Paper and pixels get compared in this lesson in which students compare both printed and online versions of a magazine.
Magazine Redux: An Exercise in Critical Literacy
Grades
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Critical Reading: Two Stories, Two Authors, Same Plot?
9 - 12
Lesson Plan
| Standard Lesson
Students make predictions about the stories and analyze story elements, compare and contrast the different stories, distinguish between fact and opinion, and draw conclusions supported by evidence from their readings.
Grades
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Everyone Loves a Mystery: A Genre Study
6 - 8
Lesson Plan
| Unit
Students track the elements of mystery stories through Directed Learning-Thinking Activities, story maps, and puzzles. Then they offer clues for other readers as they plan and write original mystery stories.
Grades
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Analyzing the Purpose and Meaning of Political Cartoons
9 - 12
Lesson Plan
| Standard Lesson
It is important for students to know how to evaluate messages conveyed by the news media. Exploration of the artistic techniques used in political cartoons leads to critical questioning.
Grades
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Mind Pictures: Strategies That Enhance Mental Imagery While Reading
6 - 8
Lesson Plan
| Standard Lesson
Students create mental images while reading using a three-pronged approach: developing schemata and visual awareness; Watch-Read-Watch-Read (W-R-W-R), using video clips; and a strategy similar to the think-aloud approach.
Grades
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What Did They Say? Dialect in The Color Purple
9 - 12
Lesson Plan
Y'all set down a spell and learn ‘bout dialects!" In other words, your students will use The Color Purple to explore dialect and how it reveals information about the characters.
Grades
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Identifying and Understanding the Fallacies Used in Advertising
9 - 12
Lesson Plan
| Standard Lesson
Students examine the fallacies that surround them every day, deconstruct fallacious images and messages in advertisements, and demonstrate their understanding of the fallacies through multimedia presentations.
Grades
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Writing Free Verse in the "Voice" of Cesar Chavez
6 - 8
Lesson Plan
| Standard Lesson
Poetry and politics combine in this lesson where students write a free verse poem in the voice of Cesar Chavez.
Grades
|
Word Maps: Developing Critical and Analytical Thinking About Literary Characters
9 - 12
Lesson Plan
| Standard Lesson
Students read "After Twenty Years" by O. Henry, use a word map to identify characters' qualities or traits, discuss the characters' feelings and actions, and reflect upon these in journals.
Grades
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Astronomy Poetry: Combining Poetry With the Content Areas
6 - 8
Lesson Plan
| Unit
Students' responses to this lesson will be out of this world after they've researched astronomy to write poetry and compile a poetry book.
Grades
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Thrills! Chills! Using Scary Stories to Motivate Students to Read
6 - 8
Lesson Plan
| Unit
Students examine story elements through teacher read-alouds and independent reading and then use reader-response journals and graphic organizers to prepare for the creation of their own scary stories.
Grades
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Reciprocal Revision: Making Peer Feedback Meaningful
6 - 8
Lesson Plan
| Standard Lesson
Interpreting art is a subjective process. In this lesson, students write written responses analyzing a work of art and use feedback from their peers to revise or confirm their initial responses.
Grades
|
You Can't Spell the Word Prefix Without a Prefix
6 - 8
Lesson Plan
| Standard Lesson
Students explore the role of prefixes, as well as their origins and meanings, and examine how the understanding of prefixes can improve comprehension, decoding, and spelling.
Grades
|
A Biography Study: Using Role-Play to Explore Authors' Lives
9 - 12
Lesson Plan
| Standard Lesson
Students read biographies and explore websites of selected American authors and then role-play as the authors.
Grades
|
Behind the Masks: Exploring Culture Through Art and Poetry
9 - 12
Lesson Plan
| Unit
Students research mask-making from various cultures, highlight the masks' connections to cultural practices, compose poetry to reveal their understanding, analyze their own culture, and create personal masks and poetry.
Grades
|
A High-Interest Novel Helps Struggling Readers Confront Bullying in Schools
9 - 12
Lesson Plan
| Unit
Students read a work of realistic fiction about bullying and gain understanding through writing, Readers Theatre, and discussion.
Grades
|
Timelines and Texts: Motivating Students to Read Nonfiction
6 - 8
Lesson Plan
| Standard Lesson
In an effort to help motivate students to read nonfiction, students are challenged to use a timeline to help them name the year when certain products were invented.
Grades
|
Internalization of Vocabulary Through the Use of a Word Map
6 - 8
Lesson Plan
| Standard Lesson
Students practice with words and develop both definitional and contextual knowledge through two agents—purposeful sequencing of steps and collaboration with peers.
Grades
|
Press Conference for Bud, Not Buddy
6 - 8
Lesson Plan
| Standard Lesson
Students read Bud, Not Buddy by Christopher Paul Curtis, demonstrate comprehension of the story by involving themselves in discussions, and analyze the characters in preparation for a class "press conference."
Grades
|
Choosing, Chatting, and Collecting: Vocabulary Self-Collection Strategy
6 - 8
Lesson Plan
| Recurring Lesson
Students identify interesting words from Shakespeare's plays and add them to a classroom vocabulary collection.