In this lesson, students will analyze Orwell’s carefully chosen words, details, repetitions, and characterizations in these first few pages, students can construct a strong understanding of some of the key features of this society that will give them a solid framework for comprehending the rest of the novel.
In this CCSS lesson, students will explore this story through text dependent questions, academic vocabulary, and writing assignments.
This resource accompanies our Rethink 8th Grade ELA course. It includes ideas for use, ways to support exceptional children, ways to extend learning, digital resources and tools, tips for supporting English Language Learners and students with visual and hearing impairments. There are also ideas for offline learning.
This parent guide supports parents in helping their child at home with the 8th grade ELA content.
Students will read a text and then they will demonstrate their new vocabulary knowledge through appropriate use of the words in context and with accompanying illustrations. They will create of an ABC book through individual and small-group activities. Students will take an active role in their learning by identifying the content area vocabulary they want to research. This lesson can be implemented in any content classroom.
Students will research the life of an African American poet using print and online resources. Afterwards, students present their findings by writing a research paper and creating a PowerPoint presentation.
This video clip is meant to serve as a writing or discussion prompt during a unit on forces and motion. This can be used at varied grade levels, with the expectation that student responses would be more complex in higher grade levels.
In this activity, students will work in collaborative groups to create 9M x 9M models of plant and animal cells. Class population can be split into 2 or 4 groups, with half the students constructing animal cells and the other half constructing plant cells. Students must organize and assign duties, provide materials for this activity, and write a written report. They will also give "Cell Tours" to other students and/or classroom guests.
Students will: compare and contrast the city-states, Athens and Sparta, using a Venn diagram. compose an essay including the similarities and differences between the city-states, Athens and Sparta.
What drives changes to classic myths and fables? In this lesson students evaluate the changes Disney made to the myth of "Hercules" in order to achieve their audience and purpose.
Birth of a Colony explores the history of North Carolina from the time of European exploration through the Tuscarora War. Presented in five acts, the video combines primary sources and expert commentary to bring this period of our history to life. The opening segment describes the forces that motivated European exploration and colonization of the New World. Explorers and colonists encountered native peoples with agricultural lifestyles, strong communities, and respect for the land. These Indian communities saw themselves as part of nature, and they lived in harmony with the natural world. Their spiritual practices, such as the Green Corn Ceremony, reflected this worldview. The Europeans came to the New World primarily in search of land and riches. With two such different cultural viewpoints, clashes were inevitable. This teacher's guide includes a strictly social studies lesson and a complementary ELA lesson (writing assignment).
José feels he is destined to a life filled with physical labor because both of his parents work hard. His mother works at a sewing machine all day, and his father works for the telephone company and often tells José that life is hard. In this CCSS lesson, students will explore this story through text dependent questions, academic vocabulary, and writing assignments.
In “Broken Chain,†Alfonso, a seventh grader, dislikes his appearance. In this CCSS lesson, students will explore this story through text dependent questions, academic vocabulary, and writing assignments.
Students will create a model aquatic ecosystem and make regular observations over a period of time. They will also work collaboratively to conduct research on common ocean health issues and summarize their findings in a written report.
Students examine books, selected from the American Library Association Challenged/Banned Books list, and write persuasive pieces expressing their views about what should be done with the books at their school.
The main character is unhappy about her family’s move to Cincinnati and spends most of her time in her room, miserable. Then one day, she goes grocery shopping for her parents and falls in love with the bag boy. In this CCSS lesson, students will explore this story through text dependent questions, academic vocabulary, and writing assignments.
Students will use graphic organizers to assist the development of comparative vocabulary and generate discussions of analogy and metaphor in art as students go on a real or virtual tour of an art gallery.
Working in small groups, students will work produce sections of an historical newspaper or journal for publication in democratic Athens. Using the resources of this Web site (as well as books and other resources listed in the Research Links & Resources Page) pick an approximate date and research stories for your newspaper. This section has been tailored for a newspaper about Athens during the time of Pericles, because of the greater amount of information available for that period. However, with some adaptation and additional research it would be possible to compile newspapers for early or later periods.
In this lesson, students will learn how to use primary sources, and work in groups to create murals about the events and trends of a decade of the twentieth century. Students will focus their research on a specific category relating to the culture of that decade, and then depict their findings in their murals.
In this lesson, students brainstorm texts that they have read recently and map their choices using a Graphic Map to rate and make notes about them. Students then look for patterns connecting the texts that they enjoyed the most and those they enjoyed the least. Once they've analyzed their past readings, students complete a reading plan by first listing categories of books they want to read. They then use booklists, book reviews, and other resources to create a wish list of books they hope to read in the future.