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Contraceptives and conscience
Students read The New Republic article and/or watch the News Ohio streaming video package. They employ a wide range of strategies as they write and use different writing process elements appropriately to communicate with different...
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Pay-to-play a costly solution
Students write a news feature or editorial about students paying money to participate in high school athletics. Students interview members of the school community to find out the situation in their school.
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Heart Rate equals gym grade
Students find out about an interesting activity that is going on in their school. Then the student interviews students and teachers to see how they would feel if a teacher monitored their heart rate during that specific project and that...
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First Amendment and the Future
Students read the Knight report and discuss key findings before deciding what aspects of the findings students can replicate in their own school and conduct a survey. They write survey questions and test them on sample group before...
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Football game seating: Security or Restriction?
High schoolers write an article or an editorial about the situation of Cleveland-area schools instituting policies to restrict seating at night football games. Students research their own school policy, as well as other school policies.
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Beyond Media Messages: Media Portrayal of Global Development
Students discuss global development and create a graphic representation of the discussion. In this media analysis lesson, students deconstruct disaster coverage by reading articles and identifying missing information. Students research...
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Levies to decide school funding
Student write a news analysis or editorial about Ohio schools possibly cutting busing, sports, and other extra-curricular activities. Learners interview the district treasurer, and then interview community members. Students write about...
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Another Look at School Safety
Students research crime and violence in their district, including finding out what has been discussed about safety and addition of surveillance cameras.Students conduct interviews and explore the legal issues involved. After all...
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Same-Sex Schools Gain Ground
Students examine the issue of having same-sex classes. Using the internet, they research how this program is working around the country. They interview local education experts and determine how they view the issue. They include an...
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Introduction To Literary Analysis
Explore the fascinating ways in which authors use specific literary devices to create interesting and realistic texts. Using non-fiction articles with the subject of rogue waves, an excerpt from The Perfect Storm, by Sebastian Junger,...
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Sunshine Week: Your right to know
Students read background material about accessing open records, including how to file a Freedom of Information request. Students choose a restaurant close to school they want to investigate and contact the county health inspection office...
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Cleveland may gamble on gambling
Students write a news feature or editorial discussing the debate of whether gambling should be legalized in Cleveland. Students research and debate about the issue. Students interview community members to hear views.
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Family Sues Over Discipline That Stinks
High schoolers read a brief explanation of a situation in which a family is suing a school district because a teacher made a child spray himself with Lysol in front of the class, saying this would take care of his body odor. Students...
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AIDS Child Activist Dies
Learners read an article on AIDS child activist Nkosi Johnson, and examine the extraordinary difficulties faced by students who have AIDS. They write reflection papers on Nkosi Johnson and how his example can help people in their own lives.
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The Rule of Law
Students continue their exploration of the concept of rule of law. As a class, they discuss how Civil Rights leaders followed the rule of law in their protests. After reading various articles, they participate in a discussion and...
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Sum It Up
After a review of the steps involved in writing a summary, class members read The Physics of Baseball by Sarah Ives and use a story web to identify the important details to include in their summary. Class members then choose an article...
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Checking Out Community Preparedness
High schoolers research storm preparedness in their community. They interview city officials to determine the current emergency plans, warning systems, etc. Students write an analysis of the situation.
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Weapons in school: Protection or danger?
Learners write an editorial (staff opinion) or commentary (writer's opinion) if they/he or she believe the school rules are either too strict or too lenient when addressing weapons possession. Students research past situations in their...
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Supporting Opinions: Handling the End of a Friendship
Four thought-provoking questions encourage readers to develop and support their opinions about strategies to end a friendship after exploring excerpts from a New York Times article. The reading is brief so this could be a lead-in to...
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'Song of the South' a racist tune?
Young scholars read the information about the movie "Song of the South" and watch some of the clips. They write their reaction to the proposal to re-release the movie. Students consider whether it would matter if the studio adds an...
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Do You Have a Blog?
Ask learners about their personal writing habits, such as whether they keep a journal or a blog, or if they'd ever want to. Though this is not a fully developed lesson, you can use this article and question to provoke discussion and...
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Commemorating a Tragedy
Students read newspaper articles and watch segments on the anniversary of the Oklahoma City bombing. In groups, they discuss how each media outlet presented the material and decide which one was more productive. As a class, they discuss...
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Summarization Superstars
How do you read when you know you're going to be summarizing a text? Summarize a nonfiction text with your upper elementary schoolers. Your pupils independently read a nonfiction article and write a summary paragraph using the six-step...
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Novel News
Students, working in groups create a newspaper based on the events that take place in a novel. Groups complete sections of the newsletter based on criteria and publish it using newsletter publishing software.