Handout
Nosapo

What Is in a Sentence, Paragraph, and Story?

For Students 4th - 12th Standards
Language arts is made up of many parts. Learners review the parts of a sentence, as well as how to make a simple sentence into a complex sentence, before examining full paragraphs and identifying the topic, body, and concluding sentence...
Lesson Plan
Prestwick House

New (March 2016) SAT Writing and Language Test Practice

For Students 9th - 10th Standards
Prepare class members for the SAT Writing and Language exam with a practice test that prepares students for the types of questions and the kind of language used in the exam. Test takers must select the best way to fix poorly...
Lesson Plan
EngageNY

Grade 10 ELA Module 2: Unit 2, Lesson 4

For Teachers 10th Standards
What does it mean to come undone? Scholars consider the author's use of the phrase as they read paragraphs 12–15 from Julia Alvarez's autobiographical essay "A Genetics of Justice." They complete a quick write to analyze how Alvarez...
Lesson Plan
EngageNY

Planning for Writing: Introduction and Conclusion of a Literary Argument Essay

For Teachers 6th Standards
After completing three body paragraphs of an argument essay about life's rules to live by from Bud, Not Buddy Christopher Paul Curtis, it's time to begin writing the introduction and conclusion. Independently, pupils draft the final two...
Lesson Plan
EngageNY

Grade 10 ELA Module 2: Unit 2, Lesson 1

For Teachers 10th Standards
Rafael Trujillo was president of the Dominican Republic in the 1930s. Pupils read and analyze the first six paragraphs of Julia Alvarez's autobiographical essay "A Genetics of Justice," in which the author describes Trujillo's impact on...
Lesson Plan
EngageNY

End of Unit 2 Assessment, Part 1b: Writing Introduction and Conclusion

For Teachers 7th Standards
Writers continue looking at the rubric for their A Long Walk to Water essays. This time, they analyze the demands for the introduction and conclusion paragraphs. Pupils compare the rubric to the opening and closing of the model...
Lesson Plan
EngageNY

Grade 9 ELA Module 3, Unit 3, Lesson 1

For Teachers 9th Standards
The opening exercise in this instructional unit introduces class members to the writing process they will follow to craft an informative, expository research paper that addresses their research question. To begin, writers are asked to...
Lesson Plan
National History Day

Leland Linman’s War: A Look at Soldiers’ Daily Lives in World War I

For Teachers 9th - 12th Standards
Hunkering down in the trenches of World War I, Leland Linman decided to write a journal about his experiences. By reading Linman's entries in the fourth installment of an eight-part lesson plan series, scholars get a firsthand look at...
Lesson Plan
EngageNY

Grade 10 ELA Module 3: Unit 3, Lesson 5

For Teachers 10th Standards
Can you please clarify? Scholars continue to work on their argumentative essays about selling human tissue by clarifying and adding cohesion. Writers begin by looking at model paragraphs and then begin improving their writing. They...
Lesson Plan
EngageNY

Grade 10 ELA Module 2: Unit 2, Lesson 2

For Teachers 10th Standards
What is a megalomaniac? Scholars discover the word's meaning as they read and analyze paragraphs seven and eight from Julia Alvarez's essay "A Genetics of Justice." They also read Mark Memmott's article "Remembering to Never Forget" and...
Lesson Plan
EngageNY

Grade 10 ELA Module 2: Unit 2, Lesson 9

For Teachers 10th Standards
How do authors develop the main ideas in their writing? Pupils consider the question as they read and analyze paragraphs 27–31 from Julia Alvarez's essay "A Genetics of Justice," in which Alvarez describes her decision to become a...
Lesson Plan
EngageNY

End of Unit Assessment: On-Demand Informational Paragraph About How the Poison Dart Frog Survives

For Teachers 3rd Standards
A final assessment marks the end of a unit that takes a close look at a variety of informational texts all about frogs. A graphic organizer aides scholars in planning an accordion paragraph using their recorder forms from previous...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Child Safety

For Teachers 10th - 12th
Explore reading comprehension and child safety in this young adult literacy instructional activity. High schoolers practice using context clues to figure out word meanings after observing a teacher model this process. They read an...
Lesson Plan
EngageNY

Grade 10 ELA Module 2: Unit 2, Lesson 8

For Teachers 10th Standards
How do people's relationships with their parents impact their lives? Scholars read paragraphs 23–26 from "A Genetics of Justice" by Julia Alvarez, in which the author details her relationship with her mother. Pupils discuss how the...
Lesson Plan
EngageNY

Grade 9 ELA Module 3, Unit 3, Lesson 2

For Teachers 9th Standards
After a peer review of their outlines, class members examine a model of an effective, engaging introduction and then craft the first draft of the introduction to their research paper.
Lesson Plan
EngageNY

Grade 9 ELA Module 3, Unit 3, Lesson 4

For Teachers 9th Standards
The fourth activity in a unit on crafting a research paper focuses on cohesion within and between paragraphs. Class members examine models that lack cohesion and ones that are cohesive and logically developed before using what they have...
Lesson Plan
EngageNY

Grade 10 ELA Module 2: Unit 2, Lesson 7

For Teachers 10th Standards
"No flies fly into a closed mouth." Pupils consider the proverb's meaning as they read paragraphs 20–22 from the essay "A Genetics of Justice" by Julia Alvarez. They also engage in small-group discussions about how the author refines her...
Lesson Plan
EngageNY

Grade 10 ELA Module 2: Unit 2, Lesson 3

For Teachers 10th Standards
Does trauma have a lasting effect on people's lives? Scholars dive into the topic as they read paragraphs 9–11 of "A Genetics of Justice" by Julia Alvarez, in which the author describes her family's return to the Dominican Republic....
Lesson Plan
EngageNY

Mid-Unit Assessment: Analyzing an Author’s Argument and Text Structure

For Teachers 8th Standards
William Shakespeare: a writer, a poet, a fake? For their mid-unit assessments, scholars read an excerpt from the article "The Top Ten Reasons Shakespeare Did Not Write Shakespeare" by Keir Cutler. Next, they analyze the author's argument...
Lesson Plan
EngageNY

Grade 10 ELA Module 2: Unit 2, Lesson 6

For Teachers 10th Standards
How do authors use rhetorical devices and word choice to emphasize their ideas? Pupils consider the question while reading paragraphs 16–19 from Julia Alvarez's essay "A Genetics of Justice." Readers engage in evidence-based discussion...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Revision Techniques for Writing

For Teachers 4th - 9th
How can you help your class improve their writing? Start by showing a student example on the overhead. Read through the paragraph in a think-aloud format, commenting on areas that need improvement. Then, as a class, work together to make...
Lesson Plan
EngageNY

End of Unit 1 Assessment: On-Demand Analysis of a Human Rights Account

For Teachers 5th Standards
The last instructional activity in this unit about human rights consists of a final assessment. To demonstrate the skills your class has acquired throughout this unit, they will work with a new article entitled "From Kosovo to the United...
Lesson Plan
EngageNY

Grade 10 ELA Module 3: Unit 3, Lesson 6

For Teachers 10th Standards
And that's a wrap! Scholars create their concluding statement drafts by examining model text with exemplar conclusions. In pairs, they discuss how transitional words and phrases add to sentence structure and consider how their concluding...
Lesson Plan
EngageNY

Grade 11 ELA Module 2: Unit 2, Lesson 14

For Teachers 11th Standards
It's time to put it all together! Using the resource, scholars complete an end-of-unit assessment. They write a multi-paragraph essay comparing Audre Lorde's "From the House of Yemanjá" or "An Address by Elizabeth Cady Stanton" to...