All resources in Oregon Language Arts and Literacy

Media Literacy Challenge: Writing Your Own Argument

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This lesson will challenge learners to critically read and evaluate news articles presenting different positions on a single issue that the learner takes interest in. The learner will then be challenged to formulate their own opinion by refining their own argument on the issue. The target audience of learners for this lesson constitute the Career and College Readiness Standards Grade Level E (9-12) in their reading and writing abilities. Learners will hone practical skills by engaging in this lesson, such as how to critically engage with news and media, being able to succinctly summarize larger pieces of information, and using information to write a structured argument based on their own opinions. These skills will have practical applications for everyday life, reading and writing the GED, and when applying for jobs that require information processing.

Material Type: Homework/Assignment, Reading

Author: Christopher Klune

Chinua Achebe's "New English" in Things Fall Apart

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This lesson provides a Common Core application for high school students for Chinua Achebe's novel Things Fall Apart. Students will undertake close reading of passages in Things Fall Apart to evaluate the impact of Achebe's literary techniques, the cultural significance of the work, and how this international text serves as a lens to discover the experiences of others.

Material Type: Lesson Plan

Chinua Achebe's Things Fall Apart

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Nigerian born Chinua Achebe is one of the world's most well-known and influential contemporary writers. His first novel, Things Fall Apart (1958), is an early narrative about the European colonization of Africa told from the point of view of the colonized people.

Material Type: Lesson Plan

Edgar Allan Poe, Ambrose Bierce, and the Unreliable Biographers

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We are naturally curious about the lives (and deaths) of authors, especially those, such as Edgar Allan Poe and Ambrose Bierce, who have left us with so many intriguing mysteries. But does biographical knowledge add to our understanding of their works? And if so, how do we distinguish between the accurate detail and the rumor; between truth and exaggeration? In this lesson, students become literary sleuths, attempting to separate biographical reality from myth. They also become careful critics, taking a stand on whether extra-literary materials such as biographies and letters should influence the way readers understand a writer's texts.

Material Type: Lesson Plan

English Language Arts, Grade 12

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The 12th grade learning experience consists of 7 mostly month-long units aligned to the Common Core State Standards, with available course material for teachers and students easily accessible online. Over the course of the year there is a steady progression in text complexity levels, sophistication of writing tasks, speaking and listening activities, and increased opportunities for independent and collaborative work. Rubrics and student models accompany many writing assignments.Throughout the 12th grade year, in addition to the Common Read texts that the whole class reads together, students each select an Independent Reading book and engage with peers in group Book Talks. Language study is embedded in every 12th grade unit as students use annotation to closely review aspects of each text. Teacher resources provide additional materials to support each unit.

Material Type: Full Course

88 Open Essays: A Reader for Students of Composition & Rhetoric

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PLEASE NOTE: Some K-12 sites block access to Google Docs where this file resides. If you are unable to access it, it is also available at https://human.libretexts.org/Bookshelves/Literature_and_Literacy/Book%3A_88_Open_Essays_-_A_Reader_for_Students_of_Composition_and_Rhetoric_(Wangler_and_Ulrich) This book is a free and open resource for composition instructors and students, full of essays that could supplement OER rhetoric and writing texts that lack readings. All of the essays in this reader are versatile rhetorically and thematically. It is arranged alphabetically by author name. Each essay has a series of hashtags that apply to the essay in some way. You can search for essays thematically for topics like education, the environment, politics, or health. You can also search for essays based on composition concepts like analysis, synthesis, and research. You can search for essays that are based on shared values, essays that rely heavily on ethos, logos, or pathos, essays that are very kairos-dependent, and essays that are scholarly. This collection was created in Google Docs so that it is easily adapted and edited.

Material Type: Reading, Textbook

Authors: Sarah Wangler, Tina Ulrich

Irregular Word Activities

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FreeReading is an open source instructional program that helps educators teach early literacy. Because it is open source, it represents the collective wisdom of a wide community of teachers and researchers. FreeReading contains Irregular Word Activities, a page of sequential and supplemental activities that helps teachers teach students to read 30 high-frequency irregular words.

Material Type: Activity/Lab, Full Course, Game, Lesson Plan, Reading, Teaching/Learning Strategy

Author: Holt, Laurence, et. al.

Reading Connected Text Fluency

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FreeReading is an open source instructional program that helps educators teach early literacy. Because it is open source, it represents the collective wisdom of a wide community of teachers and researchers. FreeReading contains Reading Connect Text Activities, a page of sequential and supplemental activities that helps teachers teach students to decode their first sentences in print.

Material Type: Activity/Lab, Full Course, Game, Lesson Plan, Reading, Teaching/Learning Strategy

Author: Holt, Laurence, et. al.