Students must fill out a series of drawing prompts by matching the claim, evidence, and reasoning that answers the provided question. 

Students watch a scene from Wonder Woman (2017) and make a claim about it, supporting their claim with evidence and reasoning. This activity works with any film of your choice.

Related Materials:

• Claims, Evidence, and Reasoning 

Students read three different kinds of texts and try to identify the target audience for each one. This activity works with any set of three texts you choose.

Students play the card game Snake Oil to practice appealing to different audiences.

Related Materials:

• Snake Oil game online

Students watch a scene from a film, paying particular attention to character, color, composition, camera, and cutting. This activity works with any film of your choice. 

Students watch a scene from a film, paying particular attention to story, sequence, setting, scene, symbol, and sound. This activity works with any film of your choice.

Students use the “Notice & Focus” technique to analayze a popchips ad starring Katy Perry.

Related Materials:

• “The Five Analytical Moves”
• “Make the Implicit Explicit”

Students analyze a Moms Demand Action ad, considering what is interesting, revealing, or strange to them.

Related Materials:

• “The Five Analytical Moves”
• “Notice & Focus: Popchips Ad”

Students write a summary of the film But I’m a Cheerleader. This activity works with any film of your choice.

Related Materials:

• “Summary: Using it Wisely“

Students transform one-story thesis statements into three-story thesis statements.

Related Materials:

• “Constructing the Thesis and Argument – From the Group Up“

Students spend 2 minutes leaving feedback on each other’s thesis statements, speed dating style.

Students create a list of what they like and dislike about Newark. Then, they write a short paragraph making explicit connections between each like and dislike.

Students use a selection of silly prompts to write the introduction paragraph to a persuasive essay.

Students watch a TedEd video and write a conclusion paragraph to accompany it.

Related Materials

• An anti-hero of one’s own

Students reverse outline a draft of their essay to reverse engineer topic and transition sentences.

Students read a series of excerpts from an essay to determine if the author is agreeing, disagreeing, or both with the cited sources.

In this two part activity, students identify the “they say” of two op-eds and then put them in conversation with scholarly, peer reviewed sources

Related Materials:

• “The power of a queer Superman”
• “It’s strange Superman was ever straight to begin with”

Students read an article about disability representation in the superhero genre to practice identifying voice.

Related Materials:

• Superhero stories have a disability problem

Students use the CRAAP test to determine if the provided sources are appropriate for a research paper. Sources are linked in the activity.

Students assess how well secondary sources have been integrated into provided example paragraphs, then revise to improve the source integration.

Students use sources they’ve found for their research paper to practice quoting, paraphrasing, and using signal phrases to integrate the quotes and paraphrases.

Related Materials:

• “Annoying Ways People Use Sources”

In this two part activity, students test their knowledge of MLA formatting and then apply that knowledge to their own work’s cited page.

Related Materials:

• MLA Activity

Students practice writing MLA citations for various sources without using a citation machine.

Related Materials:

• MLA Formatting and Style Guide

Students use this worksheet to learn how to identify and develop keywords for research. Adapted from a library lesson.

Students read an article from the New Yorker and discuss reading it with and against the grain. This activity can be used with an article of your choice.

Related Materials:

• “Why A.I. Isn’t Going to Make Art“

Students read a short passage to determine which parts of the essay are “everydayspeak” vs. “academicspeak.” Terminology taken from They Say/I Say chapter “Academic Writing Doesn’t Mean Setting Aside Your Own Voice.”

Students work through a guided brainstorm session to determine their research paper topic.

Related Materials:

• Ideology Research Paper

Students reflect on their research paper topic, do background research, evaluate source relevance, and make a research plan. (Assignment from the library)

Students fill out a worksheet designed to help them narrow their research question(s). 

Related Materials:

• “Developing research questions“

Students brainstorm a list of potential research questions about their research paper topic. They then revise them using a series of guided questions.

Students interview one of their classmates and write an introduction for them.

Students revise the provided sentences to state their meaning in fewer words.

Related Materials:

• “Improving Sentence Clarity“
• “Writing Concisely“

Students read a series of sentences and identify the sentence pattern and dependent and independent clauses.