Virginia Department of Education
Researching Information
Give your junior high researchers a clear concept of how to go about starting their research paper with the resources available in this exercise. Learners develop an idea to research, and spend time in the library or computer lab...
Curated OER
Decoding the First Alphabets: Not as Simple as A, B, C
Explore early writing systems and their significance in understanding the development of past civilizations. In groups, learners research early writing systems and then present their findings to the rest of the class. They teach their...
Bright Hub Education
Using Evidence and Supporting Details in Writing
In expository writing, it is important to back up claims with evidence and details. Help your class to develop their writing with notes on different types of evidence. Once they have the basics down, practice with a sample thesis and...
Curated OER
Looking for Trouble - Using the Internet to Research Structured Controversy
Discuss controversial issues with your charges. More importantly, discuss how you have to research both sides of a controversy before taking a stance. In groups, middle schoolers research the controversial issue of dog sled racing. They...
Curated OER
The Great Gatsby Historical Background Using Multi-Genre Research Project
Before beginning F. Scott Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby, create a historical context of the Roaring 20s with this lesson. Set up a gallery walk with the provided PowerPoint, which features 10 topics related to the 1920s. Then begin...
Curated OER
Credible Sources on the Internet: What to Trust, What to Dismiss and When to Cite a Source
Wait, you mean researchers don't all use Wikipedia? Teach your class about intelligent research with a lesson plan about evaluating digital sources. The lesson plan starts with a quickwrite and includes vocabulary exercises and...
Advocates for Human Rights
The Right to a Clean Environment in the United States
Even if a school has gone digital, chances are there's still plenty of paper being used. The three activities help scholars learn about the environmental impact of paper and another consumer products of their choosing, the issue of...
Curated OER
Papier-Mache Masks
Read about, and then make culturally inspired masks. Learners watch the video, "Masks and Face Coverings," then design and make a mask with cultural significance out of papier mache. Tip: Have small groups research, write about, and make...
Virginia Department of Education
Writing Counterarguments
This activity is better utilized as a peer-editing exercise and not as an activity on how to write counterarguments. Writers take their argumentative rough drafts, peer edit in groups of four, and review the author on common essay...
Curated OER
Costume Exploration
What a great lesson, upper graders are sure to love. They explore costume design and the relationships between theatre, culture, and history. They research three time periods, write a response about two of them, then create a composit...
Curated OER
Citing Sources
Fifth graders demonstrate how to cite sources when writing a research paper. In this research writing lesson, 5th graders view a demonstration on how to cite sources using an included graphic organizer. Students practice citing sources...
Curated OER
Research a Poet and Explicate a Poem by that Poet
Seventh graders choose a poet to research and find a poem by that author to explicate/analyze using a variety of sources for their research that will include their textbooks, the school library, and the internet. After conducting...
Curated OER
How To Make an Apple Pie and See the World
Students have a class discussion on how the variety of foods we use on a daily basis come from all over the world. They identify foods that they are familiar with that come from other places.
California Department of Education
Telling My Story
Entrance essays are the ultimate sales pitch! Show your seniors how to market themselves in the first of six college and career readiness lesson plans. Pupils discover the do's and don'ts of writing personal statements through research,...
EngageNY
Writing a Summary: “Middle Ages” Excerpt 2
What is the big idea? Scholars use Middle Ages Excerpt 2 to complete a summary graphic organizer. They then use the information from the organizer to write a summary of the text on lined paper. Learners share summaries with the class.
Curated OER
Language Arts: Writing Through Reading
Improve writing skills using methods from Robert Gay's Writing Through Reading; Gay espouses reproducing the work of successful writers to build the ability to convey original ideas effectively. Young writers transcribe, paraphrase,...
Southern Nevada Regional Professional Development Program
Researching and Writing
Designed for teachers, this resource identifies problems learners face when attempting a research project and approaches instructors can use to help their class members overcome these obstacles. Suggestions are included for how to help...
Curated OER
Lesson 3: Branches of Government
Young historians climb through the three branches of the US government in the third lesson of this five-part series. While reading the first three Articles of the Constitution in small groups, children write facts on paper leaves...
Curated OER
Research Paper: Writing the First Draft
Students use their completed outlines, notecards, and opening paragraphs to create a first draft of their research paper. In this research writing lesson, students focus on the body of their paper as they compile their information...
Curated OER
Revolutionary War Research Paper
Fifth graders practice writing research papers by investigating U.S. history. In this Revolutionary War lesson, 5th graders identify the British and American roles in the historic war by researching the Internet. Students prepare a...
Curated OER
Researching and Word Processing Unit: Wagons West
Help create confident and competent Internet users for research purposes. Middle schoolers conduct Internet research and compose a paper on the computer. They learn how to properly cite Internet references and explore net etiquette.
Novelinks
The Hobbit: Writing Assignment
As a culminating assignment for a unit study of heroes that uses The Hobbit as the core text, class members engage in a multi-genre writing project.
Turabian Teacher Collaborative
Introductions: Formulating Problem Statements
Describing a problem efficiently doesn't solve it, but a well-crafted argument can move readers to action. High schoolers focus on structuring problem statements by reading examples of strong essays and working in groups to create...
Museum of Tolerance
Cultural Research Activity
Class members explore cultural diversity through a variety of texts that showcase the importance of traditions. Then, they interview their family members to research their own cultural background and write their findings on quilt...