Authentic Lessons for 21st Century Learning

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Margaret Salesky

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K20 Center

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SPACECAT

Grade Level Grade Level

  • 11th - 12th

Students use the SPACECAT strategy to analyze reading. It is a mnemonic device for analyzing various components of a rhetorical situation. By breaking down these components, SPACECAT aids in a structured and thorough analysis of the piece. Read more »

Strategy Instructional Strategy

User Group Group Size

  • Individual, Small Group

Copied To Clipboard Placement In Lesson

  • Explain/Closing, Extend/Additional Learning Activity

Time Frame Time To Complete

  • 20 - 30 Minutes

Tag Intention Or Purpose

  • Analyze, Annotating Text, Critical Thinking, Identify, Interpret, Reason, Recognize, Synthesize, Text analysis

Grade Level Grade Level

  • 11th - 12th
Alienstock

Analyzing Information, Media, and Validity

Grade Level Grade Level

  • 8th Grade

This lesson engages students in exploring, assessing, and drawing conclusions about the validity of various media sources through exploration of the 2019 "Alienstock" phenomenon. Students will work independently and in groups to compare and analyze different media sources and evaluate the validity and... Read more »

Lesson 5E Lesson
Alienstock

Analyzing Information, Media, and Validity

Subject Subject

  • English/Language Arts

Grade Level Grade Level

  • 8th Grade

Copied To Clipboard Standards

  • 8.6.R.3, IDT402, ARG301, D&S 301
More 180 minutes
Time Frame 3- class period(s)
It's All Greek to Me

Greek and Latin Roots 

Grade Level Grade Level

  • 7th - 8th

In this lesson on Greek and Latin roots, guide students to explore word origins by discovering root words and applying them to their writing. Have students work in groups to recognize Latin and Greek roots using learning strategies. Lead them through a reading and annotation activity to identify English... Read more »

Lesson 5E Lesson
It's All Greek to Me

Greek and Latin Roots 

Subject Subject

  • English/Language Arts

Course Course

  • Composition, Creative Writing

Grade Level Grade Level

  • 7th - 8th

Copied To Clipboard Standards

  • 8.4.R.3, WME201, WME301, WME503
More 1-2 class period(s)
Time Frame 100 minutes
The Monkey's Paw: Be Careful What You Wish For

Foreshadowing

Grade Level Grade Level

  • 7th - 8th

This lesson, based on W.W. Jacob's short story "The Monkey's Paw," is designed to help students understand foreshadowing. Students identify passages in the text that foreshadow the end of the story and predict how they think the story will end. After reading the full story, students compare their predictions... Read more »

Lesson 5E Lesson

Subject Subject

  • English/Language Arts

Course Course

  • British Literature, Composition, Creative Writing

Grade Level Grade Level

  • 7th - 8th

Copied To Clipboard Standards

  • 8.1.L.1, 8.1.S.2, 8.8.R, TST401, ARG401
More 120 minutes
Time Frame 2- class period(s)
Mastering the Art of Apostrophes

Apostrophes

Grade Level Grade Level

  • 9th - 12th

Julia Child helped us Master the Art of French Cooking. In this lesson, you will help your students master the art of apostrophes! Your students will start by analyzing the incorrect apostrophes in comics and everyday signage before moving on to a card matching activity that enables them to explore... Read more »

Lesson 5E Lesson

Grade Level Grade Level

  • 9th - 12th

Subject Subject

  • English/Language Arts

Copied To Clipboard Standards

  • 11.5.W.5
More 2 class periods
Time Frame 75-100
Screaming into the Void

Existentialism

Grade Level Grade Level

  • 12th Grade

This introductory philosophy lesson begins by introducing students to existentialism through artwork. Once they have a basic understanding of philosophical inquiry, which explores the issue of human existence, students will delve further into the key themes: Philosophy as a Way of Life, Anxiety and... Read more »

Lesson 5E Lesson
Screaming into the Void

Existentialism

Grade Level Grade Level

  • 12th Grade

Course Course

  • AP Philosophy, Psychology, Sociology

Copied To Clipboard Standards

  • S.7.1, PS.6.2
More 3-4 class periods
Time Frame 180-210 minutes
A Fuzzy Companion in the Void: Finding Meaning in Meaninglessness

Nihilism

Grade Level Grade Level

  • 11th - Undergraduate

This companion lesson to "Screaming into the Void" explores the idea of nihilism and what it can teach us about the search for meaning and purpose in our lives, how we can reconcile existential questions with our own values and beliefs, and how one finds meaning, purpose, and value in a world seemingly... Read more »

Grade Level Grade Level

  • 11th - Undergraduate

Subject Subject

  • Social Studies

Course Course

  • AP Philosophy, Psychology

Copied To Clipboard Standards

  • PS.9.2
More 2-3 class periods
Time Frame
Just a Dash of Punctuation

The Weirdest Sentence I'd Ever Heard

Grade Level Grade Level

  • 9th - 12th

A dash of this and a dash of that works in cooking, but does it work in writing? In this lesson, students will explore the use of em and en dashes. Through reading the short story “Cooking Time,” students will get to explore the use of dashes. Students will also have the opportunity to write a response... Read more »

Lesson 5E Lesson
Just a Dash of Punctuation

The Weirdest Sentence I'd Ever Heard

Grade Level Grade Level

  • 9th - 12th

Subject Subject

  • English/Language Arts

Course Course

  • A.P. Language and Composition, A.P. Literature and Composition, American Literature, British Literature, Composition, Creative Writing

Copied To Clipboard Standards

  • 11.5.W.7
More 2 class periods
Time Frame 80-90 minutes
Bubbling Personalities: Unraveling the Wife of Bath's Tale

Chaucer's Wife of Bath Tale

Grade Level Grade Level

  • 11th - Secondary

In this lesson on The Wife of Bath’s tale from Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales, students will examine different perspectives of characters from the story. They will do a deeper dive on “What Women Want?” and the history of women’s movements. Read more »

Lesson 5E Lesson

Grade Level Grade Level

  • 11th - Secondary

Subject Subject

  • English/Language Arts, Social Studies

Course Course

  • British Literature

Tag Related

  • Communication, Culture, Literary Devices, Short Story

Copied To Clipboard Standards

  • 12.2.R.1, 12.3.R.1
More 2–3
Time Frame
Beowulf Lingo: Decoding the Epic Vibes

Vocabulary in Beowulf

Grade Level Grade Level

  • 11th Grade

During this lesson, students will analyze the techniques used in classical literature compared to comic book writing to determine how they contribute to the meaning of unknown vocabulary words. Students will use excerpts from the original text, Beowulf translated by Seamus Heaney, and the corresponding... Read more »

Lesson 5E Lesson

Grade Level Grade Level

  • 11th Grade

Subject Subject

  • English/Language Arts

Copied To Clipboard Standards

  • 11.4.R.2, 11.7.R
More
Time Frame