Cluster 2: Production and Distribution of WritingArchived

In this Model Eliciting Activity (MEA), students must use their knowledge of radioactive dating and geologic time to select an effective elemental isotope to be used to date three rare specimens. This decision requires an understanding of the concept of a half-life and the benefits and limitations of radiometric dating. Students must complete mathematical calculations involving equations and operations with fractions and percentages. Students completing this MEA must develop two essays that respond in a professional manner to a client in the scientific industry.

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 lesson, students will conduct research and write a formal paper on child soldiers. Students will learn about primary and secondary sources and how to determine the credibility of their sources. The teacher will provide support on how students should record their citations and how to take notes on note cards. This is part three of a three-part lesson on child soldiers.

Unit overview: This unit will guide students though the process of reading multiple texts to develop knowledge about the topic of child soldiers and will culminate in a final research project. The first lesson focuses on news articles while the second lesson concentrates on one former child soldier's story as portrayed through interviews and his music. As a whole, the unit integrates close reading of multiple sources with speaking and listening activities and provides students with opportunities to write routinely from sources throughout the unit. The unit provides ample occasions for students to read, evaluate, and analyze complex texts as well as routine writing opportunities that encourage reflection.

Type: Lesson Plan

In this lesson, students will be challenged with self-discovery as they use the Socratic discussion method to gain a deeper understanding of the poem, "The Hangman," by Maurice Ogden. Teachers will guide students using text annotation to focus on specific word choice and examine its impact on the poem. Further, students will gain a deeper understanding of the poem through responding to text-dependent questions. In the culminating writing assignment, students will choose from two topics to demonstrate their understanding through a written response that is supported by details from the text. A PowerPoint, text-dependent questions and key, rubrics for the writing tasks, and other handouts are included as attachments with the lesson.

Type: Lesson Plan

This two-day lesson, "A Picture's Worth A Thousand Words: From Image to Detailed Narrative," by Traci Gardner, is provided by ReadWriteThink.org, a website developed by the International Reading Association, the National Council of Teachers of English, with support from the Verizon Foundation.

In the lesson, students view an image that tells a story and brainstorm the possible event or situation the image illustrates. Each student then writes a narrative from the point of view of one of the characters, revealing the character's thoughts/feelings and the events that led up to the image or the events that will follow.

Type: Lesson Plan

This close reading exemplar uses an excerpt from Michael Pollan's The Omnivore's Dilemma: The Secrets Behind What You Eat. The goal of this two day exemplar from Student Achievement Partners web resources is to give students the opportunity to use reading and writing habits to unpack Pollan's investigative journalism of industrial farms. By reading and rereading the passage closely combined with classroom discussion about it, students will identify why and how farming practices have changed, as well as identify Pollan's point of view on the subject. When combined with writing about the passage and teacher feedback, students will begin to appreciate investigative journalism, as well as question from where their food is coming.

Type: Lesson Plan

The goal of this three day exemplar from Student Achievement Partner web resources is to give students the opportunity to use reading and writing habits to absorb deep lessons from Charles Hirshberg's recollections of his mother. By reading and rereading the passage closely and focusing their reading through a series of questions and discussions about the text, students will identify how much his mother's struggles and accomplishments meant to both Hirshberg and the wider world. When combined with writing about the passage, and possibly pairing this exemplar study with Richard Feynman's memoir "The Making of a Scientist," students will discover how much they can learn from this mixed genre memoir/biography about what inspires life choices.

Type: Lesson Plan

Students investigate picture books organized in comparison/contrast structures to discover methods of organization and the ways authors use transitions to guide readers. Students can then decide what organizational patterns and transitional words work best to accomplish their individual purposes in writing and apply those to their papers. This lesson is designed to be used during a unit when students are writing a comparison/contrast paper. It will be most helpful prior to drafting, but it could also be useful during revision.

Type: Lesson Plan

The goal of this two day exemplar is to give students the opportunity to use the reading and writing habits they've been practicing on a regular basis to unpack the meaning of Jacques' soliloquy from William Shakespeare's As You Like It. By reading and rereading the passage closely and focusing their reading through a series of questions and discussion about the text, students will be able to understand the structure and purpose of this particular soliloquy and how it delves into universal themes regarding the human condition. When combined with writing about the soliloquy, students will discover how much they can learn from even a very short selection of a text.

Type: Lesson Plan

In this lesson by Deborah Kozdras, Ph.D. and James L. Welsh, provided by ReadWriteThink.org, a website developed by the International Reading Association, the National Council of Teachers of English, with support from the Verizon Foundation, students will use the Internet to research unique engineering careers. Students will then create poems incorporating career-specific vocabulary terms and present their findings to the class.

Type: Lesson Plan

Teams of students act as travel agents in order to plan a vacation package for a family of 5. The students must create four vacation packages that include: hotel, car rental, and visits to three theme parks.

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

Solve a problem as a team by designing a procedure to select the best approach to stop the spread of a virus throughout a population.

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 process. 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 MEA’s visit: https://www.cpalms.org/cpalms/mea.aspx

Type: Lesson Plan

Students will discuss various ways to get involved in their community and will research current organizations and their roles in supporting community needs. Students will use their research to write a well-developed essay explaining the types of community organizations that are currently involved in supporting community needs and will determine how they might want to become involved.

Type: Lesson Plan

In this lesson, students will read and analyze “Annabel Lee” by Edgar Allan Poe and will analyze and discuss the poetic devices and figurative language used in the poem as it supports the topic of “The Death of a Beautiful Woman.” Students will write a short response to explain their analysis.

Type: Lesson Plan

In this lesson, students will choose from high-interest award winning novels to conduct their own literature circle novel study. They will prepare a comprehensive summary of their literature circle learning. Then, students will conduct research about the author and prepare a PowerPoint Presentation to share their learning with the class. Finally, students will create author interview questions and answers which will be used as part of their script for their culminating podcast presentation.

Type: Lesson Plan

Students will engage in the narrative writing process to brainstorm ideas, produce organized, thoughtful drafts, provide peer feedback, edit their writing, and produce a final product. Students will create a list of ideas they will use as a basis for their writing. They will also practice each stage of the writing process (brainstorming, drafting, revising, editing, and publishing) during writing workshop. Students will receive feedback from peer reviewers at each step of the way as they perfect their writer's craft. Students will produce a final narrative essay for the summative assessment.

Type: Lesson Plan

Upon reading Kurt Vonnegut's "Harrison Bergeron", students will write a prequel to the text that focuses on the cause or causes that led to the United States becoming a dystopian society by 2081. The students will use logical sequencing to connect the prequel to the original text.

Type: Lesson Plan

This resource provides a Model-Eliciting Activity where students will analyze a real-world scenario to solve a client's problem and provide the best possible solution based on a logically justified process. The students will consider a request from Simple Photography Classes to evaluate several digital cameras and help them decide which one they should purchase.

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 resource provides a Model-Eliciting Activity where students will analyze a real-world scenario to solve a client's problem and provide the best possible solution based on a logically justified process. The students will consider a request from Cut It Out Section of the Building and Grounds Maintenance Department of a school district to evaluate several lawn tractor models and help them decide which unit they should purchase.

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 resource provides a Model-Eliciting Activity where students will analyze a real-world scenario to solve a client's problem and provide the best possible solution based on a logically justified process. The students will consider a request from E-Z Go Taxi Cab Service to evaluate several batteries and help them decide which battery they should purchase.

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

Students will read and analyze the poem "Jabberwocky" by Lewis Carroll as they focus on how the nonsense words and use of figurative language create tone and meaning. They will use context clues to determine the meaning of unknown words and phrases and explore how Carroll’s use of figurative language affects the tone.

Type: Lesson Plan

This resource provides a Model-Eliciting Activity where students will analyze a real-world scenario to solve a client's problem and provide the best possible solution based on a logically justified process. The students will consider a request from Always On Time Delivery Service to evaluate several GPS units and help them decide which unit they should purchase.

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

Students are asked to rank fabrics designated for a new women's volleyball team. Students must take into account the uniform color, Ultraviolet Protection Factor, weight of the fabric availability of material and cost. They will compare and contrast fabrics on these factors and calculate yardage needed to manufacture the team's 24 uniforms.

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

Raising Your Garden MEA provides students with a real world engineering problem in which they must work as a team to design a procedure to select the best material for building raised garden beds. The main focus of this MEA is to recognize the importance of choosing the correct material for building a raised garden bed, what information is needed before starting a gardening project, and to consider the environmental and economic impact the garden will have on the school. 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. 

Type: Lesson Plan

Learn the difference between formal and informal writing in this interactive tutorial. You'll review the key differences between informative and argumentative writing. You'll also learn to tailor your writing based on your task, purpose, and audience.

Type: Original Student Tutorial

This resource is provided by ReadWriteThink.org, a website developed by the International Reading Association, the National Council of Teachers of English, with support from the Verizon Foundation. It presents a teaching idea for using a digital organizer to walk students through the mapping and writing of an argumentative essay.

Type: Teaching Idea

Secondary students learn to use Microsoft Word's Find/Replace feature to check written work, increase accuracy, and improve written assignments. This introductory lesson teaches students how to self or peer edit by using basic keyboarding functions.

Type: Teaching Idea

In this ReadWriteThink.org lesson, students will be able to explore the genre of science fiction, while learning more about the science integrated into the plot of the story using nonfiction texts and resources. First, students define the science fiction genre and then read and discuss science fiction texts. Next, they conduct research to find science facts that support or dispute the science included in the plot of the science fiction book they read. Students then revisit their definition of the genre and revise based on their reading. Finally, students complete a project that examines the science fiction genre in relation to real-world science concepts and topics. This lesson plan makes the connections between the worlds in science fiction and students' real world explicit by asking them to explore the underlying science that supports the fictional world and considering its relationship to the real science in today's society.

Type: Teaching Idea

This fun and interactive exercise will give you practice fixing comma errors in sentences. For each practice item, you must select the best choice to revise a sentence so that it uses commas correctly. After every response, you will get immediate feedback. 

Type: Tutorial

This fun and interactive exercise will give you practice fixing comma errors in sentences. For each practice item, you must correct the comma error in a sentence. After every response, you will get immediate feedback. The site also provides an explanation of the rules of proper sentence structure for you to study, simply click the hyperlinked "Comma Tip” that appears with feedback.

Type: Tutorial

This fun and interactive exercise will give you practice correcting two common types of run-on sentences: comma splices and fused sentences. For each practice item, you must identify the best way to correct either a comma splice or a fused sentence. Explanations of each correct answer are also provided. There’s also an explanation of the rules of proper sentence structure for you to study, simply click the hyperlinked word "rules."

Type: Tutorial

This interactive exercise will give you practice simplifying sentences with apostrophes. For each practice item, you must simplify a sentence by typing a revision that demonstrates the correct use of an apostrophe. After every response, you will get immediate feedback. If you don’t know which word or words to type, the “I Give Up” button will help you out.

Type: Tutorial

This interactive exercise will give you practice simplifying sentences with apostrophes. For each practice item, you must simplify a sentence by typing a revision that demonstrates the correct use of an apostrophe. After every response, you will get immediate feedback. If you don’t know which word or words to type, the “I Give Up” button will help you out.

Type: Tutorial

This interactive exercise will give you practice in correcting sentence fragments. For each practice item, you must select the best choice to correct a fragment in a short passage. After every response, you will get immediate feedback. Explanations of each correct answer are also provided. There's also an explanation of the rules of proper sentence structure for you to study; simply click the hyperlinked word "rules."

Type: Tutorial

This fun and interactive exercise will give you practice in correcting sentence fragments. For each practice item, you must select the best choice to correct a fragment in a short passage. After every response, you will get immediate feedback. Explanations of each correct answer are also provided. There's also an explanation of the rules of proper sentence structure for you to study, simply click the hyperlinked word "rules."

Type: Tutorial

This fun and interactive exercise will give you practice in correcting sentence fragments. For each practice item, you must select the best choice to correct a fragment in a short passage. After every response, you will get immediate feedback. Explanations of each correct answer are also provided. There's also an explanation of the rules of proper sentence structure for you to study, simply click the hyperlinked word "rules."

Type: Tutorial