How do we behave toward and acknowledge those whose culture is different from our own? In this lesson, students will take a moment to polish their presentations, and then each group will present. Then they’ll write a reflection about the benefits and drawbacks of globalization.
In this lesson, students will meet in small groups to read initial drafts of their essays, focusing on introductions and conclusions. Then they’ll use a rubric to see what needs to be revised and will do so for homework.
In this short unit, students will spend three lessons exploring some of Abraham Lincoln's speeches. Students will explore Lincoln's themes and consider how they address the issues of his time, and they'll analyze the literary and rhetorical devices he used to express his ideas.
This project unit—a multimedia self-portrait published in digital form—is the capstone of your students' high school careers. It is a chance for them to pause and reflect on where they've been, where they're going, and who they are as a person. Students will reflect on what they want others to know about them: what they want their message to be and what types of media they might use to convey that message. Students will have the opportunity to express themselves in many different formats—through writing, of course, but also through other media of their choosing. Students will be able to convey your message through visual art, photography, a graphic novel, audio, poetry, or video—practically any type of media they want!
ACCOMPLISHMENTS
Students will complete a multimedia self-portrait, capturing important aspects of the essence of themselves.
Students will contribute one chapter from their multimedia self-portrait to a class anthology.
Students will present one chapter from their multimedia self-portrait to the class.
GUIDING QUESTIONS
These questions are a guide to stimulate thinking, discussion, and writing on the themes and ideas in the unit. For complete and thoughtful answers and for meaningful discussions, students must use evidence based on careful reading of the texts.
How is late adolescence a moment of internal and external change?
What are the most important qualities of your character—past, present, and future?
How can you portray these key aspects of yourself using multimedia?
BENCHMARK ASSESSMENT: Cold Read
During this unit, on a day of your choosing, we recommend you administer a Cold Read to assess students’ reading comprehension. For this assessment, students read a text they have never seen before and then respond to multiple-choice and constructed-response questions. The assessment is not included in this course materials.
Students will consider the different ways that humor can be used by a writer to criticize people, practices, and institutions that he or she thinks are in need of serious reform. Students will read satirists ranging from classical Rome to modern day to examine how wit can be used to make important points about culture.
ACCOMPLISHMENTS
Students research an aspect of modern life that they would like to lampoon.
Students read from satirists across history to absorb the style and forms of humor and institutions satirized.
Students write their own satire, drawing on techniques of famous satirists to criticize their targets.
GUIDING QUESTIONS
These questions are a guide to stimulate thinking, discussion, and writing on the themes and ideas in the unit. For complete and thoughtful answers and for meaningful discussions, students must use evidence based on careful reading of the texts.
What is satire, and when is it too harsh?
How can humor and irony make you more persuasive?
What do you think is funny? How far would you go to satirize it?
Who gets more reaction—satirists or protestors?
The laws that govern and the social norms that regulate society are not always fair, legal, moral, or ethical. What is a person to do about all this injustice? What are the hazards of righting injustices or changing social norms? And what are the dangers of doing nothing?
ACCOMPLISHMENTS
Students read and annotate Antigone, “Letter from a Birmingham Jail,” and Pygmalion.
Students write a literary analysis showing the effect of social class or the law on a character’s life.
GUIDING QUESTIONS
These questions are a guide to stimulate thinking, discussion, and writing on the themes and ideas in the unit. For complete and thoughtful answers and for meaningful discussions, students must use evidence based on careful reading of the texts.
How do social class and legal institutions shape literary characters’ lives (and presumably our lives)?
How does social class affect a person in dealing with the law (protect a person, hurt a person)?
How is social class determined in America and in other places in the world?
BENCHMARK ASSESSMENT: Cold Read
During this unit, on a day of your choosing, we recommend you administer a Cold Read to assess students’ reading comprehension. For this assessment, students read a text they have never seen before and then respond to multiple-choice and constructed-response questions. The assessment is not included in this course materials.
In this lesson, students finish reading, annotating, and discussing Antigone. Then they will meet in their Independent Reading Groups for the first time.
In this lesson, students discuss the ending of Antigone and retake the survey about justice that they took in Lesson 1. They will also write about how the laws in Thebes have shaped the lives of the characters who live there.
In this lesson, students will take the second in a series of three Cold Write assessments in the narrative genre. The Benchmark Assessment (Cold Write) is an unassisted and unrevised piece of writing with the purpose of providing a quick gauge of the student’s mastery of the characteristics of a given genre. Today’s Benchmark Assessment (Cold Write) measures and provides a benchmark of students’ mastery of narrative writing. They’ll also continue reading, annotating, and discussing “Letter from a Birmingham Jail.” Then they’ll focus on the charges made against Dr. King and how he refutes them.
In this lesson, students look at “Letter from a Birmingham Jail” again, focusing on Dr. King’s writing style. Then students will try to write a paragraph using his style of repeating passages or phrases to build a convincing argument.
In our lives, we are constantly telling stories to ourselves and to others in an attempt to both understand our experiences and present our best selves to others. But how do we tell a story about ourselves that is both true and positive? How do we hold ourselves up in the best possible light, while still being honest about our struggles and our flaws? Students will explore ways of interpreting and portraying personal experiences. They'll read Chinua Achebe's novel Things Fall Apart , analyzing the text through the eyes of one character. They'll get to know that character's flaws and strengths, and they'll tell part of the story from that character's perspective, doing their best to tell an honest tale that presents their character's best side. Then they'll explore their own stories, crafting a personal narrative about an important moment of learning in his or her life.
ACCOMPLISHMENTS
Students read and analyze Chinua Achebe’s Things Fall Apart , viewing the events and conflicts of the novel through the eyes of one of the central characters.
Students write a two-part narrative project: one narrative told through their character’s perspective and one personal narrative about an incident in their own life.
GUIDING QUESTIONS
These questions are a guide to stimulate thinking, discussion, and writing on the themes and ideas in the unit. For complete and thoughtful answers and for meaningful discussions, students must use evidence based on careful reading of the texts.
How do our conflicts shape and show our character?
How can we tell a story about ourselves that’s both honest and positive?
How do definitions of justice change depending on the culture you live in?
What are ways individuals can react to a changing world? To a community that doesn’t accept us?
BENCHMARK ASSESSMENT: Cold Read
During this unit, on a day of your choosing, we recommend you administer a Cold Read to assess students’ reading comprehension. For this assessment, students read a text they have never seen before and then respond to multiple-choice and constructed-response questions. The assessment is not included in this course materials.
Students will practice reading, oral and listening skills based on the theme Van Gogh’s Bedroom in Arles, by working with a virtual tour of the painter’s bedroom and by producing their own recordings of podcasts about the virtual tour.
According to ACRL (2016), Information Literacy (IL) is the “set of skills needed to find, retrieve, analyze, and use information.” Myriad of information over the internet was growing and was becoming accessible.Therefore, as teachers we should teach and help students to develop skills and competencies in searching the Web and using information for intellectual and holistic growth to successfully thrive in this digital age.In this lesson we will provide quality web-based resources for students to explore Information Literacy and the salient sub-topics on Plagiarism and Web Searching.The following activities allow students to gain in-depth understanding of our topic. Happy Teaching!
According to ACRL (2016), Information Literacy (IL) is the “set of skills needed to find, retrieve, analyze, and use information.” Myriad of information over the internet was growing and was becoming accessible.Therefore, as teachers we should teach and help students to develop skills and competencies in searching the Web and using information for intellectual and holistic growth to successfully thrive in this digital age.In this lesson we will provide quality web-based resources for students to explore Information Literacy and the salient sub-topics on Plagiarism and Web Searching.The following activities allow students to gain in-depth understanding of our topic. Happy Teaching!
According to ACRL (2016), Information Literacy (IL) is the “set of skills needed to find, retrieve, analyze, and use information.” Myriad of information over the internet was growing and was becoming accessible.Therefore, as teachers we should teach and help students to develop skills and competencies in searching the Web and using information for intellectual and holistic growth to successfully thrive in this digital age.In this lesson we will provide quality web-based resources for students to explore Information Literacy and the salient sub-topics on Plagiarism and Web Searching.The following activities allow students to gain in-depth understanding of our topic. Happy Teaching!
In this lesson, before reading, students establish a purpose for reading informational text by turning the title and subtitles into questions.
This lesson is designed to have students understand different ethical philosophies and how they connect to Ethics and ethical dilemmas.
This lesson is an adaptation of a history lesson designed by the National Endowment for the Humanities. The focus of the lesson is on comparing and contrasting primary sources describing the Great Chicago Fire of 1871 in order to teach students methods for evaluating historical sources. The historical content has been paired with English proficiency standards to help support students comprehension of challenging historical documents. It is designed for high school, but with some adaptation could be used in an 8th grade classroom. The lessons are designed to support Intermediate to Advanced (ELP 3-5) language learners, although students with Beginning proficiency (ELP 1-2) would find some success with this as well. Students compare two newspaper reports on the fire and two memoirs of the fire written many decades later, with an eye on how these accounts complement and compete with one another, and how these sources can be used to draw historical meaning from them.
With so many people getting their news from their social media newsfeed, how can they evaluate what is good and what might be fake? With the help of a Youtube video on the subject, student do some evaluating. This lesson is part of a media unit curated at our Digital Citizenship website, "Who Am I Online?"
What does it mean for a source to be credible? Why is it important to use these sources? How can you tell if a source is credible?