American Dream and The Great Gatsby

This lesson extends over several class periods. Students analyze the claim, grounds, warrants, qualifiers and counterclaims in three articles about the American Dream. Students conduct research and find two additional articles about the American Dream. Students then analyze the argument in those articles. Finally, students write their own argument essay about the current state of the American Dream.

Material Type: Lesson Plan, Unit of Study

American Literature and Composition - Colonial Literature

This module on Colonial Literature explore the essential questions: 1) How does the literature in early Colonial America reflect the customs and beliefs of the Native Americans and Puritans? 2)What kind of literary styles did the earliest writers contribute to American Literature? and 3) How did history have an effect on the types of literature being written? There are audio and visual activities as well as readings.

Material Type: Activity/Lab, Diagram/Illustration, Lecture, Lesson Plan, Reading, Unit of Study

Character Analysis and The Crucible

This set of lessons extends over several weeks and incorporates all acts of Arthur Miller's play, The Crucible. Students will closely read The Crucible. Students will cite textual evidence and make interpretations about character development. Students will combine the textual evidence with their interpretations and write interpretive statements. In the culminating activity, students will write a character analysis.

Material Type: Activity/Lab, Unit of Study

Author: Terry Krieger-James

Critical Ways of Seeing The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn in Context

Huckleberry Finn opens with a warning from its author that misinterpreting readers will be shot. Despite the danger, readers have been approaching the novel from such diverse critical perspectives for 120 years that it is both commonly taught and frequently banned, for a variety of reasons. Studying both the novel and its critics with an emphasis on cultural context will help students develop analytical tools essential for navigating this work and other American controversies. This lesson asks students to combine internet historical research with critical reading. Then students will produce several writing assignments exploring what readers see in Huckleberry Finn and why they see it that way.

Material Type: Activity/Lab, Lesson Plan, Unit of Study

Grade 9 ELA Module 2

In this module, students engage with literature and nonfiction texts that develop central ideas of guilt, obsession, and madness, among others. Building on work with evidence-based analysis and debate in Module 1, students will produce evidence-based claims to analyze the development of central ideas and text structure. Students will develop and strengthen their writing by revising and editing, and refine their speaking and listening skills through discussion-based assessments. Find the rest of the EngageNY ELA resources at https://archive.org/details/engageny-ela-archive .

Material Type: Module

Weapons Of The Spirit

This lesson consists of four short works by Albert Einstein. The works regard the arms race, nuclear weapons, and the threat that these weapons pose to the survival of humanity.

Material Type: Lesson

An Exploration of Romanticism Through Art and Poetry

Students use art and poetry to explore and understand major characteristics of the Romantic period.

Material Type: Activity/Lab, Lesson Plan, Unit of Study

Author: Junius Wright

Grade 8 ELA Module 1

In this module, students will develop their ability to read and understand complex text as they consider the challenges of fictional and real refugees. In the first unit, students will begin Inside Out & Back Again, by Thanhha Lai, analyzing how critical incidents reveal the dynamic nature of the main character, Ha, a 10-year-old Vietnamese girl whose family is deciding whether to flee during the fall of Saigon. The novel, poignantly told in free verse, will challenge students to consider the impact of specific word choice on tone and meaning. Students will build their ability to infer and analyze text, both in discussion and through writing. They then will read informational text to learn more about the history of war in Vietnam, and the specific historical context of Ha’s family’s struggle during the fall of Saigon. In Unit 2, students will build knowledge about refugees’ search for a place to call home. They will read informational texts that convey universal themes of refugees’ Find the rest of the EngageNY ELA resources at https://archive.org/details/engageny-ela-archive .

Material Type: Module

Grade 6 ELA Module 1

In this module, students are involved in a deep study of mythology, its purposes, and elements. Students will read Rick Riordan’s The Lightning Thief (780L), a high-interest novel about a sixth-grade boy on a hero’s journey. Some students may be familiar with this popular fantasy book; in this module, students will read with a focus on the archetypal journey and close reading of the many mythical allusions. As they begin the novel, students also will read a complex informational text that explains the archetypal storyline of the hero’s journey which has been repeated in literature throughout the centuries. Through the close reading of literary and informational texts, students will learn multiple strategies for acquiring and using academic vocabulary. Students will also build routines and expectations of discussion as they work in small groups. At the end of Unit 1, having read half of the novel, students will explain, with text-based evidence, how Percy is an archetypal hero. In Unit 2, students will continue reading The Lightning Thief (more independently): in class, they will focus on the novel’s many allusions to classic myths; those allusions will serve as an entry point into a deeper study of Greek mythology. They also will continue to build their informational reading skills through the close reading of texts about the close reading of texts about the elements of myths. This will create a conceptual framework to support students’ reading of mythology. As a whole class, students will closely read several complex Greek myths. They then will work in small groups to build expertise on one of those myths. In Unit 3, students shift their focus to narrative writing skills. This series of writing lessons will scaffold students to their final performance task in which they will apply their knowledge about the hero’s journey and the elements of mythology to create their own hero’s journey stories. Find the rest of the EngageNY ELA resources at https://archive.org/details/engageny-ela-archive .

Material Type: Module

Grade 7 ELA Module 4A

This eight-week module focuses on a “science and society” topic, engaging students in reading compelling informational text about adolescent brain development and the effects of entertainment screen time on the brain. In Unit 1, students first read various texts that will build their background knowledge about adolescent brain development in general. Their learning will center around three areas of the brain, namely the prefrontal cortex, the limbic system, and the developing neurons. Students determine main ideas and evidence in diverse media and clarify their learning about this complex content. Then they begin to focus on the issue of screen time and how it may affect teenagers. Find the rest of the EngageNY ELA resources at https://archive.org/details/engageny-ela-archive .

Material Type: Full Course, Lesson Plan, Unit of Study

Persuasion Across Time and Space

This unit shows instructional approaches that are likely to help ELLs meet new standards in English Language Arts. Built around a set of famous persuasive speeches, the unit supports students in reading a range of complex texts. It invites them to write and speak in a variety of ways and for different audiences and purposes. Students engage in close reading of Abraham Lincoln's Gettysburg Address, Martin Luther King, Jr.'s I Have a Dream speech, Aristotleí˘ä‰ĺ䋢s Three Appeals, Robert Kennedyí˘ä‰ĺ䋢s On the Assassination of Martin Luther King, and George Wallaceí˘ä‰ĺ䋢s The Civil Rights Movement: Fraud, Sham, and Hoax, Barbara Jordaní˘ä‰ĺ䋢s All Together Now. The five lesson culminate with student's constructing their own persuasive texts.

Material Type: Unit of Study

Zlateh the Goat

During the Jewish holiday of Hanukkah, Reuven is forced to sell Zlateh, the family goat, because business has been bad. On his way to the butcher, Aaron (Reuven's son) and Zlateh get caught in a terrible snowstorm, and after finding shelter in a haystack, they develop a deeper bond and interdependence. (McDougal Littell The Language of Literature, 2002) This lesson was created as part of the Anthology Alignment Project, during which teachers created CCSS-aligned lessons for existing literary and information texts in anthologies. All page numbers and unit/week designations found in this lesson relate to the edition of the anthology named above. If you are using a trade book or different edition of this title, the page/unit/week references in this lesson will not match. Consult the content referenced in the body of the lesson to determine appropriate page numbers for your text.

Material Type: Lesson Plan

The First Emperor

This is an excerpt from "Tomb Robbers." Ch’in Shih Huang Ti was the first emperor of China. He had a great fear of his own death. He kept searching for a secret that would let him live forever. He also began to build his own tomb. It took 30 years. There are many legends about what the tomb contains. Some stories say it has 270 small copies of Shih Huang Ti’s palaces. Others say it has rivers of mercury. Still others say it has weapons—crossbows—waiting to shoot anyone who tries to enter. For years, the tomb was covered with earth. Then, in 1974, a peasant was plowing a field. He found a life-sized statue. Many more statues were found later. They were part of the emperor’s “spirit army,” which was supposed to serve the ruler in the next world. No one knows yet if the tomb has been robbed. Chinese archaeologists are still digging up the area. They are working very slowly and carefully. (McDougal Littell The Language of Literature, 2002) This lesson was created as part of the Anthology Alignment Project, during which teachers created CCSS-aligned lessons for existing literary and information texts in anthologies. All page numbers and unit/week designations found in this lesson relate to the edition of the anthology named above. If you are using a trade book or different edition of this title, the page/unit/week references in this lesson will not match. Consult the content referenced in the body of the lesson to determine appropriate page numbers for your text.

Material Type: Lesson Plan

Using Textual Clues to Understand “A Christmas Carol

In Lesson 1, students focus on the first stave of the novel as they identify the meanings of words and phrases that may be unfamiliar to them. This activity facilitates close examination of and immersion in the text and leads to an understanding of Scrooge before his ghostly experiences. In Lesson 2, students examine Scrooge’s experiences with the Ghosts of Christmas Past, Present, and Future and discover how Dickens used both direct and indirect characterization to create a protagonist who is more than just a stereotype. In Lesson 3, students focus on stave 5 as they identify and articulate themes that permeate the story.

Material Type: Lesson Plan, Unit of Study

From Courage to Freedom: Frederick Douglass's 1845 Autobiography

In 1845 Frederick Douglass published what was to be the first of his three autobiographies: the Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave, Written by Himself.  As the title suggests, Douglass wished not only to highlight the irony that a land founded on freedom would permit slavery to exist within its midst, but also to establish that he, an American slave with no formal education, was the sole author of the work.

Material Type: Lesson

Grade 9 ELA Module 3

In Module 9.3, students engage in an inquiry-based, iterative process for research. Building on work with evidence-based analysis in Modules 9.1 and 9.2, students explore topics of interest, gather research, and generate an evidence-based perspective to ultimately write an informative/explanatory research paper that synthesizes and articulates their findings. Students use textual analysis to surface potential topics for research, and develop and strengthen their writing by revising and editing. Find the rest of the EngageNY ELA resources at https://archive.org/details/engageny-ela-archive .

Material Type: Module

The Gettysburg Address by Abraham Lincoln

This unit has been developed to guide students and instructors in a close reading of Lincoln’s “Gettysburg Address.” The activities and actions described below follow a carefully developed set of steps that assist students in increasing their familiarity and understanding of Lincoln’s speech through a series of text dependent tasks and questions that ultimately develop college and career ready skills identified in the Common Core State Standards.

Material Type: Lecture, Lesson Plan, Reading

CK-12 Middle School Math Concepts - Grade 7

CK-12 Middle School Math Concepts for seventh grade provides a complete textbook. It presents topics including algebraic thinking, patterns, decimals, decimal operations, fractions, fraction operations, integers, integer operations, ratios, rates, proportions, percents, percent applications, equations, solving equations, inequalities, functions, graphing functions, geometry, plane geometry, solid geometry, area, perimeter, surface area, volume, statistics including mean, median, mode and range, graphing and types of graphs, and probability.

Material Type: Textbook

Author: Jen Kershaw

Utah Middle School Math Project - 7th Grade

On the 7th Student Materials page you will find: the Mathematical Foundation (an explanation of the mathematical content in each chapter), the Student Workbook (an overview of the chapter, daily class activities and matching homework sets, Practice Standards connections for the chapter, and student self-assessments), a link to purchasing a soft-cover version of the workbook (these are available at cost, however you are free to print all materials yourself), and a parent manual (this is the student workbook with selected answers and explanations.) On the 7th Teacher Support Materials page you will find a Teachers’ Edition to the Student Workbook. It contains answers to all problems, pedagogical suggestions, and explanations of the mathematical flow of the workbook. Additionally, you will find the word version of the Student Workbook.

Material Type: Full Course, Lesson Plan, Student Guide, Textbook

Utah Middle School Math Project - 8th Grade

All materials on the site were revised for the 2014/2015 academic year. On the 8th Student Materials page you will find: the Mathematical Foundation (an explanation of the mathematical content in each chapter), the Student Workbook (an overview of the chapter, daily class activities and matching homework sets, Practice Standards connections for the chapter, and student self-assessments), a link to purchasing a soft-cover version of the workbook (these are available at cost, however you are free to print all materials yourself), and a parent manual (this is the student workbook with selected answers and explanations.) On the 8th Teacher Support Materials page you will find a Teachers’ Edition to the Student Workbook. It contains answers to all problems, pedagogical suggestions, and explanations of the mathematical flow of the workbook. Additionally, you will find the word version of the Student Workbook.

Material Type: Full Course, Lesson Plan, Textbook