Students will debate the first amendment in school in a fun and engaging activity that they can connect to real life. They will be debating whether or not the students had a constitutional right to pray at a school football game based on the Bill of Rights and the First Amendment. What you get: 1. A one and a half page short read of the event, an explanation of the Bill of Rights that relates to the issue and a list of arguments for both sides. 2. A few questions to get the students to think beyond what they just read. 3. A worksheet that will help the students write out and prepare for the debate.

The students will try and solve the mystery of who fired the first shots at Lexington by looking at Primary sources, finding the main idea of the documents, making judgments and then writing up a detective report to explain what they discovered in a 5 paragraph essay format.

Teach students about current events in many different ways. There are 16 different current event lessons allowing you to change up how you teach current events week after week. There are graphic organizers, persuasive writing assignments, summarizing articles, article analysis worksheets, rubrics, and a text feature assignment all based on current events. 1. Current Events Worksheet 2. Front Page Current Event Activity 3. Current Event Political Cartoon Worksheet 4. Current Events Group Work Activity 5. Developing the Front Page Worksheet 6. Political Cartoons: Current Event Worksheet 7. Current Event Text Features and Predictions Worksheet 8. Bias in the News Worksheet 9. Analyzing Political Cartoons Worksheet 10. Article Analysis Worksheet 11. Post-Book News Website Design Worksheet 12. 5 Different Current Events Graphic Organizers

Students will learn how to write an essay by examining a short article about the ownership of the moon answering the essential question: Who owns the moon? Here is what is in the packet: 1. A short article about the ownership of the moon. Here is a sample of the article: Land on the moon is for sale! You to can purchase a piece of the moon for a mere 20 dollars an acre or for 25 dollars if you want the mineral rights. Dennis Hope a bar owner and business man says he exploited a loophole in the 1967 UN Outer Space treaty to claim ownership of the moon and other celestial bodies in the solar system. He sells the deeds to the lunar property out of his bar and on the Internet. More than 6 million people have bought lunar property from Mr. Hope and he has made over 10 million dollars. Even famous people have bought pieces of the moon like Tom Cruise, President Reagan, President Carter, Clint Eastwood and...... 2. Questions about the article. 3. A how to write your essay guide. 4. Helpful hints for writing (Great for struggling students and special ed.)

This is a Journalism packet with 15 different lessons. Here is what is in this packet: 1. Interviewing log 2. Freedom of the Press Worksheet 3. News or Story Worksheet with Answer Key 4. Writing an Editorial 5. Descriptive Writing Activity 6. In the News Activity 7. News Story Based on News Activity 8. Political Cartoons 9. The Elements of Feature Stories 10. Persuasive Suggestion Techniques 11. Persuasive Writing Activity 12. Descriptive Writing Activity 13. Poetry Review Activity 14. Cover Worthy Activity 15. Expository Writing

Students will debate the First Amendment in school in a fun and engaging activity that they can connect to real life. They will be debating whether or not the students had a constitutional right to publish the school newspaper based on the Bill of Rights and the First Amendment. What you get: 1. A one and a half page short read of the event, an explanation of the Bill of Rights that relates to the issue and a list of arguments for both sides. 2. A few questions to get the students to think beyond what they just read. 3. A worksheet that will help the students write out and prepare for the debate

Students will learn why text features are important and how they help you read better. This is a great activity to teach text features. You can use this lesson with any textbook! Its also a Power Point so there is no need to make worksheets!

Teach students how to spell. There are 18 pages of different worksheets with pictures to help students learn to spell.

Great summer packet for review of letters, numbers and sight words. There are 44 pages in all. What you get: 14 pages of counting 7 pages of identifying letters ABC's 18 pages of sight words/how to spell by adding the missing letter And more

Writing a decent persuasive essay can be hard for students but with this simple format students will learn to master it. The seven page packet contains detailed paragraph by paragraph instructions on how to write a 5 paragraph essay and win your argument. It also has a list of writing prompts that they can choose from. The packet also contains sentence starters and suggestions for struggling students and a detailed rubric. You could do this lesson several times picking a different prompt each time until your students master persuasive writing.

Have fun teaching the parts of the story by playing a trivia game! This is a great way to review the parts of a story without boring your students!

This is a packet that contains everything you need to hold a mock trial. The packet sets up the mock trial with a short story where the principal has edited the school news paper. Put the principal on trial and see what the jury decides. The packet will guide the prosecution team and the defense team through the trial setting up opening arguments, questioning and closing statements. This is a fun activity that the students will love.

Teach students how to write a good persuasive essay. With this format students will learn to master it. The six page packet contains detailed paragraph by paragraph instructions on how to write a 5 paragraph essay and win your argument. It also has a list of writing prompts that they can choose from. The packet also contains sentence starters and suggestions for struggling students and a detailed rubric. You could do this lesson several times picking a different prompt each time until your students master persuasive writing!

The stories of Pocahontas and John Smith have been told many times but their story has been told in many different ways. The way Disney chooses to tell the story in the Pocahontas movie conflicts with primary source documents of John Smith at the time. Students will read two primary source documents by John Smith that are different accounts of how he was saved by Pocahontas and then watch the Disney video clip where Pocahontas saves John Smith in the movie Pocahontas. Students will notice that one of the primary sources does not match up to the movie. I use to call this lesson the angry letters to Disney because most students will be upset that Disney chooses fiction and excitement over what may have really happened. Of course this is a whole new lesson about why you cannot always believe what you see T.V. This is a very fun activity your students will love and remember. Your students will write a formal letter to Disney explaining whether or not they liked the Movie and if it was truthful or misleading. Then send the letters to Disney and wait for their response! What you get in this 5 page packet. Two primary sources form John Smith, a rubric and a how to write your letter example, also notes/lesson plan for the teacher.

There are 26 worksheets on letters A-Z Use them to teach students their ABC's and sight words. Have the students color the worksheets and put the alphabet up around your classroom!

There are 14 different exit tickets that can be used with almost any lesson to have a successful ending to your class. All exit tickets are in Microsoft Word so that they can be easily edited if needed. End your lesson with style using these exit tickets.

This activity compares two conflicting primary source writings about the War of 1812 and examines why some wanted war with Great Britain while others saw it as a bad thing that would hurt the country and trade with other nations. After reading the primary sources the students will choose a side and answer this essential question: Should the United States have gone to War with Great Britain during the War of 1812? Included in the packet is the two primary sources, a guide in how to write a five paragraph essay, sentence starters for struggling students and a rubric.

There are ten pages of beginning reading sentences with pictures to help beginning readers.

Teach students how to identify pictures that start with a letter. There are 7 pages of worksheets that students can work on to identify their letters.

This is a ready to teach essay writing unit with 16 lessons to choose from. Each lesson comes with a one page or more reading about a topic, questions to answer about the text, a how to write your 5 paragraph essay guide that focuses on the essential question, and a helpful writing tips sheet for struggling writers. Below are the lesson topics in the packet: Bill of Rights Essay Unit 1. Students Searched in School: Essential Question: Does the school principal have a right to search a students, backpack, locker and pockets? 2. Students Suspended for Protesting at School: Essential Question: Can the school suspend students that peaceably protest on the sidewalk near the school? 3. Everyone is Suspended after a Fight at School: Essential Question: Does the principal have the right to suspend a student without a hearing? 4. Student Newspaper Censored: Essential Question: Does the school principal have a right censor the school newspaper? 5. Prayer at a School Football Game: Essential Question: Is public prayer before a school football game a violation of the First Amendment? 6. Students car searched: Essential Question: Is the principal allowed to search your car on school property? Fun 5 Paragraph Essays 1. Bigfoot: Essential Question: Does Bigfoot exist? 2. Drones: Who owns the sky? 3. Internet Friends: Essential Question: Are friends on the Internet real friends? 4. Ownership of the Moon: Essential Question: Who owns the moon? Conflicting Primary Source History Essays 1. Atomic Bombing of Japan: Essential Question: Should President Truman have dropped the atomic bombs on Japan? 2. Battle of Lexington: Essential question: Who fired the first shot at the Battle of Lexington? 3. American Revolution George Washington: Essential Question: Was George Washington a traitor or a patriot? 4. Alexander the Great: Essential Question: Was Alexander the Great really great or was he a villain? 5. Cherokee Removal: Essential Question: What is the best way to save the Cherokee way of life and culture? 6. Cortes and the Aztecs: Was Hernan Cortes a hero or a villain? Some of these assignments are sold separately in my store, but buying this whole packet is the best deal. Total Pages: 60