Official Statements

The controversy surrounding GMOs is food for debate. With the abundance of articles that can be garnered from various media sources, a skill-building activity that teaches learners how to carry on a balanced, informed discussion of this...

What rights are guaranteed to students? Do they align with the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which was approved by the United Nations in 1948? Middle and high schoolers present persuasive arguments about the rights they believe...

How skilled are your class members at summarizing, paraphrasing, and quoting from a text? Find out with this assessment that asks readers to identify the thesis statement, the summary, the paraphrases, and the quoted material in an...

Practice analyzing informational text with a reading passage that details the Great Depression. Scholars read about the impacts of World War I, the Roaring Twenties, and the Depression, then answer 10 true or false questions. 

Learning how to engage in a respectful, academic discussion of controversial topics is an important skill all students should develop. This skill-building activity provides groups with a set-by-step procedure and sentence frames so that...

U.S. presidents (and other elected officials) provide the subject matter for journals, persuasive pieces and a pictorial shield. Researchers create a “life” focused statement for a presidential candidate and write journal entries about...

A good thesis is hard to craft. Model for your writers how to develop and refine thesis statements with a series of slides that discuss the purpose and format of this all-important sentence. Viewers following along as the process is...

Students research and investigate what laws exist about freedom of speech. They write an article about this topic. Students interview the students at their school on this topic. They take a stand and support their stand with facts.

In this English instructional activity, students read "Kofi Annan - Israel Attack Kills 4 UN Officials," and then respond to 47 fill in the blank, 7 short answer, 20 matching, and 8 true or false questions about the selection.

Students work on a 'campaign committee' to define civic issues that are important to them and their community. They write letters to city officials with proposals for how to address these issues.