University of North Carolina
Should I Use “I”?
Despite the formal nature of academic writing, personal pronouns frequently appear in high school and college papers. While your first instinct may be to cross them out, sometimes it's okay to use them, an idea covered in a handout that...
Curated OER
Email Writing
Students review rules of writing emails for letters, informal to a friend and formal. In this writing lesson, students sort email strips into these categories and then review examples of good and bad semi-formal emails. Students...
Curated OER
Following Instructions
Get scholars thinking about the scientific process with this fun experiment they can do at home. Learners practice reading directions as they underline each instruction in a procedural paragraph. They create a flow chart and record...
Curated OER
Sentence Fragments
As middle and high schoolers experiment with their writing styles, it's easy to slip in a few accidental sentence fragments. After reading a full-page of information regarding how to identify and avoid sentence fragments, learners...
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...
Curated OER
Costume And Make-Up Shakespeare Style
Students create original costumes and make-up for a puppet presentation of a scene from Shakespeare in this week long creative project. Performances of the Shakespeare scenes end this instructional activity geared towards state and...
Southern Nevada Regional Professional Development Program
The Columnist Project
Imagine a list that includes Alan Abelson of Baron's, Bob Woodward of the Washington Post, and Mother Jones. High schoolers select a national columnist, read and annotate five columns by this author, noting the rhetorical...
American Chemical Society
Finding Volume: The Water Displacement Method
We have formulas for finding the volume of geometric shapes, but what if the shape is irregular? Lesson describes how to find volume through water displacement. After a demonstration, scholars practice in small groups. Then analysis...
Missouri Department of Elementary
My Problem…Your Problem…Our Problem
Encourage sixth graders to take responsibility for their actions and become a problem solver. Pupils discuss new problems faced in sixth grade then identify ones that involve other people. A worksheet guides their practice in conflict...
Curated OER
Hyperbole and Idiom
Seventh graders use context clues to determine the figurative meaning of idioms and hyperboles. They practice writing idioms and hyperboles in sentences about real life situations around them. This lesson is a good way to improve variety...
Missouri Department of Elementary
Respecting Differences
Differences make the world go 'round. Using a worksheet, scholars identify the similarities and differences that they have with their classmates. Next, pupils engage in a whole-class discussion about respecting differences in others.
Curated OER
Lights, Sounds, Fabrics and Designs: Careers in the World of Design
Students investigate the broad range of jobs that can be found in the world of design. Students explore sound design, language architecture, etc. Students design a resource book and post it on a website for others to share.
Missouri Department of Elementary
Friendship Line Dancing
Develop social awareness with a lesson that challenges scholars to properly communicate with their peers. Standing in two lines, participants practice introducing themselves, asking how their partner is feeling, asks if they want to...
Curated OER
Prose Styles: Tough, Sweet, and Stuffy
Take a walk on the rhetorical side with this presentation, which discusses three styles of prose: tough (ethos), sweet (pathos), and stuffy (logos). The slide show provides thorough definitions and examples of each style, as well as...
Missouri Department of Elementary
Express Yourself!
Encourage scholars to express themselves with help from an engaging song. Sung to the tune of "London Bridge is Falling Down," participants sing phrases that offer tips for dealing with emotions—sad, happy, worried, proud, mad, and...
Missouri Department of Elementary
Communicating with I-Messages (1/2)
Scholars watch two puppet dialogues illustrating negative and positive communication between friends. Then, they discuss how the puppets' communication skills influenced the outcome of each interaction.
Curated OER
Spider Safari
Today we are talking about one of the stealthiest, sneakiest, and most intriguing insects of all times, the spider. Learners will examine the predatory nature of these super bugs as they conduct a spider safari survey. Each child will...
Curated OER
Past, Present, and Future: Career Exploration and Planning
Tenth graders write an autobiography about their future. In this career education lesson plan, 10th graders write about the future based on their career goals. Students troubleshoot possible obstacles to fulfilling a...
Curated OER
A "Fresh" Approach to the District's 6+1 Traits Writing Assessment
One way to assess improvement in writing is to conduct a district-wide assessment program. This resource details the Wisconsin Dells approach to assessing freshmen 6+1 Traits writing. The format could be adapted to any district or used...
Curated OER
Options and Extras!!! Learn All About It!
Eighth graders are asked what is the process of transitioning and why is it important? They listen as the counselor reviews the information from the pervious lesson. Students review peer sharing about what they have been taught and what...
Curated OER
Business Letters: Writing a Letter of Complaint
Young scholars analyze the language features and layout of a letter and discuss the language used to describe the features. They write a letter of complaint, requesting that the problem be fixed, using the appropriate language and layout.
Curated OER
Journeying to Create
Show a video clip that descripes how taking a journey can change a person's outlook on life. Learners write a paragraph about a place that uses imagery and tone to create a specfic effect. They evaluate their journal entries as well.
Curated OER
Get-together, Meeting and Reunion Exercise
In this recognizing vocabulary usage in context worksheet, students read the meanings of get-together, meeting, and reunion and use them to fill in the blanks in sentences. Students write 12 answers.
Curated OER
Native American Pebble and Pot Game
Students participate in a game using 12 manipulatives. In this addition and subtraction lesson plan students play a game originated by the Native Americans and look at a number of items and calculate how many are hidden....