Authentic Lessons for 21st Century Learning

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Margaret Salesky

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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
Monster Monday: The Nessie Details

Writing with Water Cryptids

Grade Level Grade Level

  • 9th - 12th

Swimming in your local lake, you feel what you think is seaweed. But is it? When there's something strange in your local habitat, who ya gonna call? Mulder & Scully! In this third lesson of the Monster Monday series, students examine informational texts for examples to model and craft their own informative... Read more »

Lesson 5E Lesson
Monster Monday: The Nessie Details

Writing with Water Cryptids

Grade Level Grade Level

  • 9th - 12th

Subject Subject

  • English/Language Arts

Course Course

  • A.P. Language and Composition, A.P. Literature and Composition, Composition

Tag Related

  • Informative Writing

Copied To Clipboard Standards

  • 11.2.W.4, 11.3.W.2
More 3-4 class periods
Time Frame 180-240 minutes
Welcome to the Mead Hall

Introductory Material on Beowulf

Grade Level Grade Level

  • 12th Grade

Students will activate and build their background knowledge so that they are better able to comprehend Beowulf and draw connections to crucial parts of the story. This lesson is intended to be taught just before students read Beowulf. Read more »

Lesson 5E Lesson
Welcome to the Mead Hall

Introductory Material on Beowulf

Grade Level Grade Level

  • 12th Grade

Subject Subject

  • English/Language Arts

Course Course

  • A.P. Literature and Composition, World Literature

Copied To Clipboard Standards

  • 12.3.R.1, 12.6.R.1, 12.6.W.4
More 3-4 periods
Time Frame 130-140 minutes
Deal with the Devil

Robert Johnson and Faustian Bargains

Grade Level Grade Level

  • 9th - 12th

In this lesson, students explore what a Faustian bargain is and examine examples in literature and pop culture. Students read, watch, listen, discuss, and write an argument as they work through the concept and its lasting legacy. Read more »

Lesson 5E Lesson
Deal with the Devil

Robert Johnson and Faustian Bargains

Grade Level Grade Level

  • 9th - 12th

Subject Subject

  • English/Language Arts

Copied To Clipboard Standards

  • 12.3.R.7, 12.3.W.3
More 3 periods
Time Frame 150
Bad Romance

Dark Romantic Author Nathaniel Hawthorne

Grade Level Grade Level

  • 11th - 12th

Day and night, yin and yang, love and despair, Biggie and Tupac—all opposite yet equal counterparts to one another. In this lesson, students explore the reaction to the American Transcendental movement, dark romanticism. They Jigsaw informational texts of this subgenre and come to a consensus on what... Read more »

Lesson 5E Lesson
Bad Romance

Dark Romantic Author Nathaniel Hawthorne

Grade Level Grade Level

  • 11th - 12th

Subject Subject

  • English/Language Arts

Course Course

  • American Literature

Copied To Clipboard Standards

  • 2.R, 11.2.R.2, 3.W
More
Time Frame