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Lesson Plan
EngageNY

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

For Teachers 6th Standards
First and last impressions are important. Using the helpful resource, scholars draft the introductory and concluding paragraphs of their literary analysis essays. Next, they use a writing evaluation rubric to self-assess their work. 
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Lesson Plan
EngageNY

Qualities of a Strong Literary Analysis Essay

For Teachers 6th Standards
Read like a writer. Scholars read a model literary analysis in preparation for a similar writing assignment before annotating each paragraph for the gist. Next, pupils devise a list of qualities of a strong literary analysis essay. 
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Lesson Plan
EngageNY

Performance Task Preparation: Peer Critique and Mini-Lesson Addressing Common Errors: Revising Draft Essay to Inform

For Teachers 6th Standards
Time to revise! Using a writing evaluation rubric, scholars participate in a peer editing process to provide feedback on each others' informative essays. Next, pupils begin revising their drafts based on the feedback they receive. 
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Lesson Plan
EngageNY

End of Unit Assessment: Final Essay

For Teachers 6th Standards
This is just the transition phase. Scholars participate in a mini lesson about using transitions in writing. They then have a brief peer critique of the introduction and conclusion paragraphs for their end of unit assessment. Learners...
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Lesson Plan
EngageNY

Drafting Body Paragraphs

For Teachers 6th Standards
That's just the style. Learners begin with a mini-lesson about formal writing style. They then use what they learned about formal writing to begin the body paragraphs for their End of Unit 1 Assessment Prompt: Adversity in the Middle...
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Lesson Plan
EngageNY

Evaluating Evidence: Adversities Faced in the Middle Ages

For Teachers 6th Standards
How is that relevant? Scholars gain an understanding of the words relevant and compelling. They then go back to the End of Unit 1 Assessment Prompt: Adversity in the Middle Ages and look at the second bullet that pertains to relevant and...
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Lesson Plan
EngageNY

Writing to Inform: Analyzing a Model Using a Rubric

For Teachers 6th Standards
Learn to write right. Scholars analyze the model essay Adversity Faced by Townspeople in the Middle Ages. They discuss the essay and make annotations working with an elbow partner. Learners then take another look at the essay using a...
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Lesson Plan
EngageNY

Final Performance Task: Final Draft of Essay to Inform

For Teachers 6th Standards
Sometimes, it's fun to follow the rules. Using their drafts of an evidence-based essay from previous lessons, scholars write their final informative essays about rules to live by. Next, they choose and share quotes from their essays that...
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Lesson Plan
EngageNY

End of Unit Assessment, Part 1: Drafting Body Paragraphs of an Essay to Inform

For Teachers 6th Standards
Anybody can write a body paragraph! Pupils analyze the development of ideas in a body paragraph from a model essay. Next, using what they've learned, they draft the body paragraphs of their My Rule to Live By informative essay. 
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Lesson Plan
EngageNY

Mid-Unit Assessment and Establishing a Context for My Hero’s Journey Narrative

For Teachers 6th Standards
How do writers engage their readers in a story? Pupils consider the question and use the informational text, "The Hero's Journey" to justify their plan for their own fictional narrative. To that end, scholars write an explanatory...
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Lesson Plan
EngageNY

End of Unit Assessment, Part 2: Final Draft of Literary Analysis

For Teachers 6th Standards
Row, row, row, row four. Classmates take a look at row four in the writing rubric and begin the exercise by identifying any unfamiliar words. Literary scholars then use feedback from their initial drafts and the writing rubric to begin...
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Lesson Plan
EngageNY

Peer Critique and Pronoun Mini-Lesson: Revising Draft Literary Analysis

For Teachers 6th Standards
See what peers really think. Scholars give a peer critique of the their essay drafts from the previous lesson. They then participate in a mini lesson about pronouns. Pupils write examples of each type of pronoun on sticky notes and put...
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Lesson Plan
EngageNY

Launching the End of Unit Assessment: Drafting Literary Analysis

For Teachers 6th Standards
Is there a connection? Scholars work to write a summary and theme to connect The Lightning Thief and myth of Cronus. They begin by looking at a model essay and then work on their own drafts. 
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Lesson Plan
EngageNY

Building Writing Skills: Receiving Feedback and Varying Sentence Structures

For Teachers 6th Standards
Everyone is good at something. Scholars receive their mid-unit assessments with feedback. They look over their papers and write their strengths as a writer and goals on index cards. The class then has a mini lesson in using sentence...
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Lesson Plan
EngageNY

Determining Theme: Reading Myths in “Expert Groups”

For Teachers 6th Standards
Leave it to the experts. Scholars work in expert groups to analyze new myths. Each group is assigned to become an expert on either The Fates, The Story of Medusa and Athena, or Theseus and the Minotaur. They answer questions and discuss...
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Lesson Plan
EngageNY

Planning for Writing: Introduction and Conclusion of a Literary Analysis

For Teachers 6th Standards
It's all about the introduction. Scholars work on the introductory paragraph for their essays, connecting the theme of a myth and The Lightning Thief. They use a graphic organizer to help focus their work and then move to working on the...
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Lesson Plan
EngageNY

Planning for Writing: Revisiting “Key Elements of Mythology” and Determining a Theme in the Myth of Cronus

For Teachers 6th Standards
Refresh my memory please. Scholars quickly read over the Myth of Cronus to refresh their memories of the story. They then get in groups and write parts of the myth on sticky notes that relate to the elements of mythology, sticking their...
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Lesson Plan
EngageNY

Connecting the Theme of the Expert Group Myth to a Theme in The Lightning Thief and to Life Lessons

For Teachers 6th Standards
Expert groups discuss the theme of their myths and the life lessons people learn from it. They then regroup their triads so that there is a pupil from each expert myth group and share details about their myths. The class also talks about...
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Lesson Plan
EngageNY

Mid-Unit 2 Assessment: Writing an Analytical MiniEssay about Mythological Elements and Theme

For Teachers 6th Standards
Two is company. Scholars pair up to continue their mini essay writing from the previous lesson. They work on their introduction and conclusion paragraphs and then trade partners for peer feedback and a fresh set of eyes on their work....
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Lesson Plan
EngageNY

Drafting an Analytical Mini-Essay: Using Partner Talk and Graphic Organizers to Guide Thinking

For Teachers 6th Standards
Moving on up ... Scholars take a look at how the author of the model essay Elements of Mythology and Theme of Cronus moved up in the writing process from a graphic organizer to an essay. After walking through the writing process of the...
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Lesson Plan
EngageNY

Analyzing Details in “Prometheus” for Elements of Mythology and Theme

For Teachers 6th Standards
Well isn't that clever? Scholars read Prometheus, a tale describes the clever Greek god and trickster. They tune into details and complete graphic organizers that reveal the theme of the text. 
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Lesson Plan
EngageNY

Analyzing the Model Analytical Mini-Essay: “Elements of Mythology and Theme of Cronus”

For Teachers 6th Standards
It's time to make a claim. Scholars learn what it means to make a claim by first looking at a model analytical mini-essay to determine how the author relayed ideas. Pupils then work with partners to discuss how the author might have...
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Lesson Plan
EngageNY

Writing with Evidence: Percy and the Hero’s Journey (Chapter 7)

For Teachers 6th Standards
Read, set, write! Scholars participate in the first fully independent writing task of the unit as they write about how Percy’s experience in The Lightning Thief aligns with The Hero’s Journey. To begin their writing, they complete a...
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Lesson Plan
Penguin Books

One for the Murphys by Lynda Mullaly Hunt - Teacher's Guide

For Teachers 5th - 8th Standards
Children in foster care face a lot of uncertainty in their lives. A guide for the novel One for the Murphys introduces a main character, Carley, who is thrust into the foster care system. Chapter-by-chapter questions cover key details in...