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(Based on State of Ohio
Curriculum Standards)
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1. Recognize and identify how
authors clarify meanings of words through context and use definition,
restatement, example, comparison, contrast and cause and effect to
advance word study.
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Context Clues from TV411
This interactive web site uses a slide show, quizzes, and
graphic organizers to help students use context to figure out new words,
practice using context clues, and define words in sentences.
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Prize-Winning Prose: Developing "Kid's Pulitzers" in the
Language Arts Classroom -In this promising
practice students develop criteria for Kid's Pulitzers -- awards in
categories of writing determined by the students. Each student will then
bestow a Kid's Pulitzer upon a piece of writing which they deem to be
distinguished based on the established criteria.
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2. Analyze the relationships of
pairs of words in analogical statements (e.g., synonyms and antonyms,
connotation and denotation) and evaluate the effectiveness of analogous
relationships. |
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3. Examine and explain the
influence of the English language on world literature, communications and
popular culture. |
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Poetry: Blues Style -This
lesson focuses on how the blues both operate as poetry and inform the
poetry of many prominent African American poets. Students consider the
poetic devices and recurring themes in blues lyrics and the significance
of the poetry of the blues as part of the African American tradition.
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4. Use knowledge of Greek, Latin
and Anglo-Saxon roots, prefixes and suffixes to understand complex words
and new subject-area vocabulary (e.g., unknown words in science,
mathematics and social studies). |
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Word Roots from Ed Helper
This web site has over 20 printable worksheets and
puzzles that cover word roots, prefixes, and suffixes, including Greek
and Latin examples.
The following
ON LINE
quizzes are a result of the following two people:
Created by:
Miss
Stephanie Weston
Inspiration
by
Miss Harman
English Teacher Willoughby-Eastlake Schools
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Prefixes
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Suffixes
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Latin root words A-G
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Latin Root words H-O
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Latin Root words P-Z
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Number Prefixes
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5. Determine the meanings and
pronunciations of unknown words by using dictionaries, thesauruses,
glossaries, technology and textual features, such as definitional
footnotes or sidebars. |
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Multimedia Poetry Beast- This
resource is an instructional unit in which students record poetry
readings to express and demonstrate their understanding of the poet's
purpose.
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Painting Portraits with Words: A Language Arts Lesson
Based on an Exhibition on William Butler Yeats -This
resource uses a feature article from the New York Times to examine how
an exhibition of William Butler Yeats' writings represents a portrait or
biography of the author's life. Designated a promising practice, this
lesson allows students to analyze various poems by Yeats using varied
written forms.
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1. Apply reading comprehension
strategies, including making predictions, comparing and contrasting,
recalling and summarizing and making inferences and drawing conclusions. |
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Summarizing from TV411 -This
interactive web site uses a slide show, quizzes, and graphic organizers
to review the basics of summarizing, identify main idea statements and
detail statements, and use categories to summarize lists.
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The Poetics of Hip Hop-This
lesson combines an analysis of hip hop music and lyrics to provide
students with a greater understanding of rhythm, form, diction, and
sound in poetry.
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Name That Chapter! Discussing Summary and Interpretation
Using Chapter Titles-In this lesson, students
name chapters in novels that they are reading, creating a cumulative
list for the novel as they work through the text.
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Comic Makeovers: Examining Race, Class, Ethnicity, and
Gender in the Media-Students explore
representations of race, class, ethnicity, and gender by analyzing
comics gathered during a two-week period and then re-envisioning them
with a "comic character makeover."
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2. Answer literal, inferential,
evaluative and synthesizing questions to demonstrate comprehension of
grade-appropriate print texts and electronic and visual media. |
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Literacy Learning Resources from CBS and CNN
-This site has dozens of actual stories from CBS and CNN,
including the full text, the abridged text, an outline, a video of the
story, and the audio read aloud. After the student reads the story they
can take online interactive quizzes over the material covering
vocabulary, word selection, sequencing, conclusions, and more.
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Finding Poetry in Prose: Reading and Writing Love Poems -When
students think of love poetry, they almost invariably think of poetry
about romantic love. This lesson expands the concept of love poems to
move beyond romantic love to explore other kinds of love, particularly
the love within a family.
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Chinua Achebe's Things Fall Apart: Teaching Through the
Novel -This resource introduces students to
Achebe's first novel and to his views on the role of the writer in his
or her society. It can be used alone or in conjunction with the related
lesson
Chinua Achebe's Things Fall Apart: Oral and Literary Strategies .
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3. Monitor own comprehension by
adjusting speed to fit the purpose, or by skimming, scanning, reading on,
looking back, note taking or summarizing what has been read so far in
text. |
- Comparing
O'Neill and Williams-At first glance, Eugene
O'Neill's The Hairy Ape and Tennessee Williams' A Streetcar Named Desire
do not seem to have anything in common.
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Critical Reading: Two Stories, Two Authors, Same Plot?-Many
students often lack critical thinking skills to be able to analyze what
they read. This lesson encourages students to read and respond
critically to two different pieces of literature with the same title.
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4. Use criteria to choose
independent reading materials (e.g., personal interest, knowledge of
authors and genres or recommendations from others). |
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Authentic Persuasive Writing to Promote Summer Reading- Devote
time during your last weeks of school to promote summer reading by
inviting students to create brochures and flyers that suggest books and
genres for others to explore during the summer months.
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5. Independently read books for
various purposes (e.g., for enjoyment, for literary experience, to gain
information or to perform a task). |
- Utopian
Visions-In this lesson, students are
introduced to the idea of an idealized society. Students read Sir Thomas
More's Utopia and examine the concepts behind his vision of an ideal
society. Students then contrast the ideas in Utopia with those found in
the Constitution of the United States.
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Reading Applications: Informational, Technical and
Persuasive Text |
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1. Analyze the rhetorical devices
used in public documents, including newspaper editorials and speeches. |
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Censorship in the Classroom: Understanding Controversial
Issues -This lesson helps students to
understand the ways in which bias and stereotyping are used by the media
to influence popular opinion. Students examine propaganda and media bias
and explore a variety of banned and challenged books, researching the
reasons these books have been censored.
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2. Analyze and critique
organizational patterns and techniques including repetition of ideas,
appeals to authority, reason and emotion, syntax and word choice that
authors use to accomplish their purpose and reach their intended audience. |
State of Writing
( Writing Resources) |
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3. Analyze the content from
several sources on a single issue, clarifying ideas and connecting them to
other sources and related topics. |
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Figuring Somepin 'Bout the Great Depression - After
examining primary sources, including songs, newspapers, interviews, and
photographs of migrant farm workers in California during the Great
Depression, students create a scrapbook from the point of view of a
migrant worker, providing evidence of the colloquial speech used by the
migrants and the issues affecting their lives.
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Quest for the American Dream in A Raisin in the Sun-People
of all backgrounds live in America and come to America dreaming of
social, educational, economical opportunities as well as political and
religious freedoms.
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The Red Badge of Courage: A New Kind of Realism-Increase
your students' understanding of Crane's influences and how the novel's
style helped convey a new realism. In this lesson, students learn about
the elements of Stephen Crane's style that contribute to the realistic
nature of The Red Badge of Courage.
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A Midwife's Tale-A Midwife's
Tale is an innovative dramatic film based on the Pulitzer Prize-winning
story of Martha Ballard, a midwife and mother living in the wilds of
Maine during the chaotic decades following the American Revolution.
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4. Distinguish between valid and
invalid inferences and provide evidence to support the findings, noting
instances of unsupported inferences, fallacious reasoning, propaganda
techniques, bias and stereotyping. |
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The Crucible- This resource is
a study of The Crucible by Arthur Miller. This instructional unit,
maintained by the New Zealand Ministry of Education, provides
opportunities for students to analyze, interpret, and respond to
language, meaning, and ideas in the play. Content support, assessment
guidelines, and links to other internet resources are also available at
the website.
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5. Examine an author’s implicit
and explicit philosophical assumptions and beliefs about a subject. |
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Identifying and Understanding the Fallacies Used in
Advertising -This lesson alerts students to
the fallacies that surround them every day. The fallacies used in
advertising are often overlooked without the tools needed to examine
them critically. In this lesson, students deconstruct fallacious images
and messages in advertisements and demonstrate their understanding of
the fallacies through multimedia presentations.
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Propaganda Techniques in Literature and Online Political
Ads-After reading or viewing a text, students
are introduced to propaganda techniques and then practice identifying
examples in the text. After examining these examples, students explore
the use of propaganda in popular culture by looking at examples in the
media.
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Decoding the Dystopian Characteristics of Macintosh?s
?1984? Commercial -students explore the
dystopian characteristics and symbols presented in the “1984” Macintosh
commercial and analyze the comments that it makes about contemporary
society. This activity is a particularly effective introduction to
George Orwell’s 1984 because of the direct allusions to the novel in the
commercial.
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6. Evaluate the effectiveness and
validity of arguments in public documents and their appeal to various
audiences. |
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Argument, Persuasion, or Propaganda?: Analyzing World War
II Posters-students analyze World War II
posters, chosen from online collections, to explore how argument,
persuasion, and propaganda differ. The lesson begins with a full-class
exploration of the famous “I WANT YOU FOR U.S. ARMY” poster, featuring a
determined Uncle Sam. Following the class discussion, students complete
individual analysis projects.
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7. Analyze the structure and
features of functional and workplace documents, including format, sequence
and headers, and how authors use these features to achieve their purposes
and to make information accessible and usable. |
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8. Critique functional and
workplace documents (e.g., instructions, technical manuals, travel
schedules and business memoranda) for sequencing of information and
procedures, anticipation of possible reader misunderstandings and visual
appeal. |
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Reading Applications: Literary Text |
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1. Compare and contrast
motivations and reactions of literary characters confronting similar
conflicts (e.g., individual vs. nature, freedom vs. responsibility,
individual vs. society), using specific examples of characters’ thoughts,
words and actions. |
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Black and Blue: Jazz in Ralph Ellison's Invisible Man -Ralph
Ellison, musician-turned-writer, wrote Invisible Man like a jazz
composition. The novel has many solo parts, and the events seem
improvised as the unnamed main character goes from the south to the
north, with many ups and downs. His life is a sad song, illuminated in
the end with his self-made light bulbs that seem to cry, "Why am I so
black and blue?"
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Faulkner's As I Lay Dying: Form of a Funeral-In
this unit, students read and examine the novel, As I Lay Dying. Students
explore the social and historical context in which the novel was written
and draw parallels between the author's experiences and the way life is
depicted in the text.
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The "Secret Society" and FitzGerald's The Great Gatsby-The
high school social scene is rife with drama. Who's out? Who's in? What's
cool? What's not? Behind many of the questions is a burning desire to
belong. Students must learn the unwritten and unspoken codes of
behavior. Students' own experience of the struggle to belong can provide
a starting point for an exploration of how concerns about wealth, race,
geographical origins, and other factors affect the perception of social
status in F. Scott Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby.
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Become a Character: Adjectives, Character Traits, and
Perspective-students "become" one of the major
characters in a literary work and describe themselves and other
characters, using lists of accurate, powerful adjectives.
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Performing Julius Caesar- This
resource is a study of the Shakespearean play, Julius Caesar. The
instructional unit, maintained by the New Zealand Ministry of Education,
provides opportunities for students to analyze, interpret, and respond
to language, meaning, and ideas in the play. Content support, assessment
guidelines, and links to other internet resources are also available at
the website.
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Shakespeare's Macbeth: Fear and the Motives of Evil -Students
read the play Macbeth and analyze the title character's shift from a man
who, at the beginning of the play is described as noble and brave, to a
violent and ruthless tyrant. Characters whose shifting minds we feel
compelled to follow through every twist and turn are a mark of
Shakespeare's art.
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Movie
transcripts You will find the
transcripts from many if not all movies made on this website. You
will notice how they identify and explain various types of characters.
4 Star
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2. Analyze the historical, social
and cultural context of setting. |
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Identity, Oppression, and Protest: To Kill a Mocking Bird
and the Blues-African American history during
the Jim Crow era includes encounters with poverty, racism, disrespect,
and protest. Harper Lee develops all four of these themes in her famous
1960 novel, To Kill a Mockingbird. To help students understand these
ideas, this lesson incorporates the blues and other literature of the
time.
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Charlotte Perkins Gilman's "Yellow Wallpaper": Writing
Women in Turn-of-the-Century (1890s-1910s) America-This
lesson uses "The Yellow Wallpaper" to explore such literary concepts as
setting, narrative style, symbolism, and characterization. Students
complete a close reading of the text in order to gain an understanding
of the rapidly changing roles of American women during the nineteenth
and early twentieth century and how the story reflects the social,
historical, and economic realities of that time. Following the literary
analysis, students participate in group discussions and write a
well-supported essay describing how the narrator of "The Yellow
Wall-paper" represents Charlotte Perkins Gilman's feminism.
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Perceiving a Culture Through Its Literature: Korea as an
Example-The discussion and comprehension of
literary text is enhanced by an understanding of the environmental
context in which the story takes place. This lesson uses a Korean story,
After Seventeen Years by Kim Yong Ik, to demonstrate how to develop an
environmental context and find cultural clues in literature.
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3. Explain how voice and narrator
affect the characterization, plot and credibility. |
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What Did They Say?: Dialect in The Color Purple- The
Color Purple by Alice Walker is an excellent example of a text that is
successfully and eloquently written in dialect. Unfortunately, many
students find it inaccessible because they are unfamiliar with the
concept of dialects and do not know how to read a book that is written
this way.
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Magic Words, Magic Brush: The Art of William Butler and
Jack Yeats-This curriculum unit integrates a
literary study with various artistic disciplines, geography, history,
media, and technology. The unit contains six lessons, which may be
taught individually or in the context of the instructional unit.
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4. Evaluate the author’s use of
point of view in a literary text. |
- American
Puritanism: The Nature of Guilt This unit
examines the consequences of personal conscience in conflict with rigid
societal perceptions of what is "right" in human behavior as this
conflict is articulated in Arthur Miller's The Crucible and selected
plays of Tennessee Williams.
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Letters from Emily Dickinson: 'Will you be my preceptor?-In
this curriculum unit, students explore Emily Dickinson's poetry as well
as her personal correspondence to her editor and sister-in-law. Working
individually and in groups, students reflect on Dickinson's views and
the process by which she writes.
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5. Analyze variations of universal
themes in literary texts. |
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Reader Response in Hypertext: Making Personal Connections
to Literature-In this lesson, students choose
four quotations to inspire their personal responses to a novel that they
have read. Students write a narrative of place, complete a character
sketch, create an extended metaphor poem and write a persuasive essay.
Each piece of writing is linked to the quotations.
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Discovering Poetic Form and Structure Using Concrete
Poems -After analyzing examples of
contemporary youth poetry as well as the poetry of Langston Hughes,
students use the Internet to conduct research on how events in the world
shaped Hughes' work.
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Our City, Our Words: Writing Poetry Celebrating Student
Impressions of Their City-In this lesson,
students begin by sharing their opinions and ideas about what it means
to help someone in need. They then read and analyze a poem which
illustrates the struggle of poor people.
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Teaching Anna Karenina-This
resource provides an online teacher's guide for use with Leo
Nikolayevich Tolstoy's novel, Anna Karenina, and the film adaptation, of
the same name, created by Masterpiece Theater.
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6. Recognize characteristics of
subgenres, including satire, parody and allegory, and explain how choice
of genre affects the expression of a theme or topic. |
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Reading Literature in Translation: Beowulf as a
Case Study -By comparing a number of
translations of Beowulf with each other and with the basic poetic
elements of Old English alliterative verse, this lesson asks students to
reflect upon the nature of translation not as an act of accurate
representation of a literary work but as an act of interpretive
re-creation. Students analyze various texts and examine how a
translator’s decisions shape our understanding of a literary text.
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7. Analyze the characteristics of
various literary periods and how the issues influenced the writers of
those periods. |
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Examining Transcendentalism through Popular Culture-Using
excerpts from the works of Ralph Waldo Emerson and Henry David Thoreau,
comics, and songs from different musical genres, students examine the
characteristics of transcendentalism. In the course of their
exploration, students use multiple genres to interpret social
commentaries, to make connections among works they've studied in class,
and to develop their own views on the subjects of individualism, nature,
and passive resistance.
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Oliver Twist-This resource
provides an online teacher's guide for use with Oliver Twist and the
film adaptation, of the same name, created by Masterpiece Theater. The
teacher's guide for Oliver Twist presents an integrated study that uses
visual media to extend students' understanding of the novel.
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8. Evaluate ways authors develop
point of view and style to achieve specific rhetorical and aesthetic
purposes (e.g., through use of figurative language irony, tone, diction,
imagery, symbolism and sounds of language), citing specific examples from
text to support analysis. |
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Language Arts: Shakespeare's Sonnets -One
of the difficulties teachers face when they teach Shakespeare is
language accessibility. Twenty-first century students often have
difficulty understanding the words, and so they miss the meaning of his
plays and sonnets.
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Unlocking the Underlying Symbolism and Themes of a
Dramatic Work-This lesson invites students to
explore the things relevant to a character from Lorraine Hansberry's
play, A Raisin in the Sun, to unlock the drama's underlying symbolism
and themes.
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Style: Translating Stylistic Choices from Hawthorne to
Hemingway and Back Again-Exploring the use of
style in literature helps students understand how language conveys mood,
images, and meaning. In this activity, students translate passages that
demonstrate specific stylistic devices, then translate fables into the
style of one of the authors they have been reading.
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Chinua Achebe's Things Fall Apart: Oral and Literary
Strategies -This resource introduces students
to Chinua Achebe's first novel and to strategies of close reading and
textual analysis. It can be used alone or in conjunction with the
related lesson
Chinua Achebe's Things Fall Apart: Teaching Through the Novel .
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Writing Processes |
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1. Generate writing ideas through
discussions with others and from printed material, and keep a list of
writing ideas. |
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Exploring Cross-Age Tutoring Activities with Lewis and
Clark- In this lesson, cross-age tutoring
gives high school students the opportunity to guide elementary students
(in grades 3-5) to a deeper understanding of the adventures of Lewis and
Clark.
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2. Determine the usefulness of and
apply appropriate pre-writing tasks (e.g., background reading, interviews
or surveys). |
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Communicating You have the
opportunity to create a Poster, Newspaper and or a Cartoon. This
website is very good and will allow students to learn how to transform
their ideas to a hard copy that they may printout. This is
great for an LCD projector or a computer lab.
4 Star
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Communicating through Garfield Your
students may create a cartoon and depending on your experience with
technology they may create a complete story. You will only be
limited by your technology background and your imagination.
4 Star
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3. Establish and develop a clear
thesis statement for informational writing or a clear plan or outline for
narrative writing. |
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Techniques for Writing: Writing Thesis Statements for
Essays -This web site has extensive
information on writing a thesis as well as interactive exercises the
students can take online to check their understanding.
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4. Determine a
purpose and audience and plan strategies (e.g., adapting formality of
style, including explanations or definitions as appropriate to audience
needs) to address purpose and audience. |
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Purpose and Audience -This
online study guide from Encyclopedia Britannica is on purpose and
audience. It covers an explanation for determining why we write and to
whom, in a variety of settings and styles.
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5. Use
organizational strategies (e.g., notes and outlines) to plan writing. |
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6. Organize writing
to create a coherent whole with an effective and engaging introduction,
body and conclusion and a closing sentence that summarizes, extends or
elaborates on points or ideas in the writing. |
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7. Use a variety of
sentence structures and lengths (e.g., simple, compound and complex
sentences; parallel or repetitive sentence structure). |
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8. Use paragraph form in writing,
including topic sentences that arrange paragraphs in a logical sequence,
using effective transitions and closing sentences and maintaining
coherence across the whole through the use of parallel structures. |
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Techniques for Writing: Writing Topic Sentences for
Paragraphs-This web site has extensive
information on writing a topic sentence as well as interactive exercises
the students can take online to check their understanding.
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Paragraph Organization -This
online study guide from Encyclopedia Britannica is on paragraph
organization. It includes a discussion of the creation of logical and
cohesive paragraphs, including topic sentences, paragraph unity,
coherence, and transitions.
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9. Use precise language, action
verbs, sensory details, colorful modifiers and style as appropriate to
audience and purpose, and use techniques to convey a personal style and
voice. |
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Techniques for Writing: Using Specific Language-This
web site has extensive information on precise language as well as
interactive exercises the students can take online to check their
understanding.
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Choosing the Best Verb: An Active and Passive Voice
Mini-lesson -For most students, speech and
informal writing flow
naturally.
Yet students often struggle with formal or academic writing. This
mini-lesson explores verb choice in a variety of online resources, then
encourages students to draw conclusions about verb use which they can
apply to their own writing.
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Choosing the Best Verb: An Active and Passive Voice
Mini-lesson -For most students, speech and
informal writing flow naturally. Yet students often struggle with formal
or academic writing. This mini-lesson explores verb choice in a variety
of online resources, then encourages students to draw conclusions about
verb use which they can apply to their own writing.
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10. Use available technology to
compose text. |
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11. Reread and analyze clarity of
writing, consistency of point of view and effectiveness of organizational
structure. |
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The Shortest Distance Between Two Points -This
lesson integrates technical writing, specifically producing memos, with
revising and editing strategies. Students assume the role of mechanical
drafters and develop a revised set of instructions for a drafting
communique.
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12. Add and delete examples and
details to better elaborate on a stated central idea, to develop more
precise analysis or persuasive argument or to enhance plot, setting and
character in narrative texts. |
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Techniques for Writing: Giving Examples and Explanations-This
web site has extensive information on elaborating on an idea as well as
interactive exercises the students can take online to check their
understanding.
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13. Rearrange words, sentences and
paragraphs, and add transitional words and phrases to clarify meaning and
achieve specific aesthetic and rhetorical purposes. |
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14. Use resources and reference
materials (e.g., dictionaries and thesauruses) to select effective and
precise vocabulary that maintains consistent style, tone and voice. |
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Merriam-Webster's Online Dictionary and Thesaurus -Excellent
dictionary and thesaurus. Easy to use with lots of good information on
each word. This site will even pronounce the word for you.
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15. Proofread writing, edit to
improve conventions (e.g., grammar, spelling, punctuation and
capitalization), identify and correct fragments and run-ons and eliminate
inappropriate slang or informal language. |
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Activities for ESL/EFL Students -Don't
be fooled by the name of this site. It is an excellent resource for all
students of the English language. There are over 1,000 quizzes,
exercises and puzzles on every topic of grammar, punctuation, writing,
and more. Begin by looking through the Easy, Medium, and Difficult
Grammar Quizzes.
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16. Apply tools (e.g., rubric,
checklist and feedback) to judge the quality of writing. |
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Peer Editing Strategies -This
site has several articles on peer editing such as "Do's and Don'ts" and
a peer editing guide.
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Techniques for Writing: Giving and Receiving Peer
Responses -This page has good guidelines for
giving and receiving peer feedback on writing.
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17. Prepare for publication (e.g.,
for display or for sharing with others) writing that follows a manuscript
form appropriate for the purpose, which could include such techniques as
electronic resources, principles of design (e.g., margins, tabs, spacing
and columns) and graphics (e.g., drawings, charts and graphs) to enhance
the final product. |
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Guide to
Grammar You will find that
this is an
outstanding site to assist you and your students in learning
proper grammar 4 Star
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Writing Applications |
1. Write reflective compositions
that:
a. use personal experiences as a basis for reflection on some aspect of
life;
b. draw abstract comparisons between specific incidents and abstract
concepts;
c. maintain a balance between describing incidents and relating them to
more general, abstract ideas that illustrate personal beliefs; and
d. move from specific examples to generalizations about life. |
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Fooling With Words: Teaching Tools for Poetry- Fooling
With Words is an informative web site with a focus on contemporary
American poets. Many of these poets are frequently published in high
school anthologies. Lesson plans develop critical thinking skills from a
text-based perspective, often using the poets' lives to analyze their
work. Comparison-contrast skills are highlighted through discussion of
multiple poets. Good opportunities for students to write poetry drawing
on their own background and life experiences. Prewriting and writing
activities are particularly strong. The site also features video clips
of the poets reading their own work. Good links to background
information on the poets and to online copies of their work.
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Poem
writing Create your own "I Am" poem by
filling in each blank. Be sure to select all the words (and parentheses)
that are already in each blank before entering your own words.
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2. Write responses to literature
that:
a. advance a judgment that is interpretative, analytical, evaluative or
reflective;
b. support key ideas and viewpoints with accurate and detailed references
to the text or to other works and authors;
c. analyze the author’s use of stylistic devices and express an
appreciation of the effects the devices create;
d. identify and assess the impact of possible ambiguities, nuances and
complexities within text;
e. anticipate and answer a reader’s questions, counterclaims or divergent
interpretations; and
f. provide a sense of closure to the writing. |
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Id, Ego, and Superego in Dr. Seuss's Cat in the Hat -In
this lesson, The Cat in the Hat is used as a primer to teach
students how to analyze a literary work using the literary tools of
plot, theme, characterization, and psychoanalytical criticism.
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Mark Twain, the Lincoln of Our Literature-This
unit focuses on the unique genius of autobiographer, satirist, humorist,
and novelist Mark Twain. Students explore the American "voices" through
which Twain translates, assails, contours, and celebrates aspects of
American life and the American character.
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Novel News: Broadcast Coverage of Character, Conflict,
Resolution, and Setting-In this lesson,
students prepare original news programs based on the events from a
novel. After reading a novel, independently or as a class, students
explore the literary elements of character, conflict, resolution, and
setting.
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Listening to Poetry: Sounds of the Sonnet-This
lesson combines the teaching of formal terms used to describe sonnets
with appreciating the sounds of poetry. Focusing on the sounds of
poetry, this resource provides a series of sound exercises to illustrate
the underlying form or structure in poetic language.
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3. Write functional documents
(e.g., requests for information, resumes, letters of complaint, memos and
proposals) that:
a. report, organize and convey information accurately.
b. use formatting techniques that make a document user-friendly.
c. anticipate readers’ problems, mistakes and misunderstandings. |
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Book Report Alternative: Characters for Hire! Studying
Character in Drama Students read fictional
works, use software resources, read and interpret classified ads, and
write original resumes for a character they are exploring. Students
focus on one character in a Shakespearean drama or other play, paying
close attention to the descriptions of that character to determine the
character's education, skills, extracurricular interests, previous
employment, and possible references.
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4. Write informational essays or
reports, including research, that:
a. develop a controlling idea that conveys a perspective on the subject;
b. create an organizing structure appropriate to purpose, audience and
context;
c. include information on all relevant perspectives, considering the
validity and reliability of primary and secondary sources;
d. make distinctions about the relative value and significance of specific
data, facts and ideas;
e. anticipate and address a reader’s potential biases, misunderstandings
and expectations; and
f. provide a sense of closure to the writing. |
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Guide to
Grammar You will find that
this is an
outstanding site to assist you and your students in learning
proper grammar 4 Star
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5. Write persuasive compositions
that:
a. articulate a clear position;
b. support assertions using rhetorical devices, including appeals to
emotion or logic and personal anecdotes; and
c. develop arguments using a variety of methods (e.g., examples, beliefs,
expert opinion, cause-effect reasoning). |
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William Golding/Lord of the Flies Trial Simulation - This
resource, created by a group of high school teachers, details a
simulation based on Lord of the Flies. Developed as a common project
between social studies and English classes, students satisfy curricular
requirements for both subjects as they role play a trial involving
characters from the novel.
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6. Produce informal writings
(e.g., journals, notes and poems) for various purposes. |
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Exploring Literature through Letter Writing Groups-In
this lesson, students discuss literature through a series of letter
exchanges. Though not a new idea, this lesson provides an alternative to
traditional literature discussion groups.
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Writing Conventions |
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1. Use correct spelling
conventions. |
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Spelling -This web site has
extensive information on spelling as well as quizzes the students can
take online to check their understanding.
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2. Use correct capitalization and
punctuation. |
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Capitalization and Punctuation -This
web site has extensive information on capitalization and punctuation as
well as quizzes the students can take online to check their
understanding.
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Capitalization -This is an
excellent site explaining capitalization. Here you will find
explanations, an online quiz, and a fantastic PowerPoint presentation
you can download for use in class.
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Punctuation Marks -This is an
excellent site explaining punctuation. Here you will find explanations,
online quizzes, and great PowerPoint presentations you can download for
use in class.
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Commas -This is a great
interactive review site all about commas. Included are factsheets,
games, quizzes, and worksheets.
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3. Use correct grammar (e.g, verb
tenses, parallel structure, indefinite and relative pronouns). |
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Consistency -This web site has
extensive information on consistency as well as quizzes the students can
take online to check their understanding. Section 3 specifically deals
with parallel structure.
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Verbs -This web site has
extensive information on verbs as well as quizzes the students can take
online to check their understanding. Sections 5, 6, and 7 deal
specifically with tenses.
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Guide to
Grammar You will find that
this is an
outstanding site to assist you and your students in learning
proper grammar 4 Star
|
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Research |
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1. Compose open-ended questions
for research, assigned or personal interest, and modify questions as
necessary during inquiry and investigation to narrow the focus or extend
the investigation. |
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A Significant Influence: Describing an Important Teacher
in Your Life -All of us have encountered
someone who has made a profound difference in our lives—someone who
changed our lives, made us think more deeply, set our feet on the right
path. Perhaps it was a teacher we met in a classroom, but it could just
have easily been a coach, a youth group leader, a family or community
elder, or religious leader. In this lesson, students write a tribute to
such a teacher, someone who has taught them an important lesson that
they still remember.
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Allen Ginsberg: Poetry and Politics-This
lesson focuses on the works of Beat poet, Allen Ginsberg. Students
participate in literary discussions, complete journal responses, and
conduct web-based research.
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I Beg to Differ -This resource
is an instructional unit in which students use formal speaking skills to
communicate major ideas supported by key details. This instructional
unit, maintained by the New Zealand Ministry of Education, provides
opportunities for students to research examples relevant to their topic
and use a range of speaking skills during a debate.
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2. Identify appropriate sources
and gather relevant information from multiple sources (e.g., school
library catalogs, online databases, electronic resources and
Internet-based resources). |
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Sell Phones: Exploring the Future of Cellphone Markets- In
this lesson, students read about changes in the cellular phone market
and then work in small groups to prepare and present a comprehensive
marketing plan to the board of a fictitious cell phone company.
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Murder and Mayhem : The Great Gatsby: The Facts Behind
the Fiction-In order to appreciate historical
fiction, students need to understand the factual context and recognize
how popular culture reflects the values, mores, and events of the time
period. This lesson uses The Great Gatsby to study the connection
between fiction and historical/social contexts.
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The Grapes of Wrath: Scrapbooks and Artifacts:
Ethnographic Field Studies in Fiction- This
instructional unit uses The Grapes of Wrath and digital images from the
American Memory collections to explore cultural and literary themes.
Students use the American Memory collections to conduct research and
gather artifacts.
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3. Determine the accuracy of
sources and the credibility of the author by analyzing the sources’
validity (e.g., authority, accuracy, objectivity, publication date and
coverage, etc.). |
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Hoax? Scholarly Research? Personal Opinion? You Decide!- This
lesson is designed to help students determine the validity of
information that is presented to them on the Internet. After reviewing a
series of evaluation techniques for online resources, students form
groups to assess selected websites based on accuracy and authority,
advocacy and objectivity, and currency and coverage.
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4. Analyze the complexities and
discrepancies in information and systematically organize relevant
information to support central ideas, concepts and themes. |
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1984: A Teachers Cyberguide-In
this thematic unit, students learn about George Orwell's life and
political views as they examine the key concepts from the novel 1984.
During the study of this novel, students discuss the major themes and
make connections to current issues and their own lives.
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Searching Near and Far: Learning About How Specialized
Search Engines Make Internet Information Accessible-This
resource uses a news article from the New York Times to explore using an
Internet search engine for research. Designated a promising practice,
this lesson allows students to use a hands-on experience with Internet
search engines to learn more about how to locate information on the web.
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5. Integrate quotations and
citations into written text to maintain a flow of ideas. |
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KnightCite Citation Machine
A free bibliography creation tool. The user can choose
the citation style from MLA, APA, or Chicago. They are prompted for
information regarding the resource used, and then are given the citation
in proper format.
(Submitted by: Paula Cline)
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6. Use style guides to produce
oral and written reports that give proper credit for sources, and include
appropriate in-text documentation, notes and an acceptable format for
source acknowledgement. |
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7. Use a variety of communication
techniques (e.g., oral, visual, written or multimedia reports) to present
information that supports a clear position about the topic or research
question and to maintain an appropriate balance between researched
information and original ideas. |
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Debate: Is Cheerleading a Sport? -Using
the topic of cheerleading, students examine how women are perceived in
sports and then debate whether or not cheerleading should be considered
a sport.
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Web Writer's Block: Investigating Internet Censorship
Around the World -This interdisciplinary
lesson promotes critical thinking through thoughtful research and
discussions about the legitimacy of banning access to certain types of
information on the Internet. Working in cooperative groups, students
review websites banned in various countries, and investigate the reasons
why particular countries would want to block information.
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Newsworthy Intentions: Exploring the Risky and Edifying
Dimensions of Satire -Students explore the
legal distinction between satire and libel. Students begin by discussing
their ideas about humor, then work in small groups to research a libel
case. Each group presents its research findings to the class. Students
follow up by writing an editorial stating their opinion about the
decision in the case.
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Communications: Oral and Visual |
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1. Apply active listening
strategies (e.g., monitoring message for clarity, selecting and organizing
essential information, noting cues such as changes in pace) in a variety
of settings. |
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Video
Students who are responsible for a school activity
demonstrate the various potential project roles, responsibilities of
group members and various mean...
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2. Analyze types of arguments used
by a speaker, such as causation, analogy and logic. |
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It Comes as a Great Surprise...- This
resource, designated a promising practice, is an instructional unit in
which students create and deliver a formal speech. This instructional
unit, developed as part of a project funded by the New Zealand Ministry
of Education, provides opportunities for students to research examples
relevant to their topic and use a range of speaking skills during a
formal speech. Content support, assessment guidelines, and links to
other internet resources are also available at the website.
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3. Critique the clarity,
effectiveness and overall coherence of a speaker’s key points. |
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4. Evaluate how language choice,
diction, syntax and delivery style (e.g., repetition, appeal to emotion,
eye contact) effect the mood and tone and impact the audience. |
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5. Demonstrate an understanding of
the rules of the English language and select language appropriate to
purpose and audience. |
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6. Adjust volume, phrasing,
enunciation, voice modulation and inflection to stress important ideas and
impact audience response. |
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7. Vary language choices as
appropriate to the context of the speech. |
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8. Deliver informational
presentations (e.g., expository, research) that:
a. present a clear and distinctive perspective on the subject;
b. present events or ideas in a logical sequence;
c. support the controlling idea with well-chosen and relevant facts,
details, examples, quotations, statistics, stories and anecdotes;
d. include an effective introduction and conclusion and use a consistent
organizational structure (e.g., cause-effect, compare-contrast,
problem-solution);
e. use appropriate visual materials (e.g., diagrams, charts,
illustrations) and available technology to enhance presentation; and
f. draw from and cite multiple sources including both primary and
secondary sources and consider the validity and reliability of sources. |
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Through the Eyes of a Child: Creating Documentaries from
the Perspectives of Adolescents - students
explore how documentaries can present realistic and sometimes difficult
perspectives on events in our world. Students begin by watching video
clips from the film "Gaza Strip" and sharing their insights.
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9. Deliver formal and informal
descriptive presentations that convey relevant information and descriptive
details. |
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10. Deliver persuasive
presentations that:
a. establish and develop a logical and controlled argument;
b. include relevant evidence, differentiating between evidence and
opinion, to support a position and to address counter-arguments or
listener bias;
c. use persuasive strategies, such as rhetorical devices, anecdotes and
appeals to emotion, authority, reason, pathos and logic;
d. consistently use common organizational structures as appropriate (e.g.,
cause-effect, compare-contrast, problem-solution); and
e. use speaking techniques (e.g., reasoning, emotional appeal, case
studies or analogies). |
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