LEARN NC

K–12 teaching and learning · from the UNC School of Education

English IV

Goal 3: The learner will be prepared to enter issues of public concern as an advocate.

Objective 3.01. Research and define issues of public concern by:
- using a variety of resources such as the media center, on-line resources, interviews, and personal reflection.
-specifying the nature of an issue, including the various claims made and the reasoning that supports these claims.

Additional related resources

We’re in the process of aligning our content for students to the Standard Course of Study. As we do, you’ll find it here.

General resources

Aligned lesson plans

Presidential elections and American culture
In this interdisciplinary lesson, students read about presidential candidates from three Mini Pages (available for free online) and consider what messages each candidate wants to show the American public. Students will make inferences about the candidates' values and American values at the time of publication. Students will also conduct their own research on American culture and history in the 1970s, 1980s, and 1990s, as well as research and speculate about contemporary American values. They will use this knowledge to create a commercial for a candidate wishing to sway young voters today. This lesson can work for middle or high school students, but older students would be expected to have more nuanced discussions and consider more complex issues, such as gender and race.
Format: lesson plan (grade 8–12 English Language Arts, Information Skills, and Social Studies)
By Summer Pennell.

Resources on the web

Copyright infringement or not? The debate over downloading music
This lesson takes advantage of students’ interest in music and audio sharing as part of a persuasive debate unit. After assessing their own opinions on the matter, students investigate the controversial topic of downloading music from the Internet. Students... (Learn more)
Format: lesson plan (grade 9–12 English Language Arts)
Provided by: ReadWriteThink
Communicating on local issues: Exploring audience in persuasive letter writing
This lesson from ReadWriteThink presents students with the task of researching and taking a position on a local issue. Focusing on process writing, students brainstorm, plan and evaluate persuasive writing products with their peers. (Learn more)
Format: lesson plan (grade 9–12 English Language Arts)
Provided by: ReadWriteThink