Authentic Lessons for 21st Century Learning

Author Profile

Polly Base's Profile

Profile Picture

Polly Base

LEARN Author

K20 Center

About Me

Recent Publications

Who Are You?

Grade Level Grade Level

  • 4th - 12th

The "Who Are You?" strategy is a fast-paced partner activity where students take turns rapidly asking and answering identity questions. This reflective strategy helps students identify nouns that describe who they are in their everyday lives. Read more »

Strategy Instructional Strategy

User Group Group Size

  • Whole Class

Copied To Clipboard Placement In Lesson

  • Engage/Opening

Time Frame Time To Complete

  • Less Than 10 Minutes

Tag Intention Or Purpose

  • Active Engagement, Speak & Listen

Grade Level Grade Level

  • 4th - 12th
Say What You Mean: Mastering Idioms for the ACT

Idiomatic Prepositional Phrases, Gerund and Infinitive Idioms

Grade Level Grade Level

  • 9th - 12th

Idioms are fixed expressions whose meanings extend beyond their individual components and don't always follow standard grammatical rules. In this lesson, students will master three critical idiom types that frequently appear on the ACT English subtest: prepositional, infinitive, and gerund idioms. Understanding... Read more »

Lesson 5E Lesson
Say What You Mean: Mastering Idioms for the ACT

Idiomatic Prepositional Phrases, Gerund and Infinitive Idioms

Grade Level Grade Level

  • 9th - 12th

Subject Subject

  • English/Language Arts

Course Course

  • A.P. Language and Composition

Tag Related

  • ACT Prep

Copied To Clipboard Standards

  • 11.5.W.1, 11.5.W.2, 12.5.R.1, 12.5.W.2, USG 304, USG 403, USG 404, USG 702
More 150 minutes
Time Frame 2-3 class periods
Hall of Injustice, Part 2

Guided Inquiry Research

Grade Level Grade Level

  • 8th - 9th

This lesson builds on the inquiry questions that students developed in the lesson "Hall of Injustice, Part 1." Students will use their inquiry questions based on the Tulsa Race Massacre to write an informative research paper that focuses on how remembering history impacts the present. Students will... Read more »

Lesson 5E Lesson
Hall of Injustice, Part 2

Guided Inquiry Research

Subject Subject

  • English/Language Arts, Social Studies

Course Course

  • Composition, Oklahoma History

Grade Level Grade Level

  • 8th - 9th

Copied To Clipboard Standards

  • OKH.5.2, OKH.5.2E, OKH.5.2F, 8.6.R.1, 8.6.W.3, 8.6.W.4, 8.7.W, CLR301, CLR302, IDT402
More 4-5 class periods
Time Frame 200 minutes
Hall of Injustice, Part 1

Guided Inquiry Research

Grade Level Grade Level

  • 7th - 9th

This lesson focuses on comparing and contrasting fiction and nonfiction, writing a researchable inquiry question, and developing justice-based research questions. Students will familiarize themselves with the Tulsa Race Massacre and then read an excerpt from the novel "Dreamland Burning," followed by... Read more »

Lesson 5E Lesson
Hall of Injustice, Part 1

Guided Inquiry Research

Subject Subject

  • English/Language Arts, Social Studies

Course Course

  • Oklahoma History

Grade Level Grade Level

  • 7th - 9th

Copied To Clipboard Standards

  • 9.3.R.1, 9.3.R.7, 9.6.W.2, OKH.5.2, OKH.5.2E, OKH.5.2F, CLR302, IDT301, SYN301
More 4-5 class periods
Time Frame 200 minutes
Margin Mates

Grade Level Grade Level

  • 6th - 12th

Margin Mates is a contemporary approach to peer editing that uses digital tools to enhance collaboration and feedback quality. Students will also develop digital literacy competencies that extend beyond the classroom into professional and academic contexts. Read more »

Strategy Instructional Strategy

User Group Group Size

  • Small Group

Copied To Clipboard Placement In Lesson

  • Explain/Closing, Extend/Additional Learning Activity, Evaluate/Assessment

Time Frame Time To Complete

  • 10 - 20 Minutes

Tag Intention Or Purpose

  • Collaborate, Text analysis, Writing

Grade Level Grade Level

  • 6th - 12th

"Sounds Right or Sounds Off?" is an engaging listening-based grammar strategy designed to help students develop a stronger intuitive sense of correct grammar. Read more »

Strategy Instructional Strategy

User Group Group Size

  • Whole Class

Copied To Clipboard Placement In Lesson

  • Engage/Opening

Time Frame Time To Complete

  • Less Than 10 Minutes

Tag Intention Or Purpose

  • Recognize, Speak & Listen, Text analysis
The Interlopers: Are You Ready to Rumble?

Conflict, Motivation, and Setting

Grade Level Grade Level

  • 9th - 10th

Students will read and analyze the short story "The Interlopers." They will be asked to consider the motivations of the main characters and the effects of setting on the conflict. Students will research a real-life conflict from contemporary culture or history and its resolution, present their findings... Read more »

Lesson 5E Lesson
The Interlopers: Are You Ready to Rumble?

Conflict, Motivation, and Setting

Subject Subject

  • English/Language Arts

Course Course

  • British Literature, World Literature

Grade Level Grade Level

  • 9th - 10th

Copied To Clipboard Standards

  • 9.3.R.3, 9.6.W.4, CLR302
More 4 class periods
Time Frame 180–200 minutes
Jump to the Recipe

Punctuation Culmination

Grade Level Grade Level

  • 7th - 12th

"At the table, we don't just share food, we share memories." Students will connect their understanding of punctuation rules with analyzing and writing food blogs. The knowledge gained through the previous lessons in this collection will enable students to identify successfully how punctuation impacts... Read more »

Lesson 5E Lesson
Jump to the Recipe

Punctuation Culmination

Grade Level Grade Level

  • 7th - 12th

Subject Subject

  • English/Language Arts

Course Course

  • A.P. Language and Composition

Tag Related

  • ACT Prep

Copied To Clipboard Standards

  • 12.5.W.2, 12.5.W.5, 12.5.W.6, 12.5.W.7, 12.5.W.8, 12.5.W.10
More 4-5
Time Frame 285

This five-lesson collection equips graduating high school students with the essential tools and knowledge they need as they prepare to step into adulthood. From exploring career paths and understanding how to secure a loan, to mastering professional communication and building critical life skills, each... Read more »

Cooking with Clarity

Special Grammar Ingredients: Brackets, Parentheses, and Ellipses

Grade Level Grade Level

  • 9th - 12th

In this grammar and punctuation lesson, students will explore the proper usage of brackets [ ], parentheses ( ), and ellipses … in writing. From ELA to math, science, and social studies, students will explore how brackets, parentheses, and ellipses are used across the curriculum. This exploration will... Read more »

Lesson 5E Lesson
Cooking with Clarity

Special Grammar Ingredients: Brackets, Parentheses, and Ellipses

Grade Level Grade Level

  • 9th - 12th

Subject Subject

  • English/Language Arts

Course Course

  • A.P. Language and Composition

Copied To Clipboard Standards

  • 12.3.W.1, 12.5.W.2, 12.5.W.8
More 4-5 class periods
Time Frame