Prestwick House
The Sign of the Beaver Student Response Journal
Discuss the themes and events of Elizabeth George Speare's The Sign of the Beaver with a collection of journal topics. Each chapter contains two or three questions for kids to consider and write about, for a total of 24 questions.
Federal Reserve Bank
Expense Tracking
Where does all your money go? Individuals keep a record of the money they spend over the course of 30 days. They then categorize where they are spending their money and write an essay detailing their findings.
Seattle Civil Rights and Labor History Project
Dr. Martin Luther King's Visit to Seattle
How was the work of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. viewed by others during the 1960s? After watching an oral history video, your class members will learn more about Dr. King's ability to personally connect with others, as well as...
PBS
Setting in To Kill a Mockingbird
Can you understand more about how a person acts by learning about how that person lives? An interactive resource explores the setting of Harper Lee's To Kill a Mockingbird with several slides discussing the location, social...
Federal Reserve Bank
“Dewey Defeats Truman”: Be Aware of Data Revisions
Discover the impact and importance of data releases about current economic conditions in the United States. Your class members will learn about data revision and the GDP, and how these figures can alter people's views on the economy.
Constitutional Rights Foundation
Ellis Island—The “Golden Door” to America
Are you one of the 100 million Americans whose ancestors passed through the doors of Ellis Island? Learn about the historic entry point for immigrants in the late 19th and early 20th centuries with an informative reading passage. After...
Workforce Solutions
A Colony for Lunar Living
Two lessons explore the possibility of living on the moon. First, scholars read various scenarios to identify which careers would best transfer to life in space. Finally, pupils examine a website to locate items made for outer space,...
Smithsonian Institution
Art to Zoo: Life in the Promised Land: African-American Migrants in Northern Cities, 1916-1940
This is a fantastic resource designed for learners to envision what it was like for the three million African-Americans who migrated to urban industrial centers of the northern United States between 1910 and 1940. After reading a...
Novelinks
The Devil’s Arithmetic: Anticipation Guide
Do you need to learn about someone's past before you can understand that person's behavior? Use an anticipation guide to think about the literary themes of Jane Yolen's The Devil's Arithmetic before you begin the novel.
Curated OER
Do Heroes Have to Wear a Cape?
Young writers choose a person from American history, their community, or their family to use as the subject of a persuasive essay. The process begins with a discussion of the characteristics of a hero, the completion of a prewriting web,...
Curated OER
Be a Celebrity and Share Your Life with Us
Sixth graders discuss their likes, dislikes, hobbies, goals, and special events in their lives. They write a five paragraph autobiography focusing on style, transitions, and details. This is well-suited for either explanatory or...
Channel Islands Film
Lone Woman of San Nicolas Island: Lesson Plan 3
Should researchers be able to excavate, examine, and remove Native American artifacts from historic sites? Should companies be permitted to build on sacred Native American land? After watching West of the West's documentary, The Lone...
Curated OER
If I Were the Wind
Eighth graders are introduced to authors in the conservation community. As a class, they describe a personal experience they have had with nature. They identify examples of an author's descriptive writing techniques and answer questions...
Curated OER
Creepy Read Week
Here's a clever technology twist to writing in the round. Participants rotate through a series of computers adding to stories and editing by keystroke and mouse click. "Locked" forms prevent the loss of stories filled with suspense and...
Curated OER
Going for the Gold!
Fourth graders discuss their success and failures. They write a short essay on what they have been taught about the personal and ethical skills needed to work with a diverse group of people. Students discuss in small groups to determine...
Curated OER
Collaborative Editing
With the use of an online editing site, budding authors revise their writing. This is a creative way to have your class practice essay revision. Instead of being a tedious process, editing and revising can be fun.
Curated OER
The Art of Persuasion-Analysis of Argument
Analyze advertising techniques in order to pinpoint persuasive strategies that writers use. These same techniques are then examined in persuasive speeches. You will have to find your own advertisements, but speeches are included. Finish...
Curated OER
Essay Editing Lesson Plan
Students discuss reasons to edit their written work and observe how to correctly use proofreaders marks to correct a paragraph. In groups of four, students exchange previously written papers and write suggestions and comments for...
Curated OER
Character Traits and People in Black History
Third graders, after reading a one-page biographical essay, write in paragraph form how an African American has demonstrated a certain character trait.
Curated OER
Philanthropy And Children Who Are Homeless Lesson 2: Was the Orphan Train Philanthropic?
Young scholars study the lives of homeless children who rode the Orphan Train by reading first person essays of the children's experiences. They examine what rights were denied to the homeless children during the late 1800's and decide...
Mr. Ambrose
The Great Gatsby, F. Scott Fitzgerald
Good discussion questions, quizzes, and tests teach as well as assess. Readers of The Great Gatsby will learn much from the materials in a 36-page packet designed to help students prepare for the AP Literature exam. Included in the...
Curated OER
The Immigrant Experience In America
Students study immigration, Ellis Island, and tenement life from 1890 to 1924. Each student create an identity of an immigrant and write an essay in the first person. Essays describe what they found when they arrived in New York City.
Curated OER
The Ugly Truth about Hate
Students investigate examples of hate crimes and their causes by participating in a round-table discussion. They also write a personal essay describing their personal views on the subject and describing a plan for putting their views...
Curated OER
Altered Genes
Students describe the economic relationship between farmers, consumers, and food companies. They examine the issues regarding the reactions of consumers in this country and other countries to the use of gene-altered crops in food...