LDC Argumentation Rubric

In this module students will learn about Spanish and French explorers who came to Florida from 1513 - 1565.  This module will be taught after the introduction of Florida's early Native Americans.  Over the course of two weeks, students will learn about European explorers and their influence on...

This module fits within a unit on rights and liberties following an introduction to the core ideas in the unit. This module gets students thinking critically about the role of the government in protecting the safety and rights of its citizens. Students will read a variety of texts, hear a short...

In this Project Based Learning unit, students are asked to answer the question, “Is nuclear energy sustainable?” First, students are introduced to their task through an entry event in which they are given a brief introduction to the nuclear energy controversy and are told they will be writing an...

This module has been carefully designed as a template module to allow teachers to use literary texts of their choice in order to allow students to form and write about their opinions on the text of choice.  This module can be used again and again in order to solidify the skills...

In this reading and writing unit, students are asked to answer the question. “Should nuclear energy be generated from nuclear power or fossil fuels?" Specifically, for this module, students will focus on coal and natural gas as the fossil fuels in question. First, students are introduced to...

This CCSS-aligned writing rubric can be used with any task that calls for students to construct an evidence-based argument. It assesses students’ ability to maintain a clear, credible claim; select and cite relevant evidence; develop an argument with sound reasoning and accurate explanation of...

This module asks 9th and 10th grade students to read two famous speeches regarding the rights and responsibilities of citizens in a democracy. Students are challenged to closely analyze these speeches in terms of language structure and democratic ideals.

The instructional sequence in this...

In 1996, Congress passed the Line Item Veto giving President Clinton the authority to veto portions of appropriations bills. Though the Supreme Court struck down the law in Clinton v. City of New York (1998), the merits of an expansion of presidential power to include the line item veto persists...

This module sits inside a unit in which students study the Age of Revolution and the focus of the module is on the British Industrial Revolution. Students will draw on content studied during the unit and their readings of primary and secondary sources about the module topic to write an...

Every society operates with a mixed economic system, combining the influences of market and command models in order to form a functioning economy and government. Individual countries have unique economic systems that are each defined by how they prioritize different economic goals.

Before...

Through primary and secondary source document analysis, students will explore the effects of the Emancipation Proclamation on the outcome of the American Civil War. Students will also consider the lasting impact of the Emancipation Proclamation on American society as our nation moved from this...

The 1948 Nobel Prize in Medicine went to Paul Müller, who discovered DDT's power as a persistent insecticide that could greatly reduce typhus epidemics and other hazards. The Nobel presentation speech makes the case for DDT's value, and selections from Rachel Carson's "Silent Spring" offer...

Prior to this module, students should read and take notes on Simon Wiesenthal's The Sunflower and come to class with a general answer to the question Wiesenthal poses at the end of his narrative, "What would you do?" It is not an expectation that they have read the symposium that...

The decision to drop the atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki was seen by many, including President Truman, as a necessary means to end World War II. But was the United States justified in its decision to drop the bombs?

Students will look at the social, diplomatic, and economic costs...

In this module, students will take previously learned concepts of states and properties of matter and expound upon them by examining the field of cryobiology.

Cryobiology is the study of living things at very low temperatures. This science is filled with many technological advances....

In this task, students will select and conduct research on an elected official who represents them at the federal level – a member of the House of Representatives or the U.S. Senate.

Students will then choose a relevant issue or a current piece of legislation and convey their viewpoints...

The Johnstown Flood of 1889 was one of Pennsylvania's greatest disasters. This module features using "The Johnstown Flood", a historical non-fiction text written by author David McCullough, as a book backdrop. Students will evaluate evidence from McCullough's book and other primary and secondary...

In this module middle school students analyze a famous work by Mark Twain to determine if it is a satire or humorous work.

This module works well with a unit on genres or American literature. It offers an opportunity teach thinking about content, putting that thinking into writing, and...

The Puritans centered their way of life and laws on the Bible. From that, Hester should be judged based on the Bibical passage of Proverbs 31.

Looking at the evidence, is Hester Prynne a virtuous woman or not?