Curated OER
Living to Eat, Eating to Live
Young scholars develop a five paragraph essay.They write their essays, review rules related to subject/verb agreement and the use of transition words or devices. They find examples of transition words or devices in newspaper or...
Curated OER
Determining Relevancy
Students learn skills for evaluating information they retrieve from searching book catalogs, article indexes and Web search tools. They evaluate print and Web materials that they have collected for a specific topic. Use before a research...
Curated OER
Local and Global Sustainability Unit
Students examine the characteristics that define a sustainable community at the local and global level. They create and prioritize a list of traits, read and discuss a magazine article, and create a poster.
Odyssey of the Mind
Odyssey of the Mind Curriculum Activity: Sentence Structure
Statements can be taken out of context and interpreted or used to support a very different view than the one originally intended. Young journalists start thinking about leading questions, sentence structure, context, and how they all...
Levin Institute
Unit on Culture and Globalization
High schoolers explore the concept of cultural globalization. In this global issues lesson, students read and discuss the linked Web articles about world cultural issues and the dominance of the American market.
Curated OER
Showdown on the Frontier
Especially critical following a series of shootings in schools, theaters, and religious buildings, it's safe to say that we need to evaluate the current laws on gun control. Eighth graders read a New York Times article in order to better...
Curated OER
Cite Your Sites!
The New York Times article “Lessons in Internet Plagiarism,” launches a look at how the Internet has increased the prevalence of plagiarism. The richly detailed lesson includes warm-up and wrap-up activities, discussion questions,...
Curated OER
Food, Glorious Food?
How are the reactions between American and European consumers different when it comes to genetically modified foods? Use the New York Times article "Consumers in Europe Resist Gene-Altered Foods" to inform your middle schoolers about the...
Brown University
Following the U.S. Presidential Election
Election years provide the opportunity to evaluate news media as well as the next prospective president. High schoolers read about the same event in several different news sources, varying in type, origin, and political leaning, before...
Curated OER
The Teen Scene
Students explore the methods used by teen magazines to attract a variety of teenagers. They evaluate existing magazines and in small groups, students create their own magazine that is geared toward specific teen demographics.
Curated OER
Writing as a group activity
Did you know that 50% of all Americans can trace a relative who traveled through Ellis Island? Relive these journeys with your class and then provide sentence strategy templates for them to use to compose their own informative...
Curated OER
Progressives Perspectives
Eleventh graders consider the case for Progressive politics. In this Progressive Era lesson, 11th graders read excerpts from The Jungle as well as articles about the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire. Students also analyze images from the...
Curated OER
Technology Newsletter
Students discuss impact and value of modern technological inventions on society, contemplate world without technology, skim magazines and newspapers for advertisements highlighting modern technologies, and work with partner to create...
Curated OER
SIRS Discover: Native American Biographies
Fourth graders work in cooperative groups to select and evaluate appropriate magazine articles on Native Americans. They view the program SIRS Discoverer, complete activity sheets then perform oral presentations.
Curated OER
Reading and Thinking About Evolution
Students explore evolution. They read magazine articles related to evolution. Students describe arguments for/against evolution that the author used. Students discuss their findings.
Curated OER
Resource Based Learning Unit Using Mad Cow Disease
Students research the topic of mad cow disease. They use an internal research network to search for newspaper and magazine articles about the disease. They are to evaluate the information they find and determine if it is creditable.
Social Media Toolbox
Reporting with Social Media
What does it take to create news stories that are both informative and objective? Aspiring journalists walk the line between engagement and activism with lesson plan 15 of a 16-part series titled The Social Media Toolbox. Grouped pupils...
Curated OER
Encapsulating Moments in Time
Students look back at this year in history and evaluate important events, discoveries and people from 1998. They, in groups, create 1998: Year in Review. While 1998 has come and gone, the idea and intent for this lesson can be used now.
Curated OER
Substance Abuse Prevention
Young scholars evaluate the impact of substance use and abuse in society and the workplace. They identify support services in the workplace which deal with substance abuse. They create an "ideal" policy statement governing substance...
Curated OER
Culture - Unit on Culture & Globalization
Students examine the spread of American culture throughout the world. They read an article, discuss items made by foreign-owned companies, complete handouts, read and discuss a case study, and conduct a role-play about a U.S.-Canada...
Curated OER
Self-concept / Esteem
Students evaluate parenting roles and responsibilities. They examine the responsibility of parents to help promote good self-concept in their children and the importance of a child's self-esteem and ways to help a child feel good about...
Curated OER
Leschi: Justice in Our Time
Learners examine the lives of the Nisqually people and the resource consumption philosophy. In this Native American philosophy lesson plan, students use primary sources to understand the resource consumption philosophy and then evaluate...
Curated OER
Weaving Technology into Thematic Units
Eighth graders are taught to give an understanding of an author's time period and life.
Teachers support the writing process and research techniques with technology and research books. Alternative assessment is used for evaluation.
Curated OER
What's The Idea
Students discuss the importance of identifying the main idea in reading selections. After reading newspaper articles related to nutrition, students identify the main idea of the selection and three supporting details. A reading log...