8th Grade Historical Literacy consists of two 43 minute class periods. Writing is one 43 minute block and reading is another. The teacher has picked themes based on social studies standards, and a read-aloud novel based on social studies serves as the mentor text for writing and reading skills. More social studies content is addressed in reading through teaching nonfiction reading skills and discussion. Standards reflect CCSS ELA, Reading, and Social Studies Standards for History.

Students will be creating a variety of poetry as well as analyzing poetry. They will work with Language standards and take a performance assessment at the end of the unit.

Description:  As part of our new ELA curriculum, the students spend about 7 weeks reading and studying human intelligence and how all people are smart in different ways. At the end of the unit, students are to create an informative presentation.  I decided this would be the perfect place to incorporate CTE into my ELA curriculum by having students read, research, write and then present Google slideshows which would connect their possible future careers with their current learning styles and how they each feel they are “smart”.  

This activity uses the reading, A Cool Connection (as a short story or one act play), to increase student understanding of how electrical power gets to their home and to introduce the connections between environmental problems and personal consumption. The storyline revolves around a group of high school students seeking relief from a heatwave while planning activities for their Ecology Club.

Topics introduced and assessed:
• The steps needed to move electrical power from where it is produced to where it is consumed
• The environmental costs of energy production
• The social costs of not meeting electrical demand

This may be used as a way of having students present in a persuasive, true-to-life format.  It can be used as a business education/marketing format, as well as a way of having students persuade an audience through both speaking and using visual aids.

This is a project that can be used individually or with groups.  It includes detailed instructions and rubric.

Students explore the legal and ethical dimensions of respecting creative work. First, they learn a basic foundation of legal principles and vocabulary related to copyright. They understand how such factors as the rules of copyright law, the values and intent of the original creator, and the audience and purpose should affect their decisions about using the creative work of others. Using the Mad Men Student Handout, students then apply these principles to a simulation activity in which they act as advertising executives who have to choose a photo for an ad campaign.