. Critical thinkers take a passage written in past or future tense and rewrite it in present tense. They then write a set of instructions in present tense.
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100 Years War and Joan of Ark
What events led up to the Hundred Years War? In small groups or pairs the class discusses several critical thinking questions and then writes a fictional dialogue that depicts both an English and a French point of view.
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Comparison and Contrast: Neat People vs. Sloppy People and Batting Clean-up and Striking Out
After your class reads Neat People vs. Sloppy People and Batting Clean-up and Striking Out, provide them with this resource. Use it as a quiz or a homework assignment to assess your class's understanding of the author's...
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The Workshop
Kids take a critical look at each other's work in order to understand the editing process while providing constructive suggestions. This handout really sets learners up to successfully offer constructive critique to their...
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Great Expectations: DRTA Strategy
A Directed Reading Thinking Activity (DRTA) strategy for Great Expectations scaffolds and guides readers as they begin Dicken's novel. Step-by-step directions are provided, as are chapter one pair-share questions, a prediction worksheet,...
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Three Essential Soft Skills That Span Every Content Area
Reading, writing, and arithmetic are just the start of what young people need to know to be successful.