Reading

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.

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. 

Source: https://crfcap.org/mod/page/view.php?id=205 (License: Protected by Copyright (c) [i.e. screenshot])

 

Civic Action Project (CAP) is a project-based learning model for civics and government courses. It offers a practicum for high school students in effective and engaged citizenship and uses blended learning to engage students in civic activities both in and out of the traditional U.S. government classroom. By using Web-based technology and civics-based instruction and activities, students exercise important 21st-century skills in digital literacy, critical thinking, collaboration, self-direction, and learning to be an engaged and effective citizen in a democracy.

Students also see how the content of a government course can apply to the real world. By taking civic actions, they practice what real citizens do when they go about trying to solve a real policy-related problem. CAP fulfills best practices in service learning with an emphasis on public policy.

Source: http://edsitement.neh.gov/lesson-plan/animal-farm-allegory-and-art-persuasion#sect-activities (License: Protected by Copyright (c) [i.e. screenshot])

 

In this activity, students are introduced to the concept of allegory by using George Orwell’s widely read the novella, Animal Farm. This lesson consists of the following four activities: Animal Farm and Allegory, The Collective Farm and the Communist State, What’s in a Name, and Tyranny by any other Name…

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

 

The President-Elect site is a great site to help your students learn about the electoral college. The "FAQ" page would be a good place to start, as these may represent most of your students' questions about the electoral college and how it works. The site is per election year so check for the current election.

Source: https://sheg.stanford.edu/history-lessons/pocahontas (License: Protected by Copyright (c) [i.e. screenshot])

 

In this activity, students use primary sources to answer the question of whether Pocahontas saved John Smith’s life.

Screenshot of the Reading Like a Historian lesson on Pocahontas

The Reading Like a Historian curriculum engages students in historical inquiry. Each lesson revolves around a central historical question and features sets of primary documents modified for groups of students with diverse reading skills and abilities. U.S. History consists of the following Units:

• Unit 1: Introduction
• Unit 2: Colonial
• Unit 3: Revolution and Early America
• Unit 4: Expansion/Slavery
• Unit 5: Civil War and Reconstruction
• Unit 6: The Gilded Age
• Unit 7: American Imperialism
• Unit 8: Progressivism
• Unit 9: World War I and the 1920s
• Unit 10: New Deal and World War II
• Unit 11: Cold War
• Unit 12: Cold War Culture/Civil Rights

Source: https://www.teachersfirst.com/lessons/art-ren/ (License: Protected by Copyright (c) [i.e. screenshot])

 

This unit will take students through a process in which they will not only experience masterpieces from the Renaissance, but they will also learn to analyze art, draw conclusions, and, at the advanced level, apply lessons from art to their own lives. In doing so, students will gain an understanding of the characteristics that define the Renaissance.

There are two activity paths. One is traditional with teacher-centered activities. The other is student-centered with project-based activities. This activity takes the traditional approach; however, there are detailed lesson plans on the Web site for both activities.

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

The “Psych Files” provides information about human behavior and is of special interest to anyone studying psychology. In this activity, students listen to a podcast by Michael Britt titled “5 Reasons Why You’re Addicted to Your Phone and What To Do About It” in which he gives reasons drawn from psychological theories on how we learn. Students are then asked to share their thoughts about cell phone usage and what rules they would implement to help control their teenager’s use.