ALEX Lesson Plans

Subject: English Language Arts (9), or English Language Arts (9)
Title: Supporting or Negating a Thesis about the Relevance of English Language Skill to Career Success
Description: Students will research the relevance of possessing skills in the English language to career success.

Subject: English Language Arts (9 - 11), or English Language Arts (9 - 11), or Technology Education (9 - 12)
Title: Digital Story Writing: Cultural Myths
Description: You are a folklorist observing the lives and cultures of different people. You want to tell the world about their culture, beliefs, and values. You and a group of other folklorist are going to research the lives of a an ethnic group, and create a digital story about their lives, and present it to all the folklorist at the "Who are They?" convention.

Subject: English Language Arts (9), or English Language Arts (9), or Technology Education (9 - 12)
Title: Poetry Slam
Description: Students will locate a poem of their choice from a designated website to interpret. Students will then search the Internet for performances of the poem they select. In addition to creating a written interpretation of the poem, including references to websites they visited to view other performances, students will perform the poem of their choice before a live audience. Prior to their performance, students will create posters using Glogster to advertise the slam. As audience members, students will evaluate the performance of their peers.

Subject: English Language Arts (9), or English Language Arts (9), or Science (9 - 12), or Technology Education (6 - 8)
Title: IT'S IN THE BAG!
Description: Students will view a PowerPoint presentation on the effects of plastics in our environment and hold a debate evaluating the pros and cons of using plastic bags. They will also construct plastic bag animals using chicken wire, plastic bags, and spray paint while creating a podcast of the project.

Subject: English Language Arts (9 - 10), or English Language Arts (9 - 10), or Science (9 - 12), or Technology Education (9 - 12)
Title: Body Symmetry of Animals
Description: Students will watch a slideshow about the body symmetry of animals. Included is a short quiz of animals and images. The students will determine the symmetry of each animal. Students then design their own animals. They should design one with each type of symmetry.This lesson plan was created as a result of the Girls Engaged in Math and Science, GEMS Project funded by the Malone Family Foundation.

Subject: Character Education (K - 12), or English Language Arts (9 - 10), or English Language Arts (9 - 10), or Science (9 - 12), or Technology Education (9 - 12)
Title: Environmental Issues Scrapbook and Podcast
Description: Over the duration of a semester students will collect newspaper and magazine articles related to environmental issues. Students will compose a scrapbook of articles. Students will choose two topics to record and share with the class.This lesson plan was created as a result of the Girls Engaged in Math and Science, GEMS Project funded by the Malone Family Foundation.

Subject: English Language Arts (9), or English Language Arts (9), or Technology Education (9 - 12)
Title: Take Two: Using Technology for Writing and Designing
Description: In groups, students brainstorm to create a product, develop an advertisement for the product, design and present a slideshow, script a commercial for the product, and present the commercial in a 5-10 minute video.

Subject: English Language Arts (9), or English Language Arts (9), or Technology Education (9 - 12)
Title: Alaska: The People and the Land
Description: Students will read the short story about Alaskan Native heritage, "Otoonah," as retold by Robert David San Souci. From the reading and interpretation of this native American story, students will study the indigenous people of Alaska and their association with the Alaskan environment.

Thinkfinity Lesson Plans

Subject: Language Arts
Title: Black Poetry Day is celebrated. Add Bookmark
Description: Books and webpages are gathered that focus on the work of African American poets and students explore the resources and find a poem to contribute to a poetry reading.
Thinkfinity Partner: ReadWriteThink
Grade Span: 1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10,11,12

Subject: Language Arts,Social Studies
Title: Holocaust and Resistance Add Bookmark
Description: In this lesson from EDSITEment, students reflect on the Holocaust from the point of view of those who actively resisted Nazi persecution.
Thinkfinity Partner: EDSITEment
Grade Span: 9,10,11,12

Subject: Language Arts
Title: Comic Makeovers: Examining Race, Class, Ethnicity, and Gender in the Media Add Bookmark
Description: Students explore stereotypes in the media and representations of race, class, ethnicity, and gender by analyzing comics over a two-week period and then re-envisioning them with a '' comic character makeover.''
Thinkfinity Partner: ReadWriteThink
Grade Span: 9,10,11,12

Subject: Language Arts
Title: Japanese Poetry: Tanka? You're Welcome! Add Bookmark
Description: This lesson, from EDSITEment, contains three activities which use the Japanese poetic form of the tanka as a prompt for students to reflect on the nature and purpose of different poetic rules and devices. The activities involve a close study of the conventions and thematic concerns of tanka poems, opportunities for students to compose their own poems, and detailed structural analysis of selected tanka.
Thinkfinity Partner: EDSITEment
Grade Span: 9,10,11,12

Subject: Language Arts
Title: Renaissance Humanism in Hamlet and The Birth of Venus Add Bookmark
Description: After reading Shakespeare's Hamlet, students identify, analyze, and explain how elements in Botticelli's painting Birth of Venus and examples from the play illustrate the philosophy of Renaissance Humanism.
Thinkfinity Partner: ReadWriteThink
Grade Span: 9,10,11,12

Subject: Language Arts
Title: Author Garc -a M rquez was born on this day. Add Bookmark
Description: Students take place in a collaborative creative writing activity to begin to understand the hallmarks of the literary style known as magical realism.
Thinkfinity Partner: ReadWriteThink
Grade Span: 7,8,9,10,11,12

Subject: Language Arts
Title: In 1902, John Steinbeck was born. Add Bookmark
Description: Students brainstorm a list of the ills of society, research a topic of their choosing, and then prepare an annotated bibliography of texts that address the topic.
Thinkfinity Partner: ReadWriteThink
Grade Span: 9,10,11,12

Subject: Language Arts
Title: Magazine Redux: An Exercise in Critical Literacy Add Bookmark
Description: Paper and pixels get compared in this lesson in which students compare both printed and online versions of a magazine.
Thinkfinity Partner: ReadWriteThink
Grade Span: 9,10,11,12

Subject: Language Arts
Title: Artist Pablo Picasso was born on this day in 1881. Add Bookmark
Description: Students view a Picasso piece, write their impressions, and share. Students can create their own Picasso-style art using the interactive Picassohead.
Thinkfinity Partner: ReadWriteThink
Grade Span: 5,6,7,8,9,10

Subject: Language Arts
Title: Where the Sidewalk Ends by Shel Silverstein was published in 1974. Add Bookmark
Description: Students are introduced to a Silverstein verse and asked for their impressions. They then draw that they imagine when they read one of his lines and then write a line or two to continue the passage.
Thinkfinity Partner: ReadWriteThink
Grade Span: 1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10,11,12

Subject: Language Arts
Title: In 1940, Musician and peace activist John Lennon was born. Add Bookmark
Description: After listening to '' Imagine,'' students reflect on the lyrics and answer questions. Then, they have a chance to write a stanza for their own song.
Thinkfinity Partner: ReadWriteThink
Grade Span: 9,10,11,12

Subject: Arts,Language Arts,Social Studies
Title: 'Hamlet'' and the Elizabethan Revenge Ethic in Text and Film Add Bookmark
Description: This lesson, from EDSITEment, contains a set of five activities for students to explore the themes of honor, loyalty, and revenge in selected scenes from Hamlet. These activities involve literary analysis of the text, discussions of characterization and motive, and comparison with a cinematic adaptation of the play.
Thinkfinity Partner: EDSITEment
Grade Span: 9,10,11,12

Subject: Arts - Drama - Language Arts - Writing (composition) - Religion - Christianity - Religion - Islam - Social Studies - Geography
Title: Perception of Place Add Bookmark
Description: In this Xpeditions lesson, students write paragraphs describing their perceptions of a specified place and compare notes to see the variety of ideas and feelings toward this place. They come to understand how and why people perceive places in different ways.
Thinkfinity Partner: National Geographic Education
Grade Span: 9,10,11,12

Subject: Language Arts - Reading - Social Studies - Geography
Title: Reading Between the Lines Add Bookmark
Description: This lesson, from Xpeditions, helps students evaluate news stories by determining their sources and recognizing biases or viewpoints. In order to become well-informed adults, it is a good idea for students to develop the habit of reading the news and keeping informed on important topics, such as geography, the environment, and world events. With the overwhelming amount of information available both in print and online, it is important that students learn to read news stories with a critical eye.
Thinkfinity Partner: National Geographic Education
Grade Span: 9,10,11,12

Subject: Language Arts
Title: Name That Chapter! Discussing Summary and Interpretation Using Chapter Titles Add Bookmark
Description: Students name unnamed chapters in a novel they are reading. They discuss possible chapter names, considering accuracy, word choice, and connotation, before settling on a choice.
Thinkfinity Partner: ReadWriteThink
Grade Span: 9,10,11,12

Subject: Language Arts
Title: Style: Translating Stylistic Choices from Hawthorne to Hemingway and Back Again Add Bookmark
Description: After exploring the styles of two authors, students translate passages from one author into the style of another. They then translate fables into the style of one of the authors.
Thinkfinity Partner: ReadWriteThink
Grade Span: 9,10,11,12

Subject: Language Arts
Title: Arabic Poetry: Guzzle a Ghazal! Add Bookmark
Description: This lesson, from EDSITEment, contains three activities for students to understand and appreciate the intricate poetry of the ghazal, a pre-Islamic verse form still popular today. These activities involve experimenting with English rhymes in the style of the ghazal, studying real ghazal poetry to deduce its structure and rules, and group composition of ghazal-style poetry in English.
Thinkfinity Partner: EDSITEment
Grade Span: 9,10,11,12

Subject: Language Arts
Title: Making Connections to Myth and Folktale: The Many Ways to Rainy Mountain Add Bookmark
Description: Following the model of N. Scott Momaday's The Way To Rainy Mountain, students write three-voice narratives based on Kiowa folktales, an interview with an Elder, and personal connections to theme.
Thinkfinity Partner: ReadWriteThink
Grade Span: 9,10,11,12

Subject: Language Arts
Title: Fairy Tale Autobiographies Add Bookmark
Description: Students read and analyze fairy tales from several cultures, identifying common elements. Choosing common situations, students write original fairy tales, using picture books as models and a peer review process.
Thinkfinity Partner: ReadWriteThink
Grade Span: 5,6,7,8,9

Subject: Language Arts
Title: Novel News: Broadcast Coverage of Character, Conflict, Resolution, and Setting Add Bookmark
Description: This twist on readers theater has students prepare original news programs based on incidents in a recent reading, as they explore standard literary elements of character, conflict, resolution, and setting.
Thinkfinity Partner: ReadWriteThink
Grade Span: 9,10,11,12

Subject: Arts,Language Arts,Social Studies
Title: 'Hamlet'' Meets ''Chushingura'': Traditions of the Revenge Tragedy Add Bookmark
Description: This lesson, from EDSITEment, contains two activities for students to explore similarities and differences between cultures by comparing Shakespearean and Bunraku/Kabuki dramas. These activities involve literary comparison of Hamlet and the Japanese drama Chushingura, and analyses of different cinematic and theatrical adaptations of both plays.
Thinkfinity Partner: EDSITEment
Grade Span: 9,10,11,12