1 Spend a Day in My Shoes: Exploring the Role of Perspective in Narrative Resource Type: Lessons Discipline: Reading Grades: Grades 8–10 Professional Commentary: In To Kill a Mockingbird, Atticus explains to Scout that "You never really understand a person until you consider things from his point of view...until you climb into his skin and walk around in it" (36). Using this quotation as a springboard, students explore writers' use of point of view and draft original stories from someone... 2 Knowing Write from Wrong: Exploring Common Writing Errors in the Electronic Communications Age Resource Type: Lessons Discipline: Reading Grades: Grades 9–10 Professional Commentary: In this lesson, students explore how the informality of electronic correspondence has affected communications in the workplace. After responding to a prompt written for two different audiences, students work collaboratively to a writing guide that contains rules and examples to help correct common informal English writing errors.... 3 Writing Alternative Plots for Robert C. O'Brien's Z for Zachariah Resource Type: Lessons Discipline: Reading Grades: Grade 7 Professional Commentary: After reading and discussing Z for Zachariah, students apply their knowledge of cause and effect to create alternative plots for the story. First, students select a part of the story where the main character makes a critical decision and then rewrite the remaining portion of the plot based on the predicted effect of different choice.... 4 Short and Sweet Science: Assessing the Advantages of Summaries of Scientific Information Resource Type: Lessons Discipline: Reading Grades: Grade 8 Professional Commentary: In this lesson, students summarize a piece of scientific text and assess the advantages, disadvantages, and challenges in writing summaries. They then select science-related new articles and, with a partner, generate summaries of the longer pieces.... Resource Type: Lessons Discipline: Reading Grades: Grades 6–10 Professional Commentary: This lesson prompts students to consider the appropriateness of different writing styles based on purpose and audience. Students begin by discussing the influence text messaging has had on academic writing.... 6 Build it Up, Trim it Down Resource Type: Lessons Discipline: Reading Grades: Grades 8–10 Professional Commentary: This lesson uses a sports writing context for students to practice key reading and writing process skills. Presented with data and highlights about a sporting event, students synthesize the information and write original sports summaries.... Resource Type: Lessons Discipline: Reading Grades: Grades 8–10 Professional Commentary: The aim of this lesson is to help students develop their persuasive writing and information gathering skills using various forms of information and communication technology. Using the context of issues common to teenagers, this lesson provides an authentic and personally relevant purpose.... 8 Weaving the Multigenre Web Resource Type: Lessons Discipline: Reading Grades: Grades 8–10 Professional Commentary: This lesson combines reading and writing as students work through collaborative, small-group learning experiences. In small groups, students read novels as part of a whole class study, in literature circles, with a partner or individually.... 9 Imagine That! Playing with Genre through Newspapers and Short Stories Resource Type: Lessons Discipline: Reading Grades: Grades 6–8 Professional Commentary: While middle school students typically understand narrative structure, they are not as familiar with expository text structures. In this introductory lesson, students compare and contrast narrative and expository structures.... 10 Tell It Like It Isn't: Exploring Creative Ways to Revise Well-Known Stories Resource Type: Lessons Discipline: Reading Grades: Grades 6–8 Professional Commentary: In this lesson, students consider favorite stories and the common elements that make them interesting and entertaining. Next, students read and discuss an article in The New York Times about two performances and one historic tour based on creative retellings of well known stories.... |