The
ReadWriteThink website has been providing quality lesson plans, interactive student materials, web resources, and ELA standards to classroom teachers since October of 2002. Highlighted here are examples of some middle and secondary lesson plans with a focus on back to school and creating classroom community.
Introducing Each Other: Interviews, Memoirs, Photos, and Internet Research
Try this lesson for a get-acquainted activity that invites pairs of students to learn about each other and share their findings with the rest of the class.
The Feature Story--Fifteen Minutes (and 500 Words) of Fame!
A similar get-acquainted activity for older students which asks students to write a newspaper profile of a classmate with a particular focus on a talent, interest, or passion of that classmate.
Writing about Writing: An Extended Metaphor Assignment
To learn more about students as writers, try this lesson which uses Richard Wilbur's poem "The Writer" as an inspiration for students' own descriptions of their writing practices.
Audience, Purpose, and Language Use in Electronic Messages
This lesson explores the language of electronic messages and how it affects other writing.
Book Reviews, Annotation, and Web Technology
Integrating technology, research, and the language arts, students work collaboratively on this lesson reviewing books and creating hypertext on the Web. Reading, writing, purpose, and audience are synthesized, resulting in a challenging and creative student project.
E-pals Around the World
This lesson provides teachers and students with an exciting way to build literacy skills in the classroom. Students learn appropriate formats for writing friendly letters and e-mail messages. Not only will students develop their reading and writing abilities, but they will also learn about other cultures, languages, and geographic areas.
Developing Reading Plans to Support Independent Reading
Students identify books they have read recently and look for patterns connecting those that they enjoyed the most. Once they've analyzed their past readings, students complete a reading plan, a simple wish list of books they hope to read in the future, based on their preferences in the past. The finished list becomes another supporting resource to guide independent readers.