Cluster 4: Range of WritingArchived

This lesson is a physical survey of our school's microhabitat. Students will make quantitative and qualitative observations of the flora and fauna, as well as making notes on the biotic and abiotic elements within the area they are examining. Through the collection and organization of data, students will make assumptions as to the relationships between all components comprising the microhabitat, including limiting factors.

Type: Lesson Plan

In this lesson, students will work with two informational texts in the form of brochures, texts about Burmese pythons and lionfish. With the lionfish brochure, students will identify the text features used, determine the central ideas and key supporting details, and work with selected vocabulary. Students will then be provided with informational text on a different animal and they will put their skills to use to create a brochure of their own. Various graphic organizers and teacher resources have been included as attachments with the lesson plan, including a rubric for the students' brochure. Additional resources have also been provided in the Further Recommendations section to help teachers gather resources for students to use to create their own brochure.

Type: Lesson Plan

This series of lessons/unit is a short research project designed to help students learn more about the experience of foot binding discussed in the short story "Ribbons" by Laurence Yep. Students will research foot binding using provided sources as well as reliable sources they have chosen on their own. Students will use digital media in addition to speaking and listening skills to present their findings to the class. The project assignment, various checklists, and a project/presentation rubric have been provided, as well as several sites that students can use to begin their research.

Type: Lesson Plan

This is the second lesson of a three-part unit that will build towards having the students research child soldiers. In this lesson, students will listen to a song, watch a video, and read a biography from a former child soldier from the Sudan and current international hip-hop star Emmanuel Jal. Students will examine and analyze the information presented in each of the formats by completing two column notes and participating in a whole group discussion.

Type: Lesson Plan

This is the first lesson of a three part unit that will build towards having the students research child soldiers. In this lesson, students will read a series of news articles about Sudanese efforts to disband child soldier units. Students will then write an extended paragraph in response to their analysis of the articles as they compare each author’s perspective regarding the use of child soldiers in civil war.

Type: Lesson Plan

In this lesson, students will conduct a close read of an informational text about the invasion of lionfish in the Gulf of Mexico. Students will work to determine the meaning of selected vocabulary, determine the author's central idea, and analyze how the use of text features and the cause/effect text structure support and develop the author's central idea. Text-dependent questions and a key, an annotation handout, text feature cards for review, and a friendly letter template and writing rubric for the summative assessment have been included with the lesson.

Type: Lesson Plan

This lesson plan is a short research project designed to help students learn more about Kevin’s disease in Freak the Mighty.  Students will research Morquio syndrome using provided sources as well as reliable sources they have chosen on their own. Students will use digital media in addition to speaking and listening skills to present their findings to the class. Throughout the lesson, students will have ample opportunity to develop and refine reading, writing and speaking and listening skills to work towards mastery of the lesson objectives. Checklists and a project/presentation rubric have been provided with the lesson, as well as several sites that students can use to begin their research.  

Type: Lesson Plan

In this close reading lesson, the first in a series of three lessons, students will analyze "The Walrus and the Carpenter" by Lewis Carroll. They will work to determine the meaning of selected vocabulary words from the poem, including coming up with synonyms and antonyms for each word and using each word in a sentence. Students will also analyze the use of various types of figurative language, as well as the use of repetition and rhyme and how this use impacts meaning and tone throughout the poem. Graphic organizers and other student handouts, a vocabulary assessment, short and extended answer questions, a writing rubric, and several suggested answer keys are included with this lesson.

Type: Lesson Plan

Students will examine the concept of internal conflict in Ernest Hemingway's short story, "A Day's Wait." Several activities and worksheets, such as vocabulary mapping, a conflict multi-flow chart, and a self-reflection rating scale, are provided to deepen understanding. The lesson culminates in an analysis essay of the impact of Hemingway's stylistic use of first-person point of view to add suspense to a story.

Type: Lesson Plan

This lesson guides students as they analyze character development in the literature they have read, and then develop a Facebook page based on one of the characters.

Type: Lesson Plan

In this lesson, students will create a research question based on The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin. Students will develop a research question about how a characteristic or event in the life of young Ben Franklin influenced an accomplishment of an older, mature Ben Franklin. Students will research the life of Ben Franklin to answer their questions and present their findings in a short oral presentation.

Type: Lesson Plan

In this lesson by Deborah Kozdras, Ph.D. and James L. Welsh, provided by ReadWriteThink.org, a website developed by the International Reading Association, the National Council of Teachers of English, with support from the Verizon Foundation, students will use the Internet to research unique engineering careers. Students will then create poems incorporating career-specific vocabulary terms and present their findings to the class.

Type: Lesson Plan

In this lesson, students will read the autobiographical story "A Christmas Memory" by Truman Capote and view a teacher-approved film version of the same story to compare the themes of “nostalgia fosters self-reflection,” and “the love between two friends cannot be easily forgotten.” Students will then write an extended paragraph comparing how the two themes interact within each of the modes.

Type: Lesson Plan

The setting of the novel The Wednesday Wars occurs during a significant period of American history. As an introduction to this novel, students will research the Vietnam War using provided sources as well as reliable sources they have chosen on their own. Students will use digital media in addition to speaking and listening skills to present their findings to the class. Links to selected introductory videos about the Vietnam War, student checklists, a presentation/project rubric, and a digital project sample have been provided with the lesson, as well as several sites that students can use to begin their research.

Type: Lesson Plan

Students view photographs of migrant families during the Great Depression, try to interpret the photos to answer questions about the subject's life, and then write a cinquain poem based on their interpretations.

Type: Teaching Idea

This activity aids students' reading comprehension and is an investigation of meaning in any short story through peer collaboration. Students work independently to choose quotations that exemplify significant events of the text, come to a consensus about the quotations' significance in collaborative groups, and then formulate analytical quiz questions for peers to answer. A final reflection writing ties all parts of the activity together at the end.

Type: Teaching Idea

In this hands-on activity, students explore the skill of summarizing through peer writings as they travel the classroom a la musical chairs.

Type: Teaching Idea