ESL Holiday Lessons
Kwanzaa
Teach English language learners about the week-long holiday of Kwanzaa that is celebrated around the world during December. It includes holiday-themed reading comprehension passages, phrase matching, fill-in-the-blanks, and journaling...
Curated OER
The Newspaper Article
Have your class participate in an interview activity using an informational text about the Amazon. After reading a Cultural Connections story about a person from the Amazon, middle schoolers write interview questions based on the text....
Curated OER
Thesis Statements
Develop an understanding of main ideas and thesis statements with your class by using this step-by-step presentation. The concepts presented will guide learners through essay focus, main idea, central points, coherency, and proper...
Curated OER
Native Americans
Eighth graders are assigned a group of Native Americans from the North Carolina area to study. They research and write a paper, including sections on family, government, food, clothing, shelter, European contact, artifacts and give an...
Curated OER
From A Different Perspective
Emerging writers create a response to their reading. They read Notes from the Trail and discuss whose perspective the journal entry is written from. Then, they write a response to the journal entry in first person perspective as if they...
Curated OER
Change of Perspective
After reading an example of a Cultural Connection about a particular person, class members are asked to think about what this person might experience on a daily basis. They then craft a narrative from the subject’s point of view.
Curated OER
"All Men Are Created Equal"
Students identify the premise of the United States' Democracy. They list the major elements of the document. Students reflect on the inequalities of the late 1700's premise of other units. They complete a KWL chart about the Declaration...
Curated OER
Amazonian Travel Brochure
Students create a brochure. For this Amazon research lesson, students research a tourist attraction in the Amazon and develop a travel brochure.
Curated OER
The Declaration of Independence
Middle schoolers begin their examination of the Declaration of Independence. Using the text, they answer questions for their citizenship interview. They also examine the role of Jefferson in creating the document and how he participated...
Curated OER
Write Your Own Cultural Connections
Students write a cultural narrative. For this multicultural writing lesson, students create an expository narrative to teach others about their lives. Students complete the narrative and use a buddy editing strategy to revise their papers.
Curated OER
Knock On Wood
Students investigate the trees of the Mississippi Valley, specifically looking at the coniferous and deciduous forests. The research of the area is part of a field study when students conduct a survey of local forests in order to create...
Curated OER
Reviewing Proper Writing Techniques
Young scholars use proper writing techniques to write an effective description of the best or worst meal they have ever eaten. In this proper writing techniques lesson, students review the parts of a composition and discuss was to...
Curated OER
December
Students create snowflake similes, Kwanzaa plaques, menorah banners, and more for the month of December. In this December activities lesson plan, students also analyze characters in How the Grinch Stole Christmas.
Other
Sample Paragraph Unity
This lesson plan could conceivably be done by students independently, especially if the teacher downloaded it into student files. The process the author explains seems so simple, yet so practical.
University of Ottawa (Canada)
University of Ottawa: Writing Paragraphs
This site from the University of Ottawa provides a wonderfully designed website that not only gives you exhaustive information on paragraph writing. Students will engage in starting with outlines, writing topic sentences, dividing their...
University of Illinois
University of Illinois Urbana Champaign: Toefl Practice Site: Coherence and Unity
This site discusses coherence achieved through major and minor connector transitions. Examples are given, and there is a link to an exercise meant for the particular class this site was designed for, still useful practice for anyone....
University of Victoria (Canada)
The U Vic Writer's Guide: Paragraph Unity
This writing lab site presents examples that show students poor unity within a paragraph.
Texas Education Agency
Texas Gateway: Editing for Coherence and Transition
In this lesson, students will learn how to edit sentences so they move seamlessly from one to another within a paragraph; however, they can use the same methods to ensure that paragraphs move seamlessly from one to another in an entire...
ClassFlow
Class Flow: Writing Review
[Free Registration/Login Required] In this flipchart students will interactively review the following areas of writing: parts of a paragraph; unity, coherence, and elaboration; and the 4 types of writing.