LAFS.910.WHST.1.1Archived Standard

In this lesson, students will analyze an informational text intended to support reading in the content area. The article discusses the availability to the general public of GMO apples that take longer to turn brown. The article discusses the techniques utilized to accomplish the apples' genetic modification. A video explains the process of genetic modification and explains how GMOs have already been integrated into society. This lesson includes a note-taking guide, text-dependent questions, a writing prompt, answer keys, and a writing rubric.

Type: Lesson Plan

In this lesson, students will analyze an informational text intended to support reading in the content area. The article addresses an innovative possible treatment for diabetes using cone snail venom. The venom contains a form of insulin that is faster acting than human insulin. Further research shows that the cone snail insulin requires no prep before it is used, therefore explaining its quick response time. The lesson plan includes a note-taking guide, text-dependent questions, a writing prompt, answer keys, and a writing rubric. Numerous options to extend the lesson are also included.

Type: Lesson Plan

In this lesson, students will analyze an informational text intended to support reading in the content area. The article explains the dynamic carbon cycle and how human activity contributes to global warming. A second related text builds on that knowledge to discuss the importance of Everglades mangroves as carbon "sinks." By reading and synthesizing both articles, students will learn not only about the specifics of the carbon cycle, but how it applies to Florida and the rest of the world. This lesson includes a note-taking guide, text-dependent questions, a writing prompt, answer keys, and a writing rubric.

Type: Lesson Plan

In this Model Eliciting Activity, MEA, students will make recommendations for dealing with the effects of algal blooms with regard to public health.

Model Eliciting Activities, MEAs, are open-ended, interdisciplinary problem-solving activities that are meant to reveal students’ thinking about the concepts embedded in realistic situations. MEAs resemble engineering problems and encourage students to create solutions in the form of mathematical and scientific models. Students work in teams to apply their knowledge of science and mathematics to solve an open-ended problem while considering constraints and tradeoffs. Students integrate their ELA skills into MEAs as they are asked to clearly document their thought processes. MEAs follow a problem-based, student-centered approach to learning, where students are encouraged to grapple with the problem while the teacher acts as a facilitator. To learn more about MEAs visit: https://www.cpalms.org/cpalms/mea.aspx

Type: Lesson Plan

In this lesson, students will analyze an informational text intended to support reading in the content area. The article compares carbon emissions from human activities to those from natural volcanic processes. The authors outline the methods, data collection, and findings of carbon emissions, closing the debate on what releases the most carbon. The lesson plan includes a note-taking guide, text-dependent questions, a writing prompt, answer keys, and a writing rubric. Numerous options to extend the lesson are also included.

Type: Lesson Plan

In this lesson, students will analyze an informational text that addresses the release of genetically modified mosquitoes in Brazil to reduce the transmission of dengue fever. The male mosquitoes were modified so that when they reproduce, their offspring die before they can transmit the disease. The article contains a data table that shows a drastic reduction in the number of dengue cases in places where GM mosquitoes were used in addition to conventional control methods. This lesson is designed to support reading in the content area. The lesson plan includes a note-taking guide, text-dependent questions, a writing prompt, answer keys, and a writing rubric.

Type: Lesson Plan

In this lesson, students will analyze an informational text that addresses the consequences of climate change on living organisms in snow ecosystems, particularly those who live in the subnivium beneath the snow's surface. The text describes a new field of researchers called winter ecologists and their findings that show how climate change is causing lighter snows in some areas, diminishing the amount of insulation in the subnivium that many living organisms need to survive the winter. This lesson is designed to support reading in the content area. The lesson plan includes a note-taking guide, text-dependent questions, a writing prompt, answer keys, and a writing rubric.

Type: Lesson Plan

In this lesson plan, students will analyze an informational text intended to support reading in the content area. The article describes the effects of climate change on the Gulf of Maine and the cod population found there. Although quotas have been instituted to preserve the cod population, they have not been effective because of the unanticipated effects of global warming. The article explores possible solutions. The lesson plan includes a note-taking guide, text-dependent questions, a writing prompt, answer keys, and a writing rubric. Options to extend the lesson are also included.

Type: Lesson Plan

In this lesson, students will analyze an informational text intended to support reading in the content area. The text concerns lionfish, an invasive species in the Atlantic, and the environmental and economic damage the species threatens. The lesson plan includes text-dependent questions, a writing prompt, answer keys, and a writing rubric. Ideas for extending the lesson are also included.

Type: Lesson Plan

In this lesson, students will analyze an informational text that describes the impact that local ibises have on their environment and the impact that humans have on the birds. The study examines how humans are changing the lifestyles of white ibises, which in turn causes the interactions between birds and humans to lead to a greater spread of disease. The author analyzes the positive and negative effects of interactions between organisms in an ecosystem. The lesson plan includes a text coding strategy, text-dependent questions, a writing prompt, sample answer keys, and a writing rubric. Numerous options to extend the lesson are also included.

Type: Lesson Plan

This lesson plan is intended to support reading in the content area. In this lesson, students will read an informational text that describes how people in Bangladesh are using homestead farming to provide for their families, while simultaneously contributing to preserving local forests. With the help of USAID, farmers are using higher-yielding seeds and cultivating crops using organic fertilizers and composting. The demand for food grown without pesticides and nourished by compost helps the homestead farmers to make enough money to improve their standard of living, while helping the environment at the same time. The lesson plan includes a note-taking guide, text-dependent questions, a writing prompt, answer keys, and a writing rubric.

Type: Lesson Plan

This lesson is designed to support reading in the content area. In this lesson, students will analyze an informational text that addresses innovative research to aid in the understanding of how certain clays can be responsible for the killing of some bacterial pathogens. The lesson plan includes a note-taking guide, text-dependent questions, a writing prompt, answer keys, and a writing rubric.

Type: Lesson Plan

In this lesson, students will analyze an informational text that explains how climate change is leading to the melting of tropical glaciers in Peru and how this is negatively impacting the residents there. Students will examine how the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) is assisting the Peruvians in developing strategies to deal with the impact. The lesson plan includes a note-taking guide, text-dependent questions, a writing prompt, answer keys, and a writing rubric. Numerous options to extend the lesson are also included.

Type: Lesson Plan

This lesson is designed to support reading in the content area. In this lesson, students will read a text that describes the effect of climate change on the water supply and on ecosystems around the world. The article introduces research from a study spanning six continents that analyzed data to determine the rate at which Earth's lakes are warming. The author then uses this data to connect to the impacts on Earth's ecosystems and on human lives. The lesson plan includes a note-taking guide, text-dependent questions, a writing prompt, answer keys, and a writing rubric.

Type: Lesson Plan

This lesson plan uses an informational text intended to support reading in the content area. The article describes a research project undertaken by Tulane University students, who collected rodents from neighborhoods affected by Hurricane Katrina. The text describes how a mathematical model can be used to simulate how environmental changes affect the populations of rodents that carry pathogens harmful to human health. The lesson plan includes a note-taking guide, text-dependent questions, a writing prompt, answer keys, and a writing rubric.

Type: Lesson Plan

In this lesson, students will analyze an informational text that addresses the issue of releasing carbon dioxide into the atmosphere from carbon sink sites located in coastal habitats. This informational text is designed to support reading in the content area. The text describes how carbon that has been stored for potentially thousands of years is getting released into the atmosphere due to coastal habitat destruction of mangrove forests, salt marshes, and sea grass beds. The lesson plan includes text-dependent questions, a writing prompt, answer keys, and a writing rubric.

Type: Lesson Plan

This informational text resource is intended to support reading in the content area. In this lesson, students will analyze an informational text that addresses innovative research to aid in the understanding of how the digestive system works. The text describes how the villi in the small intestine work with the contraction of the muscle wall to aid digestion and how a team of researchers are working together to create a 3-D model this process. The lesson plan includes a note-taking guide, text-dependent questions, a writing prompt, answer keys, and a writing rubric. Options to extend the lesson are also included.

Type: Lesson Plan

This MEA is a genetics based lesson for upper level biology students. Students will review the data on several bulls and help a client choose the best bulls to begin a new cattle operation.

Model Eliciting Activities, MEAs, are open-ended, interdisciplinary problem-solving activities that are meant to reveal students’ thinking about the concepts embedded in realistic situations. Click here to learn more about MEAs and how they can transform your classroom.

Type: Lesson Plan

The governor of Florida has declared a state of emergency and is asking all of the residents to calculate their carbon footprint. Students need to submit a reference letter back to the governor explaining what their carbon footprint is as well as the steps they will take to reduce their carbon footprint. Students will then present their findings and evidence to reduce their carbon footprint at a city council meeting. This is an imaginary scenario and students will be graded on their written letters and speeches that are presented to the class.

Type: Lesson Plan

This is a 9th grade MEA about weather prediction and limitations thereof. This MEA will ask students to work as a team to design a plan to select the source for weather forecasts for a private hot-air balloon tour company. Students will evaluate information from various weather predictions sources to determine which one is best for a hot-air balloon ride company.

Model Eliciting Activities, MEAs, are open-ended, interdisciplinary problem-solving activities that are meant to reveal students’ thinking about the concepts embedded in realistic situations. Click here to learn more about MEAs and how they can transform your classroom.

Type: Lesson Plan

The student will assist Yogurt Land on choosing a new size container to offer their customers. The choice of containers are different three dimensional figures. Students will revisit the concepts of volume, surface area, and profit in order to make a decision.

Model Eliciting Activities, MEAs, are open-ended, interdisciplinary problem-solving activities that are meant to reveal students’ thinking about the concepts embedded in realistic situations. Click here to learn more about MEAs and how they can transform your classroom.

Type: Lesson Plan

This MEA is about space exploration. Students will review data on six extrasolar planets and determine which one would be most feasible to explore first.

Model Eliciting Activities, MEAs, are open-ended, interdisciplinary problem-solving activities that are meant to reveal students’ thinking about the concepts embedded in realistic situations. Click here to learn more about MEAs and how they can transform your classroom.

Type: Lesson Plan

In this Model Eliciting Activity (MEA), students will address a real world engineering problem in which they must work as a team to design a procedure to select the best material for cleaning up an oil spill. The main focus of this MEA is to recognize the consequences of a catastrophic event, and understand the environmental and economical impact based on data analysis. Students will conduct individual and team investigations in order to arrive at a scientifically sound solution to the problem.

Model Eliciting Activities, MEAs, are open-ended, interdisciplinary problem-solving activities that are meant to reveal students’ thinking about the concepts embedded in realistic situations. MEAs resemble engineering problems and encourage students to create solutions in the form of mathematical and scientific models. Students work in teams to apply their knowledge of science and mathematics to solve an open-ended problem while considering constraints and tradeoffs. Students integrate their ELA skills into MEAs as they are asked to clearly document their thought processes. MEAs follow a problem-based, student-centered approach to learning, where students are encouraged to grapple with the problem while the teacher acts as a facilitator. To learn more about MEAs visit: https://www.cpalms.org/cpalms/mea.aspx

Type: Lesson Plan

In this Model Eliciting Activity, MEA, "Sticks and Stones May Break My Bones", teams of students work as forensic anthropologists and use equations to determine the height and gender of persons to whom a series of newly discovered bones may belong.

Model Eliciting Activities, MEAs, are open-ended, interdisciplinary problem-solving activities that are meant to reveal students’ thinking about the concepts embedded in realistic situations. Click here to learn more about MEAs and how they can transform your classroom.

Type: Lesson Plan

In this Model Eliciting Activity, MEA, students create a plan for a movie theater to stay in business. Data is provided for students to determine the best film to show, and then based on that decision, create a model of ideal sales. Students will create equations and graph them to visually represent the relationships.

Model Eliciting Activities, MEAs, are open-ended, interdisciplinary problem-solving activities that are meant to reveal students’ thinking about the concepts embedded in realistic situations. Click here to learn more about MEAs and how they can transform your classroom.

Type: Lesson Plan

Explore the relationship between mutations, the cell cycle, and uncontrolled cell growth which may result in cancer with this interactive tutorial.

Type: Original Student Tutorial

Click "View Site" to open a full-screen version.

By the end of this module, teachers should be able to:

• Label the College and Career Readiness, also known as CCR, anchor standards for Writing
• Explain the structure and organization of the grade-specific Writing standards for Literacy in History/Social Studies, Science and Technical Subjects
• Use the grade-specific Writing standards to identify what students should know and be able to do

This is Module 2 of 4 in the series, "Literacy across the Content Areas: Reading and Writing to Build Content Knowledge."

Type: Professional Development

This informational text resource is intended to support reading in the context area. The text describes how cone snail venom, a simpler form of insulin than human insulin, works more rapidly. Diabetes is a disease that occurs when the body is no longer to control the glucose levels in the bloodstream. Cone snail venom could help scientists develop a better, more efficient way of treating diabetes.

Type: Text Resource

This informational text resource is intended to support reading in the content area. The article discusses newly developed apples that have lower levels of PPO enzyme, thus keeping them from turning brown quickly.

Type: Text Resource

This resource is designed to support reading in the content area. The text describes how for the first time bees have been declared endangered in the United States. Seven species of Hawaiian yellow-faced bees have been decimated by invasive species and habitat loss and are now federally protected. The text goes on to describe an innovative way scientists want to help the bees.

Type: Text Resource

This informational text resource is designed to support reading in the content area. The article describes a recent study that allowed researchers to prove the benefits of releasing GM mosquitoes in Brazil in order to decrease disease transmission. At first, research showed that the mosquito population had dropped, but then the research also showed that diseases like dengue fever had dropped dramatically in comparison to areas with conventional mosquito control.

Type: Text Resource

This informational text resource is intended to support reading in the content area. This article answers the question of whether volcanic activity or human activities contribute more to global warming. With evidence and support, they easily conclude human activities are the heaviest contributor

Type: Text Resource

This informational text resource is designed to support reading in the content area. The text describes a new field of researchers called winter ecologists who are examining the effects of warmer winters caused by climate change. The text describes how snow creates an insulating layer for the living organisms below the snow. When that insulating layer is thinner, due to increased global temperatures, the organisms suffer colder temperatures, stress, and even death. Winter ecologists are trying to learn more about this layer, which is called the subnivium, and how organisms are responding to these changes.

Type: Text Resource

This informational text resource is intended to support reading in the content area. The article discusses the decline in the population of cod found in the Gulf of Maine. The author writes that fishery managers have set strict quotas on cod, with little positive change. Research indicates climate change has been a major factor in the steady decline of cod, and the text explains why.

Type: Text Resource

This informational text resource is intended to support reading in the content area. The article explains how lionfish, an invasive species in Atlantic waters, is threatening ecosystems there. The voracious diet of the lionfish will likely affect native species and the commercial fishing industry.

Type: Text Resource

This informational text resource is designed to support reading in the content area. The text describes how people in Bangladesh are using homestead farming to provide for their families, while simultaneously contributing to preserving local forests. With the help of USAID, farmers are using higher-yielding seeds and cultivating crops using organic fertilizers and composting. The demand for food grown without pesticides and nourished by compost helps the homestead farmers to make enough money to improve their standard of living, while helping the environment at the same time.

Type: Text Resource

This informational text resource is designed to support reading in the content area. The text describes the interactions between local wildlife (white ibises in Florida) and humans, and the impact that these interactions have on both species. The article presents both benefits as well as potential drawbacks to the close proximity of humans and white ibises. The article also describes how scientists are studying these interactions and their effects.

Type: Text Resource

This informational text is resource designed to help support reading in the content area. The article discusses the impact of climate change (global warming) on the tropical glaciers in Peru. It focuses on providing a description of how Peruvians depend upon the glaciers and the impact that the melting of the glaciers could have in the future. The author also emphasizes USAID's role in working with Peruvians to help them develop plans to deal with the possible loss of the glaciers

Type: Text Resource

This informational text resource is designed to support reading in the content area. The article describes how a mathematical model can be used to simulate how environmental changes affect populations of pathogen-carrying rodents. A "capture" program undertaken by researchers at Tulane University allowed them to capture rats in post-Katrina neighborhoods in order to determine how rats migrate after natural or man-made disasters.

Type: Text Resource

This informational text resource is designed to support reading in the content area. This article describes the effect of climate change on the water supply and on ecosystems around the world. The article introduces research from a study spanning six continents that analyzed data to determine the rate at which Earth's lakes are warming. The author then uses this data to connect to the impacts on Earth's ecosystems and on human lives.

Type: Text Resource

This informational text resource is designed to support reading in the content area. This text describes how researchers unearthed a natural clay deposit with antibacterial characteristics. The text also discusses exactly how the two elements in the clay cause the destruction of the bacteria. The end of the article addresses how this discovery could provide possible solutions to bacteria that are antibiotic-resistant, like MRSA.

Type: Text Resource

This informational text resource is designed to support reading in the content area. The text describes different ecosystems that store carbon, like forests, and goes into how carbon is stored more efficiently in coastal ecosystems. The text goes on to advocate for conserving and protecting our coastal ecosystems to keep the carbon stored and prevent the carbon from being released into the atmosphere to further impact the planet through climate change. The text also explores other benefits for conserving coastal ecosystems.

Type: Text Resource

This informational text resource is designed to support reading in the content area. The article describes how villi in the small intestine and muscle contraction work together to digest food and provide nutrients to the body, using the metaphor of coral working with an ocean current to circulate nutrients in the sea. A team of scientists plans to use technology to create 3-D imaging of digestion, and their research is described in the article along with the specific physiology and function of the villi within the digestive tract.

Type: Text Resource

This informational text resource is intended to support reading in the content area. Oxidation-reduction reactions are one of the main types of reactions students are taught in chemistry class, but what are some real-life examples of this often awe-inspiring reaction? This article looks at the science behind some real-life oxidation-reduction reactions, including explosions (in cars and trains), space shuttle fuel, and many uses of metals. The importance of these reactions in limiting systems is also covered.

Type: Text Resource

This informational text resource is intended to support reading in the content area. The article describes how scientists have discovered a method of transferring wave energy into electrical energy by the use of manmade seafloor "carpets." After the article explains how the process works, it lists the potential benefits of utilizing this method on a large scale.

Type: Text Resource

This informational text resource is intended to support reading in the content area. This text explains the difference between radioactivity (including radioactive decay, half-life, etc.) and radiation, and the connection between the two.

Type: Text Resource