This lesson introduces students to the blues, one of the most distinctive and influential elements of African-American musical tradition. Students take a virtual tour of Memphis, TN and explore the history of the blues in the work of W.C. Handy and a variety of country blues singers whose music preserves the folk origins of this unique American art form. The lesson concludes with students composing their own blues lyrics.

In reviewing events, documentary evidence, and biographical information, students come to understand the complex nature of political decision-making in the United States. In this lesson, they consider the momentous questions facing the country during the Reconstruction debate by weighing the many factors that went into the solutions offered. Students also think critically as they consider whether and how other solutions might have played out.

Students will learn about the role of money in the colonial economy by participating in a trading activity in which they observe the effects of too little money on trade within a colony.

After students have read a book about the Holocaust, such as The Diary of Anne Frank or Night by Elie Wiesel, students will view Life is Beautiful and complete discussion questions that challenge their ability to analyze literature using film. When the film is complete, students will write a letter to the director conveying their opinion of the film.

This packet contains a curriculum-embedded CCLS?aligned task and instructional supports. The task is the culminating task at the end of a 3?5 week unit. Throughout their 9th grade year, students read informational and literary texts focused on responding to the essential question of ?Who am I?? In the study of this question, students will draw from a variety of sources, including texts addressing the social, political, economic, and cultural factors and relationships that build identity in order to analyze the place which rites of passage have in the 21st century.

Prepare a defense of Macbeth!  This activity has students taking a stance and arguing a defense for Macbeth while utilizing rhetorical appeals and cited, textual evidence from the Shakespearean play.

In this lesson, students will use the Argument Outline Tool to complete their Mid-Unit Assessment response, collecting evidence and developing claims and counterclaims from texts read previously in the module.

In this DBQ Project lesson plan, students will examine ten documents to explore the Mongols and determine how barbaric the barbarians actually were.

In this mini document based question activity from the DBQ Project, students will examine four texts to discover the clues that foreshadow key events in author John Steinbeck's Of Mice and Men.

This resource provides a lesson designed to follow lessons that ask students to write persuasive essays. After completing their essays, students will be responsible for creating a 5 slide presentation that effectively summarizes their essay. The presentation should include narrations for each slide. Students will share their completed slides with their peers.

Students begin this multi-day lesson by reading letters to the editor in local, regional, or national newspapers, note common characteristics of the genre, and catagorize those characteristics. Next, they search to find news articles on topics that interest them. After choosing one on which to focus, students summarize the article, then use an online tool to write a letter to the editor. After peer editing them, students publish their letters and send.

This tool helps students break down their argument into reasons and supporting details, which will help them write their letter.

Students will investigate photosynthesis and respiration in plants. They will also apply their knowledge about these processes to the issue of deforestation in tropical forests.

Speech writing is a rhetorical art and provides the content for these scaffolded lessons that support the increased cognitive rigor of literacy standards with presidential writings.

This lesson is designed to assist students through multiple sessions with identifying relevant propaganda techniques in literature, discussing persuasive elements found in print and non-print media and composing a persuasive essay. Lesson is appropriate for use with a provided list of novels to include Bradbury's Fahrenheit 451.

In this lesson, students will learn about parallel structure and how to edit their argument essays.

This lesson is designed to apply Common Core State Standards and facilitate a comparison of informational texts and primary source material from the Scottsboro Boys trials of the 1931 and 1933, and the fictional trial in Harper Lee's novel, To Kill A Mockingbird (1960).

In these lessons from Historical Thinking Matters, students learn to read more analytically as they investigate the causes of the Spanish-American War. After hypothesizing causes for the war, they test their hypotheses using successive sets of documents. They answer the notebook questions for these documents and consider how each informs the inquiry question. Using historian think-alouds from the site, the teacher can model a historical read of particular passages. Finally, students practice these new ways of reading with a document they find in a directed webquest. *The lessons are made available in 3 options: 1 Day, 3 Day or 5 Day. The 5 Day version includes an essay assignment with instructions on thesis writing.

Students examine the state of the print newspaper industry, then debate its future.

In this lesson, students examine the state of the print newspaper industry, then debate its future.