The traditional autobiography writing project is given a twist as students write alphabiographies - recording an event, person, object, or feeling associated with each letter of the alphabet.
Vocabulary Assignment concerning McCarthyism in the 1950's for US History.
This lesson extends over several class periods. Students analyze the claim, grounds, warrants, qualifiers and counterclaims in three articles about the American Dream. Students conduct research and find two additional articles about the American Dream. Students then analyze the argument in those articles. Finally, students write their own argument essay about the current state of the American Dream.
Groups of students read and discuss American folklore stories, each group reading a different story. Using a jigsaw strategy, the groups compare character traits and main plot points of the stories. A diverse selection of American folk tales is used for this lesson, which is adaptable to any text set.
American Literature I (1650–1860) examines significant literary works of early American and Puritan literature, the Enlightenment, American Romanticism, and pre-Civil War era. The course includes primary texts (many accompanied by video/audio options), historical background, literary criticism and interpretation, and instruction on writing about literature.
In this unit students continue the exploration of factors that influence change by examining the events that led up to the American Revolution. Over the course of the unit, students will build a deeper understanding of the significant ideas and values at the heart of the American Revolution, what drove the colonists to seek independence, and how conflict between England and the colonists ultimately influenced change in our country. Students will see the American Revolution from multiple perspectives, starting with analyzing the difference in perspectives between the British and the colonists and how each side’s actions often instigated each other. Students will also explore how class structure influenced colonists perspectives. Later in the unit, students will think about the perspectives of black people, women and Native Americans who were forced to choose a side and why they may have had a different point of view of the events of the revolution.
An important part of this unit is pushing students to focus on seeing history from multiple different perspectives. The core text Liberty! How the Revolutionary War Began offers one perspective on events, however, the prespective is limited to that held by white elite colonists. Therefore, students also read excerpts from A Young People's History of the United States in order to build a deeper understanding of all sides of the Revolution.
This lesson explores the authors' craft and structure through and event that directly affects students.
This lesson explores authors craft and structure through and event that directly effects students. Students will understand that writers use structure to create meaning in a text and will do this by reading a recent New York Times article and evaluating the craft of the author’s argument. Students will understand that comparing our experiences to others can help us gain our own insights.
In this lesson, students begin to focus on the character reactions to events/situations in Esperanza Rising. They begin by considering individual reactions and, as the unit progresses, they will begin to compare character reactions in writing. In this lesson, the event they consider is moving into the cabin in the camp. (RL.5.1, RL.5.3).
At the end of the lesson, students listen to a read-aloud of new pages of A Life Like Mine and make connections between that text and Esperanza in Esperanza Rising. The purpose of this text in this lesson is to help students understand children's rights in regards to work.
Students practice their fluency in this lesson by following along and reading silently in their heads as the teacher reads pages 74-77 of A Life Like Mine aloud during Closing and Assessment A.
The research reading that students complete for homework will help build both their vocabulary and knowledge pertaining to human rights. By participating in this volume of reading over a span of time, students will develop a wide base of knowledge about the world and the words that help describe and make sense of it.
In this lesson, students read the next chapter of Esperanza Rising, "Las Ciruelas," and analyze how the chapter fits into the overall structure of the text (RL.5.1, RL.5.5). They then make connections between this chapter and the UDHR, looking for evidence of threats to human rights, before analyzing character reactions to the situation of Mama being ill (RL.5.1, RL.5.3).
Although the lesson is written for "Las Ciruelas" to be a teacher read-aloud, this can be organized in different ways to meet the needs of your students. For example, students could read this in pairs or triads, taking turns to read, with a teacher-led smaller group of students who need additional support.
Many of the articles of the UDHR could be applied to each chapter. Students may make other suggestions than those recorded on How Were the Human Rights of the Characters in Esperanza Rising Threatened? anchor chart (example, for teacher reference).
In this lesson, the habit of character focus is on working to become an ethical person. The characteristic that students practice is respect as volunteers share out personal reflections on what happened in Esperanza Rising.
Students practice their fluency in this lesson by following along and reading silently in their heads as the teacher reads aloud "Las Ciruelas" during Opening A.
The research reading that students complete for homework will help build both their vocabulary and knowledge pertaining to human rights. By participating in this volume of reading over a span of time, students will develop a wide base of knowledge about the world and the words that help describe and make sense of it.
In this lesson, students read the next chapter of Esperanza Rising, "Los Duraznos," and they analyze how the chapter fits into the overall structure (RL.5.1, RL.5.5). They then make connections between this chapter and the UDHR, looking for evidence of threats to human rights, before analyzing character reactions to the event of the strike (RL.5.1, RL.5.3).
Although the lesson is written for "Los Duraznos" to be a teacher read-aloud, this can be organized in different ways to meet the needs of your students. For example, students could read this in pairs or triads, taking turns to read, with a teacher-led smaller group of students who need additional support.
Many of the articles of the UDHR could be applied to each chapter. Students may make other suggestions than those recorded on the How Were the Human Rights of the Characters in Esperanza Rising threatened? anchor chart (example, for teacher reference).
In this lesson, the habit of character focus is on working to become an ethical person. The characteristic that students practice is respect as volunteers share out personal reflections on what happened in Esperanza Rising.
Students practice their fluency in this lesson by following along and reading silently in their heads as the teacher reads aloud "Los Duraznos" during Opening B.
The research reading that students complete for homework will help build both their vocabulary and knowledge pertaining to human rights. By participating in this volume of reading over a span of time, students will develop a wide base of knowledge about the world and the words that help describe and make sense of it.
In this lesson, students read the next chapter of Esperanza Rising, "Los Esparragos," and they analyze how the chapter fits into the overall structure (RL.5.1, RL.5.5). They then make connections between this chapter and the UDHR, looking for evidence of threats to human rights, before analyzing character reactions to the event of the strike (RL.5.1, RL.5.3).
Although the lesson is written for "Los Esparragos" to be a teacher read-aloud, this can be organized in different ways to meet the needs of your students. For example, students could read this in pairs or triads, taking turns to read, with a teacher-led smaller group of students who need additional support.
Many of the articles of the UDHR could be applied to each chapter. Students may make other suggestions than those recorded on How Were the Human Rights of the Characters in Esperanza Rising Threatened? anchor chart (example, for teacher reference).
In this lesson, the habit of character focus is on working to become an ethical person. The characteristic that students practice is respect as volunteers share out personal reflections on what happened in Esperanza Rising.
Students practice their fluency in this lesson by following along and reading silently in their heads as the teacher reads aloud "Los Esparragos" during Opening B.
The research reading that students complete for homework will help build both their vocabulary and knowledge pertaining to human rights. By participating in this volume of reading over a span of time, students will develop a wide base of knowledge about the world and the words that help describe and make sense of it.
By analyzing Dear AbbyŐs ŇrantÓ about bad grammar usage, students become aware that attitudes about race, social class, moral and ethical character, and ŇproperÓ language use are intertwined.
Images can be a useful component in any subject. This lesson will guide students through an analysis of an image. Students will use critical thinksing skills to interpret an image. Students will then generate a hypothesis about the source and construct questions for further investigation.
Students use the Informational Text Analysis Tool to deconstruct the essential elements of informational text.
Learning Outcomes:
1) Students will be able to analyze informational text of increasing complexity to determine the central idea.
2) Students will be able to find and to cite evidence to support the central idea or claim.
3) Students will be able to ask questions of the text and discuss these questions with their peers.
4) Students will be metacognitive about their gaps in understanding a text's vocabulary and language.
5) Students will be able to determine a text's intended audience and purpose.
In this lesson students use the Informational Text Analysis Tool to deconstruct the essential elements of informational text. Informational text is more important to teachers than ever before, especially with the rise of the new Core standards. The Library of Congress is an excellent resource for finding and using texts to build students' reading skills.Through a diverse array of classic and contemporary literature as well as challenging informational and primary source texts, students build knowledge, gain insights, explore possibilities, and broaden their perspective.
Students begin this lesson with a mini lesson on writing a summary in which they revise the summaries written on exit tickets in the previous lesson (RL.4.2).
In this lesson, students continue reading Love That Dog to analyze what happened in those pages and how Jack felt about it (RL.4.1, RL.4.3). Students then read "The Tiger" by William Blake to identify characteristics of poetry (RL.4.5).
Note that in this lesson, students do not determine the theme of "The Tiger" as only one stanza is read. Without seeing the rest of the poem, students would find it very difficult to determine the theme.
At the end of this lesson, students compare poetry to prose using the characteristics of poetry (RL.4.5).
Writing instruction has been carefully designed across the module. In this unit, the focus is on writing a paragraph summarizing a poem. Then, in unit two, the focus shifts to writing a full essay--an introduction paragraph, two proof paragraphs, and a conclusion paragraph. These basic structures are introduced to students in this module and built upon throughout the school year.
This lesson is the final in a series of three that include built-out instruction for the use of Goal 1 Conversation Cues to promote productive and equitable conversation (adapted from Michaels, Sarah and O'Connor, Cathy. Talk Science Primer. Cambridge, MA: TERC, 2012. Based on Chapin, S., O'Connor, C., and Anderson, N. [2009]. Classroom Discussions: Using Math Talk to Help Students Learn, Grades K-6. Second Edition. Sausalito, CA: Math Solutions Publications). As the modules progress, Goal 2, 3, and 4 Conversation Cues will be gradually introduced. Goal 1 Conversation Cues encourage all students to talk and be understood. Consider providing students with a thinking journal or scrap paper.
Students practice their fluency in this lesson by following along and reading silently in their heads as the teacher reads Love That Dog aloud during Work Times B and C.
The research reading that students complete for homework will help build both their vocabulary and knowledge pertaining to poetry and creative writing. By participating in this volume of reading over a span of time, students will develop a wide base of knowledge about the world and the words that help describe and make sense of it.
Students individually consider a visual text and draw conclusions based on what they see. They write about their conclusions and explain the evidence used to make that determination. Students will be able to analyze a visual text. Students will be able to develop and support a claim about the visual text based on evidence found in the text.
In this lesson Students individually consider a visual text and draw conclusions based on what they see. They write about their conclusions and explain the evidence used to make that determination. Students will be able to analyze a visual text. Students will be able to develop and support a claim about the visual text based on evidence found in the text.
Students analyze images of Oscar Wilde used to publicize his 1882 American lecture tour. They then compare a caricature to another researched image, sharing this analysis in a podcast.