Students analyze rhetorical strategies in online editorials, building knowledge of strategies and awareness of local and national issues. This lesson teaches students connections between subject, writer, and audience and how rhetorical strategies are used in everyday writing.
Developing Citizenship Through Rhetorical Analysis
Reading Shakespeare's The Tempest through a Postcolonial Lens
Students take a postcolonial perspective on the portrayal of Caliban from Shakespeare's The Tempest by comparing it to a modern adaptation of the play.
Vocabulary Solutions: A Mixture of Science, Conversation, and Writing
In this lesson, students conduct a science experiment and later discuss the events of the lab during shared writing. Students explain the procedure in their own words and then revise to include content specific vocabulary. Finally, students reflect on new words added to their writing using the Trading Card Creator interactive.
Using Collaborative Reasoning to Support Critical Thinking
Students will participate in Collaborative Reasoning in small groups to discuss and think critically about issues of social justice and diversity by reading current events informational articles.
"Roused by the Change of Scene": Analyzing a Film Adaptation of Jane Eyre
As part of their study of Charlotte Brontë's Jane Eyre, students read selected sections of the novel closely and compare their representation in the text to representations in the 2007 Masterpiece adaptation of Jane Eyre. They use the concepts of time/pacing, character, and theme to focus their analysis and to plan an adaptation of a scene of their choice.
And in Conclusion: Inquiring into Strategies for Writing Effective Conclusions
While drafting a literary analysis essay (or another type of argument) of their own, students work in pairs to investigate advice for writing conclusions and to analyze conclusions of sample essays. They then draft two conclusions for their essay, select one, and reflect on what they have learned through the process.
Style-Shifting: Examining and Using Formal and Informal Language Styles
Students observe how language features vary when shifting from an informal to a formal style or vice versa. By engaging in style shifting in both speech and writing, students become aware of how we all change language styles depending on the contexts in which we are speaking or writing.
Analyzing First-Person Narration in Sharon Draper's Out of My Mind
Students explore the different facets of complexity in the compelling first-person narrator in Sharon Draper's Out of My Mind.
Sharing Information about Careers with Infographics
Students research careers of their own choosing. Then using Piktochart, students create their own infographics to illustrate their research.
"Three Stones Back": Using Informational Text to Enhance Understanding of Ball Don't Lie
Students engage in a close reading of a passage from Matt de la Pena's novel Ball Don't Lie before researching important background information to assess the accuracy of the claims made by a character.
Exploring Perspectives on Desegregation Using Brown Girl Dreaming
Students read and discuss a selection of poems from Jacqueline Woodson's Brown Girl Dreaming to explore varying views on the process of desegregation in America.
Getting Graphic with Alternative Energy Sources
After researching alternative sources of energy, students create online comic books to present their information.
A Blast from the Past with Nuclear Chemistry
After researching the history and basic facts of a nuclear chemistry topic, students utilize the Web 2.0 tool Timetoast to create an electronic timeline that they use to present their research to the class.
Fashion Fun with Fossil Fuels
After researching specific fossil fuel issues, students create their own clothing brands that express their opinions about the issues and then share their information and clothing line using either PowerPoint or Prezi.
Investigating Animals: Using Nonfiction for Inquiry-based Research
Inspired by their curiosity about animals, students work together to research an animal of their choice and present the information they gather to an authentic audience.
Proverbs: At Home and around the World
In this lesson, students work with proverbs from home and from around the world, exploring how these maxims are tied to a culture's values and everyday experience.
Adventures in Nonfiction: A Guided Inquiry Journey
Students are guided through an informal exploration of nonfiction texts and child-oriented Websites, learning browsing and skimming techniques for the purpose of gathering interesting information.
Charlotte is Wise, Patient, and Caring: Adjectives and Character Traits
Students find examples of adjectives in a shared reading. Then students "become" major characters in a book and describe themselves and other characters, using powerful adjectives.
Action Is Character: Exploring Character Traits with Adjectives
Students must "become" a character in a novel in order to describe themselves and other characters using powerful adjectives.
What Am I? Teaching Poetry through Riddles
Students explore figurative language in poetry by reading and writing riddle poems.