This LO identifies the basic components of an MLA formatted paper and familiarizes students with with MLA terminology.
This LO provides a review of the basic MLA guidelines.
A basic guide to the most common uses of MLA style, including color-coded example citations.
This LO provides 20 questions for students to test their overall knowledge and prowess of MLA 8 format.
This LO explains the differences between quoting, paraphrasing, and summarizing. It restates the importance of citing sources and provides opportunities for student to practice.
This LO discusses the main differences between MLA 7 and MLA 8, which came out in April 2016.
This LO provides background information about why it’s important to cite sources in academic writing.
This LO demonstrates how to follow MLA guidelines and set up a paper in Microsoft Word 2016.
This LO explains how MLA 8 treats citations. It defines a “container” and explains how they are used.
This LO introduces changes to works cited in MLA 8 and examines the connection between the works cited page and in-text citations.
This LO provides a review of the basic rules that need to be followed to create a works cited page for a variety of sources.
This LO demonstrates how to follow MLA guidelines to set up a works cited page.
This blog post outlines a unique approach to narrative writing that can be used with writers of all ages. The author outlines the approach and provides examples from her work with middle school students. The post links to a detailed lesson plan for idea generation, as well as narrative accounts of several other mini-lessons that could be incorporated into the unit, depending on the needs of the students.
This kit explores how people in the United States have perceived social justice movements over the past 180 years and how the U.S. media have constructed that public perception.
In this unit students study the California migrant farm workers’ fight for justice. Lead by Cesar Chavez and Dolores Huerta, this time period is often referred to as the start of the Latino civil rights movement. Over the course of the unit students will explore what life was like for migrant farm workers in the 1960s and the barriers that prevented them from obtaining better wages and equitable working conditions. Students will then learn about how the farm workers were able to band together under the leadership of Larry Itliong, Cesar Chavez, and Dolores Huerta to launch a multi-year movement focused on using nonviolent tactics as a way of making meaningful, long-lasting change. In particular, students will analyze how different types of nonviolent protests (boycotts, pickets, marches, strikes, and fasting) helped educate the public and influence change. Understanding the history of migrant farm workers and their struggle for justice is important for helping students understand the world around them. It is important to note that this unit is based in history. Many of the ideas and concepts in this unit are connected to current events; however, the focus of the unit is on this period in history.
In reading, this unit helps students continue to build their informational reading skills. Over the course of the unit students will be pushed to think about the connection between two or more historical events and people. Unlike previous units, this unit contains a variety of primary sources and videos that require students to use different reading and speaking and listening strategies in order to synthesize and summarize key ideas.
Week 19, Day 5 - Week 20, Day 5
Narrative Survival Story Unit
During the first week of school, we wrote a specific type of narrative called a personal narrative. It was called a personal narrative because you had experienced something yourself. It was personal or familiar to you. The last type of narrative we wrote was a mystery.
This week you will write a different type of narrative called a fictional narrative.
Week 6, Day 3- Week 7, Day 5
Narrative Writing Unit: Mystery
Book: Steal Away Home
The author, Lois Ruby, created two different plots from two different time periods. Each storyline had its own set of characters and events. In the present-day plot, the family has discovered a set of bones and is desperate to solve the mystery of how they came to be.
A mystery is a type of narrative writing. For the next several days, you are going to write a narrative mystery piece based loosely on the book, but your story will need to be different from Lois Ruby’s story.
Illustrations: Graphic Organizer, Chart: Grade 4 Narrative Checklist Sample
Students will work near a partner to plan their mystery. Students should refer to the checklist to help them as they plan.
Ways to Establish the Situation in a Narrative
-Direct statement
-Dialogue
-Question
-Description of snapshot in time
-Connect to the audience
Students will work independently to finish their graphic organizer and then work on their introduction.
Ways to build tension to make your mystery more suspenseful.
-Character comes close to solving
-Character gets into trouble
-Character has a weakness
-More mysterious items/strange clues
Students need to finish their introduction today and then begin working on the middle of their mystery.
Sharing
Week 10, Day 1---Week 11, Day 5
Narrative Writing Unit 1
Learning to Write Narratives
Chart: Narrative Checklist Sample
Post Texts 12–14 around the room and give each pair 3 copies of the narrative checklist. Partners read three passages and use the narrative checklist to determine which narrative is better.
Pair up pairs and have each group of 4 share which piece they believed was the strongest and why. Stress that students should use the checklist in their explanation.
Narrative Graphic Organizer
Students will work in groups of four to add at least two more events and the related details to the graphic organizer. Each group will use one copy of the graphic organizer.
Create anchor chart: Ways to Introduce the Topic in a Narrative:
Direct statement
Question
Description of snapshot in time
Fact or detail
WEEK 1, DAY 1
Initial Assessment of Students’ Independent Writing
WEEK 1, DAY 2
Learning About Personal Narratives
WEEK 1, DAY 3
Learning to Evaluate Narratives
WEEK 1, DAY 4
Learning to Write Narratives
WEEK 1, DAY 5
Learning to Write Narratives
Week 20, Day 1---Day 5
Narrative Writing Unit
"This week we will be writing personal narratives using Judy Moody Saves the World to help us get ideas. Think about the narrative checklist to guide your discussion."
Narrative Checklist Sample
Narrative Graphic Organizer
Ways to establish the situation in a Narrative
Direct statement
Question
Description of snapshot in time
Words and phrases
Dialogue