Write opinions about a topic or text, include reasons supported by details from one or more sources, use transitions, and provide a conclusion.
| Name |
Description |
| Cleanup Clash: Deciding the Best Spot | In this lesson, students will engage in civil discourse to evaluate the best location for a community cleanup. Students will read and discuss the Case Study: Community Cleanup Committee to gather relevant information and then support their claims with evidence. |
| Can We Work as a Team? |
Using the case study, “Teamwork Makes Our Dreams Work”, students will have a class discussion about what it means to work as a team. Students will be generating solutions to the problems presented, then determining the pros and cons for one of the solutions. Students will end the lesson by justifying their reasoning for a solution to the problem and refelcting on how teamwork relates to their own lives.
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| Vote: Lesson 5 Political Debates | This is lesson #5 in the text unit series for Vote! This lesson is based on pages 20-23 which talks about political debates. The teacher will give explicit instruction about the definition of a debate. At the end of the lesson, students will have a debate in which they will choose one of the campaign proposals from the previous lesson, do a short research, structure their argument and debate if this is an idea they would vote for or not.
This unit will explain voting in the United States. Unit lessons include duties of responsible citizens for voting, the voting process, responsibilities of candidates, and voting outcomes. The teacher will utilize a read aloud over several lessons incorporating text structure, text features, figurative language, and the use of multimedia in presentations. Teachers will facilitate research to help students create a presentation.
This resource uses a book that is on the Florida Department of Education's reading list. This book is not provided with this resource. |
| Part 2: Symbols That Represent Florida | This lesson will allow the students to recognize the symbols, people, and documents that represent Florida while analyzing primary and secondary sources. The students will explain how people perceive Florida based on the lyrics of the Swanee River, the Florida state song, and participate in turn-and-talk discussions about the meaning of the song. The students will conclude the lesson by writing an opinion paragraph about what symbol best represents Florida. |
| Abraham Lincoln: Life of Honesty: Was Abraham Lincoln an Effective U.S. President? | This is lesson #4 in the text unit series for Abraham Lincoln: A Life of Honesty by Tonya Leslie. Students will write an opinion paragraph about whether or not they think Abraham Lincoln was an effective U.S. President.
This unit will help students explain why the United States Constitution is an important document that protects the rights of American citizens, the responsibilities of the United States government, and how Abraham Lincoln is an important symbol of the United States Government.
Students will engage in a read aloud spread out over several lessons emphasizing vocabulary, central idea, research, expository and opinion writing, and collaboration in groups.
The teacher will facilitate vocabulary instruction, student research, determination of central ideas, student presentation, expository and opinion writing, and group collaboration to help students demonstrate why the United States Constitution is an important document.
This resource uses a book that is on the Florida Department of Education's reading list. This book is not provided with this resource. |
| Father of the Constitution: A Story about James Madison: Opinion Pocket Cards and Debate | This is lesson #5 in the text unit series for Father of the Constitution, A Story about James Madison by Barbara Mitchell. The students will review how James Madison researched the governments of strong nations across history. The students will review the issues that states were having and discuss issues in their school. Students will develop pocket notes about their opinions of how the school needs to change to improve its governing system. Students will include their opinion, reasons for their opinion, and whether the change should be controlled at the school or classroom level. They will look at the rights of the students, how the school is organized, and the security, and services the school provides for students. The students will orally present their opinions to the class and allow for debate using oral presentation skills.
This unit of study is about the Father of the Constitution, James Madison. Through this unit, students will follow the life of James Madison, creating a timeline of events that led to the creation of the U.S. Constitution and the democratic government system still in use today. Students will research, develop an argumentative debate, and vote, as they read the text. Students will realize that his process prepared Madison for the writing of the U.S. Constitution. Students will engage in the expository writing process to construct a Classroom Constitution that aligns with the school’s vision and mission statements.
This resource uses a book that is on the Florida Department of Education's reading list. This book is not provided with this resource. |
| "We Live Here Too!: Kids Talk About Good Citizenship": Civil Perspective Social Media Post | Students will read and discuss We Live Here Too!: Kids Talk About Good Citizenship by Nancy Loewen to explore the aspects of good citizenship and how it plays into their daily lives. After, students will determine the perspective of a character and design a social media post to spotlight their civility in this integrated lesson plan.
This resource uses a book that is on the Florida Department of Education's reading list. This book is not provided with this resource.
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| Close Reading: Determining the Theme | In this close reading lesson, students will read Tops & Bottoms, adapted by Janet Stevens, focusing on the lessons that the characters learn as a result of their actions throughout the text. |
| Can Phineas L. MacGuire Achieve His Goal? | This lesson is to be used with chapter 1 of Phineas L. MacGuire Gets Slimed by Frances O'Roark Dowell. It includes comprehension questions, a writing prompt, and a rubric. Students will answer comprehension questions and write a response based on a prompt that asks the students for their opinion and requires students to support their opinion with evidence from the chapter. |
| Charlotte's Web: Chapter 1 | In this reading lesson, students will determine the meaning of vocabulary words and explain the development of the main character, Fern, using Chapter 1 of E.B. White's Charlotte's Web. Students will respond to the text by writing an opinion paragraph. |
| Roaring for Figurative Language | In this lesson, students will analyze song lyrics to determine the meanings of figurative language used throughout the lyrics. Students will determine the theme of the song and explain how the examples of figurative language help develop the theme. They will complete various graphic organizers and write an opinion piece to demonstrate their understanding of the skills. |
| Rift Raft Floating | In this pool of floating rafts, students will divide to find the cost of each flotation device. They must then determine which raft is the best for public use based on cost, warranty, and assembly. Students will submit a letter to the client explaining their procedure for ranking the flotation devices.
Model Eliciting Activities, MEAs, are open-ended, interdisciplinary problem-solving activities that are meant to reveal students’ thinking about the concepts embedded in realistic situations. Click here to learn more about MEAs and how they can transform your classroom. |
| Choose the Best Basketball Coach | This MEA asks students to work as a team to figure out which candidate is the best possible choice for the 8th grade boys' basketball coach. They will have to analyze data, decide on a procedure, and create a ranking system to choose the best candidate. They are also given multiplication and division problems based on the data.
Model Eliciting Activities, MEAs, are open-ended, interdisciplinary problem-solving activities that are meant to reveal students’ thinking about the concepts embedded in realistic situations. Click here to learn more about MEAs and how they can transform your classroom. |
| Science Space Camp | This MEA asks the students to compare information provided on various Science Space Camps to be attended by a student during the summer. They will take into account past attendees' reviews of the camps which should create interesting student discussions. They will use knowledge of operations to determine the difference in camp costs.
Model Eliciting Activities, MEAs, are open-ended, interdisciplinary problem-solving activities that are meant to reveal students’ thinking about the concepts embedded in realistic situations. Click here to learn more about MEAs and how they can transform your classroom. |
| Tricky Rice Math Patterns MEA | This is a 3rd grade MEA that requires students to use mathematical patterns to solve the problem, along with the analysis of data. After reading One Grain of Rice by Demi, students will look for ways to help Rani's relative find a new pattern so she can secure a large supply of rice to feed the people of her province in India. The twist is likely to cause controversy, so prepare for some strong debates.
Model Eliciting Activities, MEAs, are open-ended, interdisciplinary problem-solving activities that are meant to reveal students’ thinking about the concepts embedded in realistic situations. Click here to learn more about MEAs and how they can transform your classroom. |
| Time to Play! | This is a 3rd grade MEA that asks the students to determine elapsed time to find the ideal day for another student to stay in and do chores.
Model Eliciting Activities, MEAs, are open-ended, interdisciplinary problem-solving activities that are meant to reveal students’ thinking about the concepts embedded in realistic situations. Click here to learn more about MEAs and how they can transform your classroom. |
| Group Singing Lessons | Students will decide which performing arts facility their principal should recommend for group chorus singing lessons. They will apply multiplication, division, and time skills for telling time to the nearest minute and time intervals. Students will work collaboratively as a group to analyze this Model Eliciting Activity (MEA), and engage in collaborative discussion that involves higher level critical thinking. They will write letters on which performing arts facility is the best choice.
Model Eliciting Activities, MEAs, are open-ended, interdisciplinary problem-solving activities that are meant to reveal students’ thinking about the concepts embedded in realistic situations. Click here to learn more about MEAs and how they can transform your classroom. |
| How to Find a Princess: A Study of The Real Princess by Hans Christian Anderson | This short text, "The Real Princess," originally told by Hans Christian Anderson, will require students to think deeply, make inferences based on text evidence and learn several new vocabulary words. Students will discuss the components of a fairy tale, play a vocabulary game, and compose an opinion piece of writing about the theme of the story. |
| This is What I Think! Using Opinion Writing to Respond to the Text My Secret Bully by Trudy Ludwig | For this lesson, students will read an excerpt from the text My Secret Bully by Trudy Ludwig. In response to a character's actions in the story, students will work to produce an opinion writing piece using character perspectives as text evidence to support their opinion. This is the second in a series of three lessons using the text My Secret Bully. |
