Subtopic: Informative Writing

Alexander Hamilton
In this media-rich activity designed to enhance literacy skills, students explore the key role that Alexander Hamilton played in shaping the U.S. government, and how his childhood experiences helped him take on important responsibilities.

Analyzing an Issue From Three Perspectives - Smoking in Public Places
Students note various perspectives on the debate about smoking in public places in NYC and create an interview to research the perspectives of peers and community members. They write a report to present their findings and opinion on the issue.

Cats - Yesterday and Today
In this video segment from Nature, discover the various roles the cat has played in our history.

Collecting and Organizing Facts From Multiple Sources - Flowering Plants
Students take notes on two videos about flowering plants and organize the information to write a cohesive essay about the topic.

Debating the Constitution
In this media-rich activity designed to enhance literacy skills, students explore how delegates to the U.S. Constitutional Convention in 1787 addressed slavery in the Constitution as they debated the idea of fair representation in the government.

Domesticated Pigeons
This video segment from WILD TV features a man who raises pigeons as a hobby.

Exploring the Everglades Environment
In this media-rich activity designed to enhance literacy skills, students learn about the unique environment of southern Florida's Everglades and gain insights into the interrelatedness of living things, non-living things, and climate.

Forming an Opinion with Organizational Elements - Cats, Yesterday and Today
Students use a graphic organizer to list facts about the role of cats throughout history. They then write a paragraph stating an informed opinion about cats' most important role.

Identify Cultural Influences - Hiawatha
Students identify aspects of Native American life represented in the poem Hiawatha.

Identifying Social, Cultural, and Historical Perspectives - Dogs That Changed the World
Students identify social, cultural, and historical perspectives regarding the importance of dogs in the past and present. They write and illustrate list poems that incorporate each perspective.

The Importance of Setting to a Story - Pesky Critters
Students take notes on a video segment and write an essay detailing how setting (time, place and environment) influence a story.

Kids Care
In this video segment from Zoom, students in the Kids Care Club prepare “Bags of Love” for mothers and children.

Newton's Third Law: Action-Reaction
In this media-rich activity designed to enhance literacy skills, an early astronaut's experiences teach students that Newton's third law of motion—for every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction—applies both on Earth and in outer space.

Perspectives on the Land
In this media-rich activity designed to enhance literacy skills, students explore how the differing worldviews of white settlers and Native Americans affected their interactions and led to conflicts when Americans surged westward in the 1860s.

Point of View - Sharing a Perspective on Music
Students share their opinions on music and write two critiques of a band playing the “St. Louis Blues,” one from their own point of view and one from that of a music critic. They reflect upon how their point of view influenced their opinion.

Public Speaking and Persuasion - Improve Your School!
Students will then describe ways in which they would like to improve their school by making an oral presentation to persuade the audience to agree with their ideas. Students are evaluated on their public speaking skills and their ability to be persuasive.

Reproductive Strategies
In this media-rich activity designed to enhance literacy skills, students learn about the advantages and disadvantages of the two basic forms of reproduction for the living things that practice them.

Ronald Johnson of Sapelo Island
In this video segment from EGG: The Arts Show, resident Ronald Johnson explains that Sapelo Island is a unique place, preserving the last examples of Gullah/Geechee culture.  

Squatter's Rights
Protecting their farms from elephants is a daily fight for African farmers in the Sahel. In this video segment from Africa, learn about the relationship between the African farmers and elephants in the Sahel.

The Story of Pocahontas
In this media-rich activity designed to enhance literacy skills, students explore what may have happened when Pocahontas and John Smith met by comparing a popular and a historical version of the famous story.

Summary, Symbolism and Levels of Meaning - The Healing Totem
Students write a summary of a video segment and then rewrite it after a discussion of the video’s symbolism. They reflect on how an understanding of the symbolism influenced their ability to summarize and comprehend the segment.

Surviving Winter
In this media-rich activity designed to enhance literacy skills, students learn about the various physical and behavioral adaptations that animals rely on to help them survive changing environmental conditions, such as the arrival of winter.

The Three Branches of Government
In this media-rich activity designed to enhance literacy skills, students learn how power is divided and shared among the executive, legislative, and judicial branches of the U.S. government.

Transitional Fossils
In this media-rich activity designed to enhance literacy skills, students learn that transitional fossils provide scientists with evidence to establish how different major animal groups are related to one another in evolution.