ALEX Lesson Plans

Subject: English Language Arts (12), or English Language Arts (12), or Technology Education (9 - 12)
Title: And Then There Were None: Casting the Characters
Description: Students will work in pairs to cast their own movie version of the novel. Students must have a knowledge of the characters and setting from the novel. Casting of the characters must correlate with the character traits mentioned in the book.

Subject: English Language Arts (12), or English Language Arts (11 - 12), or Technology Education (9 - 12)
Title: Interpreting Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream
Description: After a study of Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream, students working in small groups conduct research and create a slideshow presentation that emphasizes key aspects of the play and/or new ideas generated by the play.

Subject: English Language Arts (12), or Technology Education (9 - 12)
Title: Powerpointing to Your Career
Description: This exercise is used as the culmination of a career research project. This is a technology-based, interdisciplinary project which requires students to do Internet research and prepare a slideshow presentation. If a career is not used as a the topic of research, then the requirements can be adjusted to fit the topic of consideration.

Thinkfinity Lesson Plans

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: 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: Book Report Alternative: Characters for Hire! Studying Character in Drama Add Bookmark
Description: In this alternative to the traditional book report, students respond to a play they have read by creating a resume for one of its characters.
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: 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: Arts,Language Arts
Title: Shakespeare's ''Othello'' and the Power of Language Add Bookmark
Description: This lesson, from EDSITEment, contains seven activities for students to explore the linguistic ingenuity of Iago's rhetoric in Shakespeare's tragedy Othello. The activities involve a close study of key scenes, using worksheets to focus on the use of language to reveal character, motive, and theme. The final activity allows students to compose their own persuasive writing inspired by Iago's wordplay or a literary essay analyzing Iago's speeches.
Thinkfinity Partner: EDSITEment
Grade Span: 9,10,11,12

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: Language Arts
Title: In 1847, Bram Stoker, the author of Dracula was born. Add Bookmark
Description: Students brainstorm the superstitions they know and small groups research one of the superstitions to determine its origin and meaning or purpose. Students can write about the superstition using the Mystery Cube interactive.
Thinkfinity Partner: ReadWriteThink
Grade Span: 5,6,7,8,9,10,11,12

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