writing

In this module, students will conduct research, read, and learn how Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. impacted history and why he was considered a great American Leader. Then they will write an informative article with an opening paragraph, body paragraphs, and a concluding paragraph describing why...

In this module, the Gold Rush time period in American History will be analyzed through the lens of the economic concepts of choice, opportunity cost, and positive and negative incentives. 

This module serves as a case study within Unit 1 in the high school Civics course and focuses on these essential questions: "How did the founding of the U.S. government reflect the founders’ beliefs about power and authority? Does our current government still reflect these same beliefs?" The...

Students will examine 4 main different types of sources. While learning how to examine these sources students will also take that information and be able to develop and defend their argument if the cost outweighed the benefits of European Exploration. This should build on prior content knowledge...

In this module, students will examine how an author uses words and illustrations to describe a character's feelings in a story. The students will identify feelings and cite evidence from the text. This module would be implemented in the fall. 

In this unit, students read given texts and study the specific structures and literary elements which create humor in a variety of print and non-print sources. Students explore the development of humor to determine a text’s deeper meaning and purpose, and apply these elements in an analytical...

Students will learn about the different types of figurative language in this unit. Then, they will read and listen to the songs "Firework" by Katy Perry and "Titanium" by David Guetta. They will identify the figurative language in these texts and analyze what each example of figurative language...

This module focuses on the coming of age theme. Students were given a choice of coming of age novels to read in their book clubs. Throughout the course of unit, students will analyze whether the protagonist in their book club novel comes of age. By the end of the unit, students will write an...

This module has been written with the intent of implementation at the beginning of the school year. This module has been designed with four purposes in mind:

1. Describe a character's traits in the novel Because of Winn Dixie using actions. thoughts, and words.
2. Support that...

This module is meant to be taught as a stand-alone or in conjunction with the Colorado Department of Education Instructional Unit Sample for First Grade Reading, Writing, and Communicating entitled, "Transformations Around Me", drawing on knowledge gained from the unit's Learning Experience #2,...

Students will read and/or listen to 4 different texts that tell stories of animals in danger. Students will collect information about the pros and cons of helping animals in need. Then, they will write an opinion piece stating whether it is harmful or helpful to rescue animals, clearly...

Students will analyze literary elements to show how a character’s traits contribute to her actions and thus the events of the story. They write letters to the author in which they explain a different action the character could have taken and how it would have changed the story. 

Students will read and listen to multiple realistic fiction books centered on the topic of winter.  They will choose and recommend the book they think best represents winter in their community.  They will then present their opinion/explanation.  At the end of the task, students will vote on the...

Students will create cards for a specific person of their choice for a specific reason with the intention of communicating a specific feeling or emotion.  Students will read and listen to array of poems and choose an appropriate poem and create an appropriate illustration for the situation. ...

Students write a short story set in a dystopian future.

In this paper, we provide a comprehensive literature review on the development of key argumentation skills to lay a foundation for a framework of the key practice, discuss and debate ideas, which is centrally involved in the expectations for academic reading and writing. Specifically, the...

This rubric assess students' communcation skills in three key areas: writing, oral presentation, and oral interaction. Individual sections can be used with specific performance tasks and/or in combination with disciplinary rubrics.

This common analytic rubric assess students' ability to effectively communicate knowledge and thinking through writing by organizing and structuring ideas and using discipline appropriate language and conventions.

Students complete a literary analysis paragraph that makes a claim about an author's moves or choices in a text. 

Students write an argumentative paper about school violence in the United States, using evidence from resources studied and discussed in class, as well as their own research findings. Students identify a specific problem related to school violence and then propose a solution to help decrease the...