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Lesson Plan
EngageNY

End of Unit Assessment, Part 1: Drafting Body Paragraphs of an Essay to Inform

For Teachers 6th Standards
Anybody can write a body paragraph! Pupils analyze the development of ideas in a body paragraph from a model essay. Next, using what they've learned, they draft the body paragraphs of their My Rule to Live By informative essay. 
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Lesson Plan
EngageNY

Analyzing the Structure and Content of an Essay to Inform

For Teachers 6th Standards
Outlines are a great asset to essay planning. Scholars read and analyze a model essay about the importance of daily reading and consider how it would look in an outline format. Next, they outline their own informative essays about rules...
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Lesson Plan
EngageNY

Mid-Unit 3 Assessments, Part 1: Summarizing, Analyzing and Discussing Research

For Teachers 6th Standards
Speak up and listen up. Scholars participate in a speaking and listening mid-unit oral assessment. They discuss whether their rules to live by should be a personal choice or made into a law, and then they complete an exit ticket to...
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Lesson Plan
EngageNY

Researching Part 2: Reading for Gist and Gathering Evidence Using the Researcher’s Notebook

For Teachers 6th Standards
The gist should be short and sweet! Pupils practice finding the gist of an informational text and then write a summary of the text. Next, they gather with their research teams to discuss a focus question based on the novel Bud, Not Buddy...
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Lesson Plan
EngageNY

Researching Part 1: Reading for Gist and Gathering Evidence Using the Research Guide

For Teachers 6th Standards
If only life came with an owner's manual. Pupils assemble with their research teams to discuss which of Steve Jobs' rules to live by most resonates with them. Scholars also read informational texts in pursuit of finding the gist and...
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Lesson Plan
EngageNY

End of Unit Assessment: Final Draft of Hero’s Journey Narrative

For Teachers 6th Standards
All journeys must come to an end. Using the final lesson in the series, pupils analyze a model narrative for use of transitional words and phrases. Next, they apply their learning to their final drafts of their hero's journey narrative. 
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Lesson Plan
EngageNY

Writing: Analyzing the Conclusion of “The Golden Key” and Drafting a Compelling Conclusion for the Hero’s Journey Narrative

For Teachers 6th Standards
There's something different here. Using a note-catcher, scholars determine the differences between the conclusion of a piece of analytical writing and the conclusion of a narrative. Next, they begin drafting their own narrative...
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Lesson Plan
EngageNY

Writing to Show, Not Tell: Dialogue, Sensory Words, and Strong Action Verbs

For Teachers 6th Standards
Consume, gobble, devour ... serving up strong verbs! Writers focus on using dialogue, strong action verbs, and sensory details in their writing. After analyzing a model narrative, they apply their learning to their own hero's journey...
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Lesson Plan
EngageNY

Writing: Getting Feedback, Setting Goals, and Drafting

For Teachers 6th Standards
Why is it important to set goals as a writer? Scholars process feedback from their mid-unit assessments, writing down their strengths and weaknesses on index cards. Next, pupils use the feedback to begin drafting their hero's journey...
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Lesson Plan
EngageNY

Mid-Unit Assessment and Establishing a Context for My Hero’s Journey Narrative

For Teachers 6th Standards
How do writers engage their readers in a story? Pupils consider the question and use the informational text, "The Hero's Journey" to justify their plan for their own fictional narrative. To that end, scholars write an explanatory...
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Lesson Plan
EngageNY

“The Hero’s Journey”: Analyzing a Model Narrative and Continuing to Plan a New Hero’s Journey Narrative

For Teachers 6th Standards
Many elements go into an engaging narrative story. Using a helpful resource, scholars analyze a model narrative and deconstruct it using a graphic organizer. Next, they apply their learning from the model to update their plans for their...
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Lesson Plan
EngageNY

“The Hero’s Journey”: Using a Graphic Organizer to Deconstruct Percy Jackson’s Hero’s Journey and Plan a New Hero’s Journey Narrative

For Teachers 6th Standards
Time to go on a journey! Using a graphic organizer, scholars deconstruct Percy Jackson's hero's journey from the Rick Riordan novel, The Lightning Thief. Next, they begin planning their own hero's journey narrative, creating a profile of...
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Lesson Plan
EngageNY

Expert Groups: Research 2

For Teachers 6th Standards
Continue on. Scholars continue the research they began in their expert groups in lesson six. They read text and task cards from their research folders and share what they have gathered in research thus far. Individuals then spend the...
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Lesson Plan
EngageNY

End of Unit Assessment, Part 2: Final Draft of Literary Analysis

For Teachers 6th Standards
Row, row, row, row four. Classmates take a look at row four in the writing rubric and begin the exercise by identifying any unfamiliar words. Literary scholars then use feedback from their initial drafts and the writing rubric to begin...
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Lesson Plan
EngageNY

Peer Critique and Pronoun Mini-Lesson: Revising Draft Literary Analysis

For Teachers 6th Standards
See what peers really think. Scholars give a peer critique of the their essay drafts from the previous instructional activity. They then participate in a mini instructional activity about pronouns. Pupils write examples of each type of...
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Lesson Plan
EngageNY

Launching the End of Unit Assessment: Drafting Literary Analysis

For Teachers 6th Standards
Is there a connection? Scholars work to write a summary and theme to connect The Lightning Thief and myth of Cronus. They begin by looking at a model essay and then work on their own drafts. 
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Lesson Plan
EngageNY

Building Writing Skills: Receiving Feedback and Varying Sentence Structures

For Teachers 6th Standards
Everyone is good at something. Scholars receive their mid-unit assessments with feedback. They look over their papers and write their strengths as a writer and goals on index cards. The class then has a mini lesson in using sentence...
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Lesson Plan
EngageNY

Determining Theme: Reading Myths in “Expert Groups”

For Teachers 6th Standards
Leave it to the experts. Scholars work in expert groups to analyze new myths. Each group is assigned to become an expert on either The Fates, The Story of Medusa and Athena, or Theseus and the Minotaur. They answer questions and discuss...
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Lesson Plan
EngageNY

End of Unit Assessment, Part 1: Revising Claims and Evidence based on Feedback

For Teachers 7th Standards
What to do with all that feedback? Scholars use colored writing instruments to circle any feedback that relates to the first two rows of the grading rubric. After working on revisions for their papers, learners view the performance task...
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Lesson Plan
EngageNY

Planning for Writing: Introduction and Conclusion of a Literary Analysis

For Teachers 6th Standards
It's all about the introduction. Scholars work on the introductory paragraph for their essays, connecting the theme of a myth and The Lightning Thief. They use a graphic organizer to help focus their work and then move to working on the...
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Lesson Plan
EngageNY

Planning for Writing: Studying Model Writing and Determining a Theme in The Lightning Thief

For Teachers 6th Standards
A theme runs through it. Scholars analyze how a common theme runs through the myths they have read and The Lightning Thief. They complete graphic organizers and view a four paragraph model essay. They analyze the essay for structure and...
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Lesson Plan
EngageNY

Planning for Writing: Revisiting “Key Elements of Mythology” and Determining a Theme in the Myth of Cronus

For Teachers 6th Standards
Refresh my memory please. Scholars quickly read over the Myth of Cronus to refresh their memories of the story. They then get in groups and write parts of the myth on sticky notes that relate to the elements of mythology, sticking their...
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Lesson Plan
EngageNY

Connecting the Theme of the Expert Group Myth to a Theme in The Lightning Thief and to Life Lessons

For Teachers 6th Standards
Expert groups discuss the theme of their myths and the life lessons people learn from it. They then regroup their triads so that there is a pupil from each expert myth group and share details about their myths. The class also talks about...
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Lesson Plan
EngageNY

Mid-Unit 2 Assessment: Writing an Analytical MiniEssay about Mythological Elements and Theme

For Teachers 6th Standards
Two is company. Scholars pair up to continue their mini essay writing from the previous lesson. They work on their introduction and conclusion paragraphs and then trade partners for peer feedback and a fresh set of eyes on their work....