Virginia Department of Education
Counterarguments
Create an urbane battle royal in class with the old Coke vs. Pepsi challenge that develops upper level high school learners skills in developing counterarguments in essay writing. The educator divides the room according to tastes, and...
Curated OER
Writing: A Friendly Letter
Students practice writing career oriented letters and filling out job applications. As a class, they review the proper ways to make citations and identify the difference between the various types of letter formats. They use peer editing...
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American Music Styles: European Roots and African Influences - Lesson 3
Students describe some of the characteristics of country and blues music. They see how country music rose to a nationally known music style. They write a two-paragraph essay on what they think country music be like in the next 100 years.
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Writing Narration
Fourth graders write paragraphs. In this opening and closing paragraphs lesson, 4th graders complete a worksheet to develop interesting opening and closing paragraphs.
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Writing Reports
Students critically examine the features of reports aimed at a young audience. Students discuss characteristics of a good report (who, what, where, when, why, how). They write their own report and include these characteristics in their...
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Expository Journal Prompts
Stuck for a journal topic? Download CAHSEE’s 21 “Expository Journal Prompts” as a pdf handout for yourself or class. A great resource for your writing program, print it up and add it your curriculum library.
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"I Want a Wife" by Judy Brady
The classic short essay "I Want a Wife" will probably surprise your class. After all, the way Judy Brady presents it, who wouldn't want a wife? After your readers complete the text, present them with this two-page document. Eight...
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Haiku: The Power of Nature and Emotion
Introduce your students to the famous Japanese Haiku with these great ideas for the classroom.
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Unit One - Introduction to World Religion
Eleventh graders examine World Religions within this lesson. They can choose which assignments to complete depending on the grade they want to receive. There are no objectives to bounce off of when you view this lesson.
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Who Built the Pyramids?
Students examine the two theories on how the pyramids at Giza were built. They watch a video on pyramids, take notes, and write a five-paragraph essay on how they think the pyramids were constructed.
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Civil War General Comparison
Eighth graders compare Robert E. Lee and Ulysses S. Grant. In this Civil War instructional activity, 8th graders research both generals and write a comparative essay. They include a paragraph about Lee, another about Grant, and one...
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Personally Speaking
Seventh graders read, "The Witch of Blackbird Pond," and write an expository essay discussing choices they have in society today compared with the character Kit.
Gwinnett County Public Schools
Analysis of the Tuck Everlasting and The Birchbark House Text Exemplars
Looking to introduce some text-based questions into your ELA lessons? Practice the kinds of skills the Common Core demands with the seven text-based questions and the essay prompt provided here. Designed to be a three-day lesson, day one...
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Connecting Poetry with Philanthropy
Young scholars use their knowledge of philanthropy and poetic conventions to write original poetry about philanthropic giving. In this philanthropy lesson, students write poetry based on philanthropy using poetic conventions. Young...
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Ancient Greece and Ancient Rome Unit Plan
Students make two T charts, one for Sparta and one for Athens, showing pros and cons for living in either city-state. They use the physical information from the map and the cultural captions given for Athens and Sparts to come to their...
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Change Over Time
Learners write a personal narrative that is designed to help them reflect on the nature and meaning of change in their lives.
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Chinese Dynasties
Students explore several Chinese dynasties and research various topics including papermaking, calligraphy, and Lu Hou. They also demonstrate how to use an abacus and create several math problems to solve with it. Choosing a dynasty,...
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The 1920s and World War I
For this global studies worksheet, students read the noted pages in their textbooks and then respond to 8 short answer questions and write a thematic essay about the 1920's and World War I.
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Straight News
Students review the 'Inverted Pyramid' and demonstrate their ability to outline it in a published news story. For this Inverted pyramid lesson, students read an article that is out of order and decide which order it should go in.
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A Season for Chapters
Art, music, poetry, and the beauty of the seasons is what you'll find in this very nice unit idea. You can use any of the suggested books and activities to engage your second graders in an exploration of the changes that take place...
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Editing
Fourth graders edit their previously written essay in this lesson. They discuss the importance of revision, and observe the teacher modeling proper revision techniques. They apply the techniques to their essay and then prepare their...
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The Light in the Forest by Conrad Richter
In this literature worksheet, students respond to 10 short answer and essay questions about Richter's A Light in the Forest. Students may also link to an online interactive quiz on the novel at the bottom of the page.
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Cause and Effect: Light Clusters and Geography
After viewing a map of lights at night over a variety of geographic formations, young topographers connect the location of light clusters to geographic features that encourage human settlement. They list causes and effects of large...
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Arab Contributions to Science
Learners study Arab science and the origin of the modern scientific method. In this science lesson plan students fill in their own House of Wisdom books.