Curated OER
Don't Let the Earth Down
Writing a persuasive argument starts with a clear thesis. Using this resource, your class will write a persuasive paper on a conservation issue. They will then transform their argument into a 30-second public service announcement. If...
Washoe County School District
Three Skeleton Key
Conduct a close reading of George G. Toudouze's well-known horror story "Three Skeleton Key." This plan breaks up the reading into several steps and provides text-dependent questions to ask along the way. Learners will have the chance to...
Curated OER
Convince that Jury (Inspired by Roald Dahl's
What happened to a murder case when the police eat the murder weapon? After reading Roald Dahl's dark and ironic short story "Lamb to the Slaughter," students write a persuasive essay to convince a jury that the wife who killed her...
Alabama Department of Archives and History
World War II - Life on the Home Front in Alabama
What was life like for civilians who were home during WWII? The lesson uses a PowerPoint presentation with photos to explain life on the home front was like during World War II, including shortages of food, collecting scrap metal, and...
Curated OER
Describe a Journey
Students describe the sensory experience of a character's journey in an essay. In this precise details writing lesson plan, students explain the effects on the senses of weather, time of day, landscape, and other...
Santa Barbara City College
Structure of a General Expository Essay
A great student reference tool and graphic organizer in one worksheet! Young writers can read a detailed description of each section of a standard five-paragraph essay before completing a graphic organized with their own writing. The...
University of North Carolina
Music
Music is a universal pleasure, but writing about it can be a little trickier. An informative handout discusses common types of music writing assignments that one might encounter in a college-level course. Individuals read about musical...
Alabama Learning Exchange
The Big Bang Theory: An Evidence-Based Argument
What evidence supports the big bang theory? Individuals analyze scholarly resources about the the theory and develop arguments backed by evidence. They brainstorm, share ideas, watch a video, and read articles to complete a graphic...
Museum of Tolerance
Family Role Model Activity
What does is take to be a role model? Through grand conversation, and the use of books and a graphic organizer, scholars find out and apply the requirements to identify a role model within their family. They then journey through the...
New York State Education Department
Comprehensive English Examination: August 2014
Just like with any skill, test-taking aptitude improves with practice. Learners complete the handout, answering reading comprehension questions and engaging in timed writing exercises. The test includes multiple-choice and constructed...
University of North Carolina
Verb Tenses
Twelve categories of verbs exist in the future tense, ranging from simple present to future perfect progressive, but only three have a place in academic writing. Those three tenses make up the content of an informational handout that...
Novelinks
The Devil’s Arithmetic: Personal Narrative Assignment
How can an unfamiliar place help you learn something about yourself? Use a narrative writing prompt as you culminate your unit on Jane Yolen's The Devil's Arithmetic. Kids consider the ways that, like the main character from the...
Museum of Tolerance
And Justice for All? Slavery Not Just in the Past
Slavery in India, Sudan, and Mauritania? What about in the United States? Groups research modern slavery in these four countries, collecting factual evidence (What), determine their feelings about this evidence (So what),...
EngageNY
Analyzing Point of View: Inferring about the Natural Disaster in Eight Days
Who is telling the story? Readers take a look at the text Eight Days to determine if the story is told in first or third person. They then discuss in groups and complete a shared writing activity to describe how the narrator's point of...
Chicago Botanic Garden
Causes and Effects of Climate Change
Wrap-up a unit on global climate change with a instructional activity that examines the causes and effects of climate change. Learners fill out a chart that represents what they think causes climate change—natural and human-based—and...
Chicago Botanic Garden
Causes and Effects of Climate Change
It's time for your class to literally show what they know! Pupils illustrate what they learned about the causes and effects of climate change by filling out a graphic organizer to complete the 5-part series of lessons. They discuss them...
Roald Dahl
Matilda - The Ghost
How do you think the parrot in "The Ghost" chapter of Matilda feels in the chimney? Put a class member in the hot seat and have the class ask questions relating to how they might have felt if they were the parrot in the chimney....
PBS
Lessons in Leadership, Roosevelt Style
It's easy to criticize those in power until you're sitting at their desk, faced with the same decisions. A history lesson prompts secondary learners to research the Roosevelt presidencies through the lens of leadership and...
Curated OER
Trek Across America
Bring a time machine into your classroom with this writing lesson, in which young writers project themselves back in time and have a variety of choices from that point forward. They either write a conversation with a historical figure,...
Benjamin Franklin Tercentenary
The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin
Need a model for character education? Benjamin Franklin presents himself as in a constant state of striving to become the man he hoped to be, making his autobiography is far more accessible to learners than those of people who consider...
Curated OER
Nana by Emile Zola
In this literature worksheet, students respond to 10 short answer and essay questions about Zola's Nana. Students may also link to an online interactive quiz on the novel at the bottom of the page.
Curated OER
Dream of the Red Chamber - Essay Questions
For this literature worksheet, learners respond to 15 short answer and essay questions about Dream of the Red Chamber. Students may also link to an online interactive quiz on the novel at the bottom of the page.
Curated OER
The House on Mango Street & Woman Hollering Creek & Other Stories - Essay Questions
In this literature worksheet, students respond to 3 short answer and essay questions about the works of Sandra Cisneros. Students may also link to an online interactive quiz on the stories at the bottom of the page.
Curated OER
Doctor Faustus - Essay Questions
In this literature worksheet, learners respond to 16 short answer and essay questions about Marlowe's Doctor Faustus. Students may also link to an online interactive quiz on the novel at the bottom of the page.