New York State Education Department
US History and Government Examination: January 2014
What led the United States to acquire territory? What were some of the effects of those acquisitions? Learners explore the questions using the 2014 essay from the New York Regents exam. Other items include practice multiple choice...
EngageNY
Grade 9 ELA Module 1, Unit 2, Lesson 4
As a mid-unit assessment, class members demonstrate their understanding of the concepts covered so far by crafting a formal, multi-paragraph essay in which they analyze how Rainer Maria Rilke's word choices develop the meaning and tone...
New York City Department of Education
Grade 11 Literacy in Social Studies: Research Paper
The lesson guides young academics through the steps in producing a 10-page research paper on any topic in American history. Historians begin by formulating a thesis and gathering resources, then move on to creating an outline, and end...
EngageNY
Grade 10 ELA Module 2: Unit 2, Lesson 1
Rafael Trujillo was president of the Dominican Republic in the 1930s. Pupils read and analyze the first six paragraphs of Julia Alvarez's autobiographical essay "A Genetics of Justice," in which the author describes Trujillo's impact on...
EngageNY
Grade 9 ELA Module 1, Unit 1, Lesson 16
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...
EngageNY
Grade 10 ELA Module 2: Unit 2, Lesson 2
What is a megalomaniac? Scholars discover the word's meaning as they read and analyze paragraphs seven and eight from Julia Alvarez's essay "A Genetics of Justice." They also read Mark Memmott's article "Remembering to Never Forget" and...
Curated OER
lesson: Facing a Stone Situation
Can you imagine what it's like to be able to carve an animal out of stone? Kids do, as they analyze the techniques used to create the South Indian sculpture, Sacred Bull of Shiva. After a critical look at the piece, they write a...
EngageNY
Grade 9 ELA Module 2, Unit 3, Lesson 1
"True-crime stories, murder mysteries, up-to-the-minute online news reports, and (as always) rumor and innuendo grab our attention faster than any call for justice, human rights, or ceasefires." Or so says Walter Mosley in his Newsweek...
EngageNY
Grade 9 ELA Module 2, Unit 2, Lesson 20
Oedipus' lack of literal and figurative vision does not mean he cannot see his guilt in the terrible fates of Laius, Jocasta, and all the lives touched by prophecy. Conclude a literary analysis unit on Sophocles' Oedipus the King with a...
EngageNY
Grade 9 ELA Module 2, Unit 3, Lesson 3
"We need forgiveness and someone to blame." True? Class members continue their analysis of the central claims in Walter Mosley's essay and the support he offers for these claims about people's fascination with crime.
EngageNY
Grade 10 ELA Module 3: Unit 1, Lesson 10
I know exactly how you feel. That may be a statement between Henrietta Lacks and John Moore. Scholars read John Moore's story and compare his story of cell use to that of Henrietta. Learners record in a vocabulary journal, analyze...
Curated OER
Lesson: Modern Day "Royalty"
The life-sized statue of St. Ferdinand, King of Spain represents royalty as it was seen in the past. Learners explore who is considered royalty in modern times and compare them to royalty of the past. They make a collage representing...
Curated OER
Effective Writing is More Than a Five Paragraph Essay
Groups become experts in one aspect of the six traits of writing, prepare a PowerPoint presentation, jigsaw, and teach others about their trait. Writers then focus on these traits as they compose a persuasive essay about a person they...
Curated OER
Contemporary Civic-life Issue Research Based Essay
Seventh graders write a five paragraph persuasive essay on a contemporary civic-life issue.
Curated OER
Peer Editing / Revision
Complete the steps of the writing process. Emerging writers present final drafts of essays that include thesis statements, appropriate paragraphing, elaboration, and style. They participate in a peer editing activity that requires them...
Curated OER
Introducing the Essay: Twain, Douglass, and American Non-Fiction
Students analyze American essayists Mark Twain and Frederick Douglass in an introduction to American literary non-fiction writing. In this essay history lesson, students identify methods for writing essays. Students read and analyze...
Curated OER
Easy Essays Step 2
Third graders write essays after participating in mini-lessons that encourage better writing. They write using the model of a skeleton to which they add the muscles.
Curated OER
Planning Your Essay
Young scholars discover how to organize essays effectively. In this writing lesson, students construct a spider map to develop their ideas for an essay.
Curated OER
Five Paragraph Essay
Students create a standard outline, using a word processing tool, while they are learning about the basic writing device of the 5 paragraph essay.
Scholastic
Super Sentences & Perfect Paragraphs
An extensive collection of lessons and activities includes many writing, grammar, and proofreading exercises. With templates and worksheets that cover several steps in the writing process, from sentence to paragraph to essay, this...
Curated OER
Magazine Production
Analyze magazines as a class, looking carefully for the target audience, advertisements, and topics presented. Small groups then work as a publication team and receive a magazine that they have to "sell." Each individual has a different...
Curated OER
All Aboard! All Aboard! The Essay Train
Third graders enjoy a train ride with The Little Engine That Could and discover how to create a five-paragraph essay train. This clever instructional activity has students use each boxcar of the train as a template for a paragraph.
Curated OER
Persuasion: Analyzing Persuasive Writing
Students examine and create persuasive essays. In this writing lesson students engage in activities that allow them to understand how a persuasive essay is constructed so they may compose their own.
Curated OER
The Last Word: Using Critical Thinking and Analysis to Reach a Decision
Want to explore the process of writing a persuasive essay and tie it in with the upcoming elections? Class members use Venn diagrams and the hamburger model of persuasive writing to write a five-paragraph essay on elections and...