Language Arts - Reading

Source: Infoplease Famous Firsts by African Americans (License: Protected by Copyright (c) [i.e. screenshot])

This site presents a vast array of articles and images on a host of subjects .(check Browse tab)  Students can read about African American History,  History and Timelines, Contemporary Issues and Facts, Biographyies and Special Features, Holidays, Education and Awards With the information, students create a timeline of the Civil Rights movement in the United States. In this assignment, students read about Famous Firsts by African Americans.

Source: NPR Technology Entries (License: Protected by Copyright (c) [i.e. screenshot])

 

NPR's "All Things Considered" airs its series called "All Tech Considered" which explores the sometimes daunting—always-changing—world of technology. If you are baffled by your cell phone, or your students are wondering what their kids mean when they say they are tweeting on Twitter, All Tech Considered explores many of these areas and could be of help. Try sending your students here to look up information that interests them. Not all stories have an audio component, so look for ones that have "Listen to the Story" or the word "podcast." Podcasts of many of the archived shows are downloadable and the segments are usually under 10 minutes.

Use ChatGPT to help students understand complex texts within prospositions during upcoming elections. 

Use the citation tool in Google Docs to cite an article from ProCon.

Source: Our Story in 2 Minutes by drivinman687 (License: CC0/Public Domain)

In this activity, students are shown a video called “What in the World… History Compressed” and then later asked to write about it. The emphasis is on critical thinking. The Web site contains videos, political cartoons, and pictures that encourage students to think critically.

Screenshot of Working the Web for Education - Tom March - Critical Thinking

Source: Flexi CK-12 AI Tutor (License: Protected by Copyright (c) [i.e. screenshot])

Often our students have questions, even after classes. Flexi, an AI tutor, is offered by CK-12 to assist students with any questions they may have 24/7 anywhere, on any device. Flexi uses AI but it also has a large selection of courses in Math and Science to answer questions. Answers can include links to background information  (lesson from CK-12) on the question asked. Students can ask questions in other topic areas from AI.

In this activity, have the class explore a variety of questions and write a reflection on how they see themselves using Flexi.

Source: 4Tests GED Practice Test page (License: Protected by Copyright (c) [i.e. screenshot])

 

A free online practice test site for the 2014 GED test with the 4 sections of the GED provided by Barrons Educational Series. It includes an explanation for the right answer.

Students will learn about the Hero's Journey through a gamified PowerPoint presentation. The students will use media to learn about each stage and apply it to a video of a lesser-known hero. 

Source: copilot generated image of man using AI assistant (License: CC0/Public Domain)

 

Learners will use AI in their lives. They need to learn how to use it effectively, accurately and ethically. In this lesson, learners will identify when to use AI assistance, how to use it effectively, how to evaluate the accuracy of AI responses and how to use AI ethically.

21Things4Students ins an online learning resource focused on teaching students technology proficiency. The information is presented for students through projects. It is designed for K12 but the interactives, videos and resources are well worth your time. One of their topics is Q7 Intro to Artificial Intelligence (AI): Introduction Vocabulary, What is AI? AI in Real Life, AI Playground, AI Prompt Writing, Training AI, AI Ethics & Privacy

Source: Propaganda: What's the Message? Lesson Plan (License: Protected by Copyright (c) [i.e. screenshot])

 

This is a very interactive site that allows for group work (if you have a computer and projector or an interactive whiteboard) or individual work by a student. Students will learn about individual rights, court decisions, presidential responsibilities, how to become a citizen, separation of powers, the Constitution and Bill of Rights, The Judicial Branch, Executive Branch, Legislative Branch, Money Management, and Media and Influence.

For this lesson we will focus on Media and Influence: Propaganda, but if another topic meets your needs, feel free to explore and find another lesson.

(License: Protected by Copyright (c) [i.e. screenshot])

Source: Kellogg Foundation (License: Creative Commons 2.0)

 

Students will read about Dolores Huerta and learn how to develop vocabulary by using Visuwords

Source: Intro to Lateral Reading (License: Protected by Copyright (c) [i.e. screenshot])

 

Using Civic Online Reasoning we can teach our students the skills to determine if information from the internet is accurate, inaccurate or misleading. In this lesson, you will introduce Lateral Reading, then practice it using posts, news articles or blogs

Source: Classroom Video on Demand Featured Videos (License: Protected by Copyright (c) [i.e. screenshot])

 

In this activity, you will search Learn360 for at least one resource to share with your students. Consider creating a folder or a playlist.

Learn360 offers more than 370,000 videos, interactives, maps, and experiments to enhance your lessons. Teachers working at California agencies can get their own FREE account through OTAN. Learn360 resources can be used in your classroom, and linked, downloaded, or embedded in Google Classroom, Moodle, Canvas, or on your class Website.

Source: Newsela homepage (License: Protected by Copyright (c) [i.e. screenshot])

 

Newsela is a personalized reading service designed to help students master non-fiction literacy by providing daily news articles at multiple reading levels. Newsela makes it easy for an entire class to read the same article at their own reading level.

The teacher assigns an article(s) to the class. Many of the articles have quizzes available. "Write" is a feature that allows students to answer open-ended questions. The teacher can customize the prompt.

Newsela offers a free version and a premium for pay program called Newsela Pro. Pro includes many additional features including student tracking, annotation on articles, etc. June 30, 2023 Newsela offers Newsela Lite. Articles will still be available at multiple reading levels but each week four articles will be available to select from. The articles will be available for four weeks. Each week one will be replaced. When an article is selected the teacher will be able to see student actions and quiz results. It is free to any teacher. Review the new features. 

Source: https://quizizz.com/ (License: Protected by Copyright (c) [i.e. screenshot])

 

Quizizz can be used as a prediction activity to find out what students already know about a topic or it can be used as a review to find out what was learned. You can create and play quizzes live or for homework. They can be accessed by the students using any device with a Web browser including a laptop, iPad, iPhone, iPod, Android, Chromebook, or desktop computer. An app is NOT necessary to participate in a Quizizz activity.

As of August 2022, there is only a limited free version. To use all the bells and whistles, you will need to use the Super Version which costs $96.00 annually. As long as you don't need many games, you can get away with using the free basic version.

Source: Quizlet Live by Quizlet Live (License: Protected by Copyright (c) [i.e. screenshot])

Quizlet Live is a collaborative, high-energy review game. It's based on Quizlet, the online flashcards platform that's been around for years. Students are sorted into groups and work together to answer all 12 questions correctly in a row to win.

This is a good unit on consumerism. The lesson is complete with video, note-taking and practice.

Students watch a video which explains advertising strategies. Then, using a note-taking chart, they will practice identifying advertising strategies while watching various commercials. They can also use the form at home while watching TV commercials for further practice. Then as a final activity, students can make a team presentation using PowerPoint.

Source: The Free Dictionary (License: CC0/Public Domain)

Use the online dictionary, The Free Dictionary as a stepping off point for developing research skills and expanding students' vocabulary and knowledge base through exploration of word of the day, today's birthday, this day in history, today's holiday and article of the day.

TheFreeDictionary.com site has many features including Word of the Day, Daily Grammar Lesson, Article of the Day,  This Day in History, Today's Birthday, Quotation of the Day, Today's Holiday, Idiom of the Day and Grammar Quiz. Word games include Hangman, Spelling Bee, Match Up and WordHub.

Source: Snopes.com (License: CC0/Public Domain)

 

While learning about urban legends, students practice reading skills, summarizing and paragraphing in speaking and writing, and hone their abilities to view media critically. Students use Snopes, a site dedicated to fact-checking news stories, past events and urban legends, to read and take notes on an urban legends.