Curated OER
Liberty, Equality, Uniformity?
Students examine the French draft law to ban religious symbols from public schools. They research "secularist" and "pluralist" positions regarding this ban, debate the topic in class, and draft a position paper on the ban.
Curated OER
The Rest Cure: Gender in Medicine and Literature
Read and discuss "The Yellow Wall-Paper" and the gender issues that the story brings up. Use articles from the time period to analyze, complete with specific discussion questions. After two days, scholars write an essay based on topics...
Facing History and Ourselves
The Audacity of a Vote: Susan B. Anthony’s Arrest
Susan B. Anthony's speech "Is It a Crime for Women to Vote?" takes center stage in a lesson that asks class members to consider how they might respond to what they consider an unjust law. Groups work through the speech paragraph by...
New York State Education Department
TASC Transition Curriculum: Workshop 5
Are video games sports? Pupils investigate this question as well as various nonfiction selections to learn more about claims and the support that defines them. All of the selections mimic the rigor on state tests and encourage close...
jc-schools
The Expository Essay
Did you ever create an awesome graphic organizer only to find that your class was completely baffled by how to use it? This resource not only provides you with a great graphic organizer for a standard five-paragraph essay, but also...
Carolina K-12
The Results are In! Examining Our First Vote Election
The 2016 election is over, and now it's time to dig in to some data! An activity revolves around data gathered from the First Vote Project in North Carolina wherein thousands of students voted. After diving in to the data using provided...
Curated OER
The Powers of Persuasion
Students write about ways in which they used persuasive skills in the past. They evaluate what makes a persuasive argument successful. Students list the ways in which persuasive writing can help us achieve desired goals.
Crabtree Publishing
Why Does Media Literacy Matter?
Criticism of news and entertainment journalism is at an all-time high. Help 21st-century learners develop the media literacy skills they need to become critical consumers with a three-lesson guide the looks at persuasive techniques used...
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.
Global Oneness Project
Exploring the Creative Process
Launch a discussion of the creative process with a short video that features the daily ritual of Slobodan Dan Paich, a San Francisco artist. Slobodan models his approach to tea painting and shares his reflections on the creativity.
Curated OER
Romeo and Juliet: To Tell, or Not to Tell
Should Romeo and Juliet have revealed their engagement to their parents? After reading Acts I and II of Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet, your class discusses this question with a SMARTboard presentation (though the lesson still works if...
English Worksheets Land
The Concert
Is it better to ask for permission or for forgiveness? Compare and contrast these choices with a reading comprehension activity, which focuses on a script about a girl asking each of her parents if she can attend a concert with her friend.
Illinois Department of Natural Resources
Section Four: How Can We Protect Biodiversity?
Look into the future with a lesson plan on biodiversity and natural habitats. Learners read articles about different perspectives when it comes to planning future development, and decide which angle is the highest priority in a group...
Curated OER
Phineas Gage: “How Do You Get Through Hard Times?” Chalk Talk
Hold a discussion in writing about coping strategies to prepare your pupils for reading Phineas Gage: A Gruesome but True Story About Brain Science by John Fleischman. After journaling, pupils come up in an organized fashion and write...
Council for the Curriculum, Examinations and Assessment
Safety and Managing Risk
Teenagers love to take risks to test their personal boundaries, but many risks are too dangerous to try. The set of exercises in this packet teach your class about the ways they can stay safe and protect themselves while still having fun.
Curated OER
Cartoons for the Classrooms: Wall Street Financial Meltdown
Combine two current events (2008) in one political cartoon. This handout examines the Large Hadron Collider, a scientific invention that caused a sudden fear of black holes, and the financial meltdown on Wall Street. Background...
K12 Reader
National Symbols
What are the most prominent symbols of the United States? Learn about the bald eagle, the American flag, and the Statue of Liberty in a reading comprehension activity that includes a short passage and five reflective questions.
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
Statewide Smokefree Laws
Does your state allow smoking in public workplaces? What about in bars or restaurants? Take a look at an informative map of the United States to see what states do not allow smoking indoors, what states do not have indoor air laws on the...
Curated OER
Zero Tolerance and Toy Guns
Seventh graders write a short reaction to the "Zero Tolerance" policy in regards to students and play guns. They read several news articles about the problems associated with the zero tolerance and students with play guns. They write a...
Curated OER
Language Arts: GloFish - Illuminating Essays
Students research the genetically-engineered GloFish and write essays expressing their views about the subject. They evaluate the pros and cons of genetic engineering.Students may also hold a debate about genetic engineering.
NPR
Is There Really an Immigration Line?
If you've ever looked at the US immigration system, you know that it is complex and a source of controversy. An insightful lesson plan encourages learners to conduct their own analyses of the US immigration system by asking them to...
Curated OER
Where Do You Stand?
Scholars assess a government's ability to intervene in personal health decisions. They research basic facts about euthanasia and describe their opinions about new legislation passed in the United States Congress about an individual's...
Curated OER
Word Wake
Put your common writing errors to rest with this resource, which prompts high schoolers to create eulogies and tombstones for overused and incorrect words. They work on correcting common errors in spelling and usage mistakes in their own...
Curated OER
The Biomed Unit Project
Young scholars write a persuasive paper following the expository theme format of introduction, first body paragraph, second body paragraph, third body paragraph, and conclusion that addresses the prompt of the final project adequately....