Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Mixed Plate

For Teachers 6th - 12th
Students locate a sample restaurant review in a newspaper or magazine. They examine the review to find the opinion of the reviewer and discuss reviews that convey mixed opinions. They compose an original review in a similar style to...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

There Was an Old Lady Who Swallowed a Fly

For Teachers 4th
Fourth graders examine the new vocabulary associated with the book, There Was an Old Lady Who Swallowed a Fly before listening to a teacher read aloud of the book. They complete a choral reading of the story, sequence it, and write...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Express Yourself

For Teachers 6th - 12th
Young scholars share opinions about the way students behave. They write letters to the editor responding to an article.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Writing Applications: Different Types of Writing and Their Characteristics

For Teachers 12th
Twelfth graders rewrite a story in a different format to understand the effects of the author's style. In this writing style lesson, 12th graders read Mark Twain's "The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County" and rewrite the...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Art Smart

For Teachers 6th - 12th
Students engage in a lesson that is concerned with the expression of art that is popular in modern times. They read articles from the New York Times and write reflectively about the featured art exhibits. Students use the newspaper to...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Using Non-Text Features

For Teachers 2nd
Second graders examine graphs and charts from their local newspaper. As a class, they discuss what the data means and how it relates to the article. In groups, they are shown two sets of graphs or charts and they practice explaining...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

The Candidate: Issues and Strategies

For Teachers 5th - 10th
Students discuss the candidates image and how an image impacts the voters. In this candidates image lesson plan, students read and discuss different factors that make up the candidates image.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

The Impact of Hazelwood on School Publications

For Teachers 9th
Ninth graders explore the Supreme Court Case Hazelwood School District v. Kuhlmeier.  In this American Government lesson, 9th graders research the recent history of censorship and how the courts have been involved in either...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

The Land and the Water

For Teachers 3rd
Third graders read "The Land and the Water," a fictional short story and an article about John F. Kennedy, Jr. and compare and contrast fictional tragedy to a non-fiction tragedy. They fill out a Venn diagram and write an essay using...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

In the News

For Teachers 3rd
Third graders participate in a lesson that helps to improve reading comprehension. They move through several activities that help them understand how to express their opinions, support their statements and communicate these thoughts...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Redistricting: How Our Representatives Select Voters

For Teachers 8th - 12th
Students examine the practice of redistricting. In this American politics lesson, students read the provided articles "The Gerrymander," and "Reforming the Gerrymander." Students respond to the provided discussion questions.
Lesson Plan
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Warriors Don't Cry

For Teachers 7th - 9th
Learners write a journal depicting a day in the life of a character and a newspaper article.  In this Warriors Don't Cry lesson, students summarize the main events of integration and find out about the life of Melba...
Lesson Plan
Smithsonian Institution

Giving Speeches: George Washington's First and Second Inaugural Addresses

For Teachers 10th - 12th
Young scholars discuss the purpose of the President of the United States giving an inaugural address. They describe their impressions of any inaugural speaches they have heard or read. Students research events leading up to Washington's...
Lesson Plan
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Dogsong

For Teachers 3rd - 5th
Students read the Gary Paulsen novel, Dog song, about wilderness survival, and research information about the Iditarod dogsled race. Students follow the sled race online each day and complete an Alaska scavenger hunt.
Lesson Plan
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Sum It Up!

For Teachers 3rd - 5th
Students practice summarizing information from a reading using their own words. They take notes while reading using a guided worksheet. For the written summary they have a budget of two dollars with each word used costing ten cents.
Lesson Plan
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Autobiographical Writing

For Teachers 4th - 6th
In this unique lesson on autobiographical writing, students compare and contrast three types of writing: narrative, poetry and newspaper. Students prepare to produce a short autobiographical writing based on the framework of one of the...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Nervous Conditions

For Teachers 11th - 12th
Students read Nervous Conditions and explore freedom and oppression. They discuss types of oppression and list examples of discrimination. They create collages or timelines about the novel. They research present day Zimbabwe and make a...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Frankenstein's Monster

For Teachers 7th - 10th
Students read Mary Shelly's Frankenstein. Using situation and question prompts, students write various essays, letters, and articles concerning the events in the story from different character's point of view.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Photo Editing and Photo Ethics

For Teachers 9th - Higher Ed
students investigate how to editphotos and understand the ethics of photo-editing in regard to photo-journalism. In this photo journalism lesson, students examine photos and photo spreads in various sources to identify editing...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Media Literacy Skills

For Teachers 3rd
Third graders watch a news story from three different networks in order to determine how the same story can be presented in three different ways. Next, working in small groups they create a newscast of a current event to share with the...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Documenting a Historic Climb of Mount Everest

For Teachers 7th - 12th
Students create front pages of newspapers that document the historic attempt of a group of Sherpa women to summit Mount Everest.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Extra, Extra, Write All About It!

For Teachers 6th - 8th
Young scholars examine photographs from newspapers and write a headline and story to accompany one.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Extra, Extra Write All About It!

For Teachers 7th - Higher Ed
Students examine photographs from newspapers and write a headline and story for one of the examples. In this news writing lesson, students analyze a photograph as a class and discuss it. Students analyze photographs and example headlines...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

9-11: Looking Back...Moving Forward

For Teachers 6th - 12th
Students watch and discuss a video about teens living in and around New York and how 9-11 changed their lives. They answer discussion questions, read and discuss newspaper/magazine articles, take a self-test on depression, and create a...