Curated OER
What Are the Issues?
Investigate and report on three issues related to a current election. Elementary aged learners research information about specific issues, develop an opinion, and write a persuasive essay using supporting details and evidence to support...
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 their...
Curated OER
Writing: Stamp of Approval
Students write a good title and edit their essay. In this writing lesson, students examine several examples of good titles and discuss what makes them effective. Students relate this to the sign on a building and discuss ways to create...
Curated OER
The Editing Process
Learners in upper-level college-bound English classes review the editing process and terms such as, tone, diction, transition, and conclusion. They read and evaluate a sample essay and identify parts they feel they could improve on. ...
EngageNY
Grade 9 ELA Module 2, Unit 2, Lesson 12
Ninth graders demonstrate their understanding of a central idea in Oedipus the King with a mid-unit writing assessment. Writers formulate a claim about the connection between prophecy and Oedipus's actions and craft an in-class essay...
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...
EngageNY
Grade 9 ELA Module 2: Unit 1, Lesson 13
Whether the planks hide the beating of a hideous heart or they break away to the madness beneath, their presence makes itself known in the final instructional activity of a literary analysis unit. Having gathered textual evidence from...
Curated OER
Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close: Characterization Activity
Oskar Schell's narrative about his expedition to find out more about his father serves as a model for writers who are crafting their own narratives. Class members choose two characters from the novel and collect examples of the methods...
Literacy Design Collaborative
"New American Characters" - Analyzing the Impact of Cultural Change in "The Great Gatsby"
Learners annotate text from The Great Gatsby before working through a character development map. They then use text evidence in a final essay to describe the connection between central ideas and character development.
National Endowment for the Humanities
American Utopia: The Architecture and History of the Suburb
Let's build a dream house! By examining promotional materials and photographs of early suburban developments, scholars consider what led to the development of this particular American dream. The resource includes case studies of three...
Scholastic
Smart Quotes Mini-Lesson
Prepare for an interview project with a set of worksheets about asking questions and quoting people. After completing a grammar exercise about quotation marks, kids write out the questions they want to ask their interviewee, and record...
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
Persuasive Essays
Follow this outline to write persuasive essays with your 11th grade college prep classes. Using the internet, they research a topic, citing their sources correctly. They work with a partner to peer edit their rough drafts, checking for...
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 novel,...
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...
Curated OER
Do Heroes Have to Wear a Cape?
Young writers choose a person from American history, their community, or their family to use as the subject of a persuasive essay. The process begins with a discussion of the characteristics of a hero, the completion of a prewriting web,...
Curated OER
A Photo Essay
Learners create a photo essay and present it to the class. The students bring photos to use for their essay and develop a story using the photos. The learners write captions including characters, setting, and plot for each photo. They...
Curated OER
Generation TeXt
Students write sentences using different writing styles. Through peer editing, they hone their writing to create effective thesis statements. They create a glossary of text messaging terms.
Curated OER
Narration about the Mirabal Sisters
Students research the lives of the Mirabel sisters, complete related graphic organizers, and watch the movie, "In the Time of the Butterflies." They write a narrative essay about one event in the Mirabel sisters' lives.
Curated OER
Calibrate Peer ReviewTM: Petroleum Geology of the Persian Gulf Region
Pupils explore the origin and distribution of oil and gas in a region of global significance, the Middle East including the geologic history and the socio-political and environmental issues associated with hydrocarbon exploration and...
Curated OER
Let's Edit!
Young scholars in fourth grade pair up with students in second grade to edit writing convension.
Curated OER
Digital Portfolios
Learners determine how to use a digital camera, edit the photos using PhotoShop Elements, and how to make a PowerPoint presentation. They use the PowerPoint as a digital portfolio which is an archive of their work. Finally, they write a...
K20 LEARN
Writing An Argumentative Paragraph: Argumentative Writing
Learning how to craft a cogent argument based on a solid claim, supported with evidence and solid reasoning, is an important life skill. Teach middle schoolers about argumentative writing with a lesson asking them to analyze the claims,...
Curated OER
Freedom and You
Students research the American Revolution. In this Revolutionary War instructional activity, students research facts about the American Revolution, write an expository essay, and peer edit for good content. The paper is suggested to be...