Learning from past mistakes can help prevent one from repeating those mistakes. The purpose of this lesson is to educate students about the past and prepare them to become concerned and active students. Students study the experience of European Jewish citizens during the Holocaust. Through a reading of a novel set during the Holocaust period, students gain a better understanding of the social injustices and atrocities that occurred. Students then research the experience of the Cherokees during the Trail of Tears and the Japanese Americans during World War II. To compare these three events, students use an online Venn diagram tool. Students write about their reactions to these events in journals and discuss them during class. Critical thinking is encouraged to allow students to come to their own conclusions about these events.

Science fiction has the potential to spark lively discussions while inviting students to extrapolate from their own working knowledge of scientific principles. They first define the science fiction genre and then read and discuss science fiction texts. Next, they conduct research to find science facts that support or dispute the science included in the plot of the science fiction book they read. Students then revisit their definition of the genre and revise based on their reading. Finally, students complete a project that examines the science fiction genre in relation to real-world science concepts and topics.

In this lesson, students compose found and parallel poems based on descriptive literary passages they have read. Students first select a passage and then pick out descriptive words, phrases and lines. They then arrange and format the excerpts to compose their own poems. Students create found poems (poems that are composed from words and phrases found in another text) as well as parallel poems (original poems that use the same line structures as another poem, but focus on a completely different topic.) This process of recasting the text they are reading in a different genre helps students become more insightful readers and develop creativity in thinking and writing. Since students are primarily identifying nouns and verbs for use in their poems, the lesson also provides a relevant opportunity for a grammar review of these two parts of speech.

A short instructional video on the Freedom Writers and how they use writing for personal expression and to fight prejudice.

This resource includes one poem, with an accompanying link to the poem being read aloud, and nine text-dependent questions (including one optional constructed-response prompt for students), and explanatory information for teachers regarding alignment to the CCSS.

Students will continue their research using nonfiction text, videos, and infographics to identifying the contributing factors to the global food crisis. Students will document their findings and effectively communicate to share their information with others. This lesson was developed by Emily Waddington as part of their completion of the North Carolina Global Educator Digital Badge program. This lesson plan has been vetted at the local and state level for standards alignment, Global Education focus, and content accuracy.

In this lesson students complete the first part of their end of unit assessment by writing their planned body paragraphs.

In this lesson students complete their end of unit assessment by revising their literary analysis essays based on teacher feedback.

This lesson runs as a workshop lesson and students work on finalizing their brochures.

This lesson opens with a mini lesson of your choosing that addresses a struggle or challenge you’ve noticed multiple students or pairs having. Following the mini lesson, students are given a solid chunk of time to work with their partners on the final draft of their Ad Analysis.

This lesson opens with a mini lesson on effective layout and design propelled by an entry task.

In this final lesson of the unit and module, students will turn in their final performance task. Students then write book reviews for their independent reading books.

Students sometimes have difficulty recalling important events in their early lives to write about. This lesson works to resolve this challenge by having students brainstorm as a whole class, in order to benefit from collective recall as they define pivotal moments in their lives. Once items have been remembered, students focus on details of these events by choosing graphic symbols for these moments, people, and places, narrowing their lists to eight to ten items, and then ranking and graphing the items so that the overall connections and patterns are revealed. The graphic life map not only gives students specific events to write about but also includes a graphic for each memory that will help bring the events to life.

This activity emphasizes the importance of teaching reading and writing strategies for students to use with informational text.

In this lesson, students research biomes and then utilize iPads to create postcards with the free app PhotoCard by Bill Atkinson. Combining their research notes with corresponding images, students write about their biome in postcards as they “visit” the biome.

In this CCSS lesson, students will explore this story through text dependent questions, academic vocabulary, and writing assignments.

Students will explore the distinction between a hero and an idol. Based on collaboratively established criteria for heroism and characteristics of heroes, students will select, read about, and report on a hero. Students will identify how their hero matches their criteria and characteristics. Hero reports will be compiled into a class book. As a follow-up, the teacher will read aloud and lead a discussion of the poem Heroes We Never Name to emphasize the fact that there are heroes all around us. Students will write about a hero they know and describe this person's noble qualities and deeds.

The hero's journey is an ancient story pattern that can be found in texts from thousands of years ago or in newly released Hollywood blockbusters. This interactive tool will provide students with background on the hero's journey and give them a chance to explore several of the journey's key elements. Students can use the tool to record examples from a hero's journey they have read or viewed or to plan out a hero's journey of their own.

The highwayman is an eighteenth century thief, who promises to return to his love Bess, the landlord’s daughter. In this CCSS lesson, students will explore this story through text dependent questions, academic vocabulary, and writing assignments.