All About Me

In this lesson plan, the traditional autobiography writing project is given a twist as students write alphabiographies—recording an event, person, object, or feeling associated with each letter of the alphabet. Students are introduced to the idea of the alphabiography through a presentation giving the instructions of how to create guidelines for writing their own alphabiographies. Students create an entry for each letter of the alphabet, writing about an important event from their lives. After the entry for each letter, students sum up the stories by writing the life lessons they learned from the events. Since this type of autobiography breaks out of chronological order, students can choose what has been important in their lives. And since the writing pieces are short, even reluctant writers are eager to write!

Material Type: Assessment

Author: Sylvia Castro

Acrostic Poems

This online tool enables students to learn about and write acrostic poems. Elements of the writing process are also included.

Material Type: Activity/Lab, Interactive

Accessing Complex Text Through Structured Conversations

In this lesson students use a structured format (an adaptation of Think-Pair-Share) to discuss and deconstruct complex text. The new core standards emphasize the importance of developing students' speaking and listening skills as well as helping them access complex text through reading, re-reading, re-thinking, and re-examining.The purpose of this lesson is to get the students to focus and stay on topic while they talk. As a result, students are required to think more extensively about a topic by repeatedly reading and discussing with others.

Material Type: Lesson Plan

88 Open Essays: A Reader for Students of Composition & Rhetoric

PLEASE NOTE: Some K-12 sites block access to Google Docs where this file resides. If you are unable to access it, it is also available at https://human.libretexts.org/Bookshelves/Literature_and_Literacy/Book%3A_88_Open_Essays_-_A_Reader_for_Students_of_Composition_and_Rhetoric_(Wangler_and_Ulrich) This book is a free and open resource for composition instructors and students, full of essays that could supplement OER rhetoric and writing texts that lack readings. All of the essays in this reader are versatile rhetorically and thematically. It is arranged alphabetically by author name. Each essay has a series of hashtags that apply to the essay in some way. You can search for essays thematically for topics like education, the environment, politics, or health. You can also search for essays based on composition concepts like analysis, synthesis, and research. You can search for essays that are based on shared values, essays that rely heavily on ethos, logos, or pathos, essays that are very kairos-dependent, and essays that are scholarly. This collection was created in Google Docs so that it is easily adapted and edited.

Material Type: Reading, Textbook

Authors: Sarah Wangler, Tina Ulrich

70 Characters or Less...

Students will play a written version of the game telephone, and will determine what sorts of communication is effective with limited information, if any.  This lesson is part of a media unit curated at our Digital Citizenship website, "Who Am I Online?". 

Material Type: Activity/Lab, Game, Lesson, Lesson Plan

Authors: Dana John, Beth Clothier, John Sadzewicz, Angela Anderson

10th Grade Literature and Composition : Novel Research

10th Lit Comp 10 Lit Novel Research. Novel Research. Introduction MLA Format Plagiarism and Finding Credible Sources Plagiarism Evaluating Web Resources Choosing a Novel Writing a Literary Analysis Assignments Review Novel Research Paper Requirements

Material Type: Module

Author: Georgia Virtual School

Plots: Grasping Freytag’s Pyramid

This seminar focuses on the standard plot line. More than just a beginning, middle, and end, plot lines follow an arc with identifiable actions along the way. In short stories, plays, novels, movies, etc., the Freytag Pyramid structure is recognizable. Throughout this seminar, you will use prior knowledge of plot lines to connect to new reading, along with creating your own plot line with identifiable parts. 

Material Type: Lesson Plan

Authors: Bonnie Waltz, Deanna Mayers, Tracy Rains

I Hear ........

Students will learn and utilize list poems, understand and appreciate multiple perspectives while analyzing figures, memories and events in their educational community.  They will also apply what they have learned to create a new product. 

Material Type: Lesson

Authors: Lynn Ann Wiscount, Erin Halovanic, Vince Mariner

Examining Primary Sources from the Civil War

Primary sources provide firsthand evidence and perspectives of historical events by the person writing them.  Students will read various types of correspondence (letters, diaries, and postcards) and analyze their content.  Students will then take on the role of a citizen and write a letter as if they were part of a major event of the Civil War. 

Material Type: Lesson Plan

Authors: Lynn Ann Wiscount, Erin Halovanic, Vince Mariner

Defining Literacy in a Digital World

Through listing and observation, students identify the many texts that they read and compose: including books and magazines, television shows, movies, audio broadcasts, hypertexts, and animations.

Material Type: Activity/Lab, Lesson Plan

25 Things

This lesson will allow students to select and share what details are important on a topic.  Groups of students will research a topic and then discuss and determine the top 25 important things someone should know about the topic.

Material Type: Lesson, Teaching/Learning Strategy

Authors: Lynn Ann Wiscount, Erin Halovanic, Vince Mariner