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...
Education World
A Walk Through The 20th Century
Learners review the people, places, and events of a particular decade of the 20th Century. They write a report about that decade and create a booth of memorabilia, music, dress, pictures and other artifacts representing the time period.
Curated OER
Experiencing "Romeo and Juliet"
Ninth graders read and analyze the William Shakespeare play "Romeo and Juliet" and compare it to the 1996 modern version of the play and the movie "West Side Story." They write an essay comparing and contrasting the three versions.
Curated OER
Build an Outdoor Compost Heap
Students study how to create a compost heap. For this composting lesson, students create a compost heap. Students write an essay describing the process.
Great Books Foundation
Rattlesnakes
John Muir may be a friend to the natural world, but as a short reading passage confirms, he is no friend to rattlesnakes. As young readers learn about Muir's encounters with the dangerous creatures, they answer four comprehension...
Student Achievement Partners
Eleven
Turning 11 comes with a range of emotions. Explore those emotions by reading the short story "Eleven" by Sandra Cisneros. Readers analyze the main character's reactions to the events of her day. Then, they write an essay describing what...
Curated OER
Call Me
Students write essays to persuade their families to use a particular long-distance phone plan. They compare a 10-10 plan to a regular long-distance plan.
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What Kind of Student Do You Want to Be?
Third graders write an essay which answers the question, "What kind of student do you want to be?"
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A Photo Essay
Students create a photo essay and present it to the class. The students bring photos to use for their essay and develop a story using the photos. The students write captions including characters, setting, and plot for each photo. They...
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Learning About Evaluation
Young scholars evaluate the essays of their classmates. In this evaluation lesson, students write two non-fiction essays on two different topics that they may choose. After a lecture on the aspects of the paper that will be evaluated,...
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Should We Allow New Mining in the Upper Peninsula?
Students compose an essay taking a position on whether or not a proposed
mine near Marquette, MI should be opened. Students defend their position addressing relevant issues through factual supporting details. Their essay includes an...
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Using Artwork to Develop Personal Narratives
Students use a work or art as a springboard to a personal narrative or descriptive writing. They represent an idea in an artistic product which connects to composition.
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Ode to the Ordinary
Ninth graders identify an ordinary object and write an ode for the subject. In this poetry writing lesson, 9th graders select an ordinary object and define its uses. Students then write an ode for the poem.
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Could You Elaborate on That?
Fourth graders engage in a lesson which teaches the parts of an expository essay and how to organize and write an expository piece from a given topic. After a lecture/demo, 4th graders utilize a worksheet imbedded in this plan which...
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Sensory Descriptors
Students feel items in a bucket and describe them using descriptive words. In this sensory descriptive lesson plan, students use words such as smoothe, rough, and bumpy.
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Survivor Vs. Canterbury Tales
Eleventh graders participate in activities that compare and contrast The Canterbury Tales with the television show, Survivor. They write a compare and contrast essay, and create a festival table and PowerPoint presentation.
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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.
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Photo Essay
Students examine the process of writing a photo essay. They examine and select a personal photo or photo from a magazine, and brainstorm a story that can go with the photo. They identify an emotion to go with their picture, then write...
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Maine: A Place Apart?
Students list phrase that describe Maine from both an insider's and outsider's point of view. They create an exhibit on Maine's history and write an essay about Maine's image as "a place apart."
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The Cause & Effect Model
Students analyze the plot of the story, "The Little Engine That Could" to provide a model for writing creatively, developing critical essays, producing themes, and making predictions.
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Lessons of the Indian Epics: The Ramayana
Students read a version of Ramayana and explore the elements of the epic hero cycle. In this Ramayana analysis lesson, students retell the basic narrative of the Ramayana and identify the main characters. Students identify elements of...
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Me: A Visual Essay
Students familiarize themselves with photo editing and montage techniques. They create a montage that tells the viewer about themselves.
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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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Our Geometic World
Pupils walk around the neighborhood and identify various polygons and lines in buildings, nature and other objects. They design a building using various geometric patterns, shapes and lines. Students complete a descriptive writing of...