In this lesson, students will modify a written work they have already begun by examining strategies for writing effective conclusion paragraphs. Students will work with peers to choose the best conclusion out of several that they write. They will also reflect on the process of creating their conclusions.

Allegories are similar to metaphors: in both the author uses one subject to represent another, seemingly unrelated, subject. However, unlike metaphors, which are generally short and contained within a few lines, an allegory extends its representation over the course of an entire story, novel, or poem. This lesson plan will introduce students to the concept of allegory by using George Orwell’s widely read novella, Animal Farm, which is available on Project Gutenberg.

In this lesson, students use peer evaluations as a means to strengthen an argumentative essay. Students will revise the essay and prepare a final submission.

Students become novice lexicographers as they explore recent new entries to the Oxford English Dictionary (OED), learn the process of writing entries for the OED, and write a new entry themselves. Students will follow up their entry with a persuasive essay and a competition in which the strongest contender for the title of New Word is chosen. Extensions will offer students a chance to evaluate old lists of "new words" and discuss the power dynamics of dictionaries.

In this lesson students select and then research an issue that concerns them, using internet and print sources. Next, students review the concepts of purpose and audience. Then they argue a position on their selected issue in letters to two different audiences. Students work with peer groups as they use an online tool to draft and revise their letters.

Like many 19th century photographers, Mark Twain struggled with how best to portray fictionalized characters while creating social commentary. In this lesson, students will compare and contrast Twain's novel and excerpts from Frederick Douglass' narrative to original photos of 19th century slaves. After writing journal entries about Huck Finn's Jim and Frederick Douglass, students write an essay evaluating the reliable depiction of slavery.

In this lesson students look critically at the story, "The Pit and the Pendulum" by Edgar Allen Poe. They use prediction strategies to form and refine thier opinions about the story line progression in each work. They read the story, screen the film, discuss reactions to both works, and plan and write a persuasive essay analyzing the validity of the film interpretation.

Students participate in activities in which they learn about redistricting, types of legislative committees, types of legislation, and the process by which a bill becomes a law in Congress. Students will apply their knowledge by participating in a legislative simulation in which the House Judiciary Committee determines whether to report a proposed bill regarding punishment for drunk driving as favorable on the floor.

In this lesson, students will review one another's papers in order to give constructive feedback about the argumentative elements of their papers.

Students prepare for this lesson by reading Poe's "Fall of the House of Usher" (or another short story). After a minilesson on the difference between freewriting and rehashing the plot, students freewrite a response to the story to generate an original framework for a literary analysis essay. Students discuss what makes a solid thesis and then develop a thesis idea from their body of freewriting. This central idea serves as an organizational principle for creating an outline for an original literary analysis essay.

Students will play the role of White House advisers, exploring policy options and recommending the best strategy for preventing war in East Asia.

In this lesson, students will focus on refining their papers to reflect a formal and objective tone.

Suggestions on how to guide students through the writing process when writing editorials "” from brainstorming a topic to publishing their work "” and all the steps in between.

This activity engages students in an analysis of the 2008 speech by Barack Obama on race. Students will then create an annotated version of the speech that has them analyze and comment upon Obama's use of history, rhetoric, and language in his message. Students can also create a hypertext of this assignment in order to publish works in different media.

The focus of this lesson is on the use of hieroglyphs as a form of communication, record keeping, and as a means for preserving and passing down history. Students will learn basic information about the alphabet, common Egyptian words, and how to read hieroglyphic messages. Students will also practice using hieroglyphs to create messages of their own.

This is a simple print (pdf) or digital handout that you can give to students who are working on a research project to help them with formatting, in-text citation, and expectations. It is not designed to be a stand-alone lesson. For best results, always involve your SLMC in your research project planning. 

In this lesson, students will work in partners to determine the effectiveness of their formal style, conventions, and tone.

This activity asks students to examine and evaluate how the structure of a work can impact meaning and audience experience. Students are tasked with examining text structure, plotting events for a visual representation of the "highs and lows" of the story, and composing a formal paragraph explaining their findings/analysis. It is divided into 3 sections, which can be spread out and completed individually or it can be a single assignment. It should take students about 120 minutes to complete all parts.

This lesson focuses on the concept of the afterlife and the importance of pleasing the gods and goddesses, the significance of tombs and tomb building, and the burial customs and traditions of the ancient Egyptians. After learning about all of these concepts, students will design a tomb, create a model of it, and complete a short written assignment explaining the design and contents of the tomb.

This resource provides a lesson designed to assist learners with successfully writing an argumentative essay. Students will view a presentation, review basic, essay elements and attempt to defend, challenge or qualify claims of their stance regarding passion over reason.