Students present their graphic stories and historical research to the class, explaining the themes of oppression and their connections to Persepolis.
A comprehensive lesson exploring the human brain's capabilities and the nature of intelligence, featuring an informational text analysis and a multiple intelligences choice board.
This lesson explores the structural elements of dystopian fiction, focusing on how authors use world-building to critique contemporary society. Students analyze classic and modern excerpts before designing their own symbolic 'failed society' map.
A lesson focused on analyzing how specific parts of a text contribute to the overall structure and the development of an argument through evidence. Students learn to see texts as 'blueprints' where every sentence serves a structural purpose.
A focused lesson exploring the deep connections between Shakespeare's language and the core themes of Hamlet through quotation analysis.
A series of daily editing drills targeting high-frequency STAAR grammar standards including verb agreement, pronoun-antecedent clarity, and complex punctuation.
Identifying and fixing fragments, run-ons, and comma splices in academic writing.
Mixed review and simulation of the STAAR editing/revising section.
Pronoun-antecedent agreement and possessive apostrophe usage.
Subject-verb agreement and consistent verb tense within academic passages.
Focus on high-frequency punctuation errors: semicolons, appositives, and colon usage.
A focused study of W.D. Wetherell's short story 'The Bass, The River, and Sheila Mant,' examining character motivation and internal conflict through a paragraph-by-paragraph analysis.
An introductory exploration into the world of propaganda, teaching students to identify bias and persuasive techniques in historical and modern media.
A high-energy, collaborative activity where students move between stations to engage in deep analysis, sketching, and argumentative debate on large 'tablecloth' papers.