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Portraits of Character
Defying Fear—Samantha Smith
Portraits of Character are easy-to-read stories that are just a few pages long. They feature everyday heroes as well as celebrities. Each story highlights an extraordinary display of character. In th1
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Portraits of Character are easy-to-read stories that are just a few pages long. They feature everyday heroes as well as celebrities. Each story highlights an extraordinary display of character. In this story, Samantha Smith pens a letter to Andropov. After reading the story, use the Thinking Questions to have students discuss in pairs or teams. For example, “Do you think it is unusual for a 10-year-old girl to think about world matters? Explain.” Use the Writing Ideas to have students write and share their writing with teammates or classmates. For example, “Think of a local or world situation that concerns you. Then think of a leader you would like to write to about this situation. Finally, draft a letter to this person and share your concerns about this issue.” Develop students’ character as well as thinking, reading, writing, and discussion skills as students read and reflect on this portrait of character.
Write! Social Studies
Cause and Effect
What caused the Great Depression? How about World War II? What caused the westward movement? In this activity, students explore the various causes of historical events.
Write! Math
Compare and Contrast
Comparing and contrasting is one of the most fundamental thinking skills. When students compare and contrast in math, they carefully examine the relation of two math topics. In this activity, student1
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Comparing and contrasting is one of the most fundamental thinking skills. When students compare and contrast in math, they carefully examine the relation of two math topics. In this activity, students analyze two math topics as they compare and contrast them with regard to specific characteristics. Students use this exercise as the basis for a compare and contrast paper.
Write! Math
Real-Life Applications
“Why do I need to learn this? Will I ever use it in real life?” In this activity, teams create a word web of ideas illustrating the real-life applications of the math content. Students then write abo1
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“Why do I need to learn this? Will I ever use it in real life?” In this activity, teams create a word web of ideas illustrating the real-life applications of the math content. Students then write about three real-life applications and share their writing with teammates.
Write! Science
What It's Important
Have you ever heard students ask, “Why do we need to learn this?” or exclaim, “I don’t care about this!” Without seeing the relevance or importance of an issue, students may see it as just something1
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Have you ever heard students ask, “Why do we need to learn this?” or exclaim, “I don’t care about this!” Without seeing the relevance or importance of an issue, students may see it as just something to learn for the test. In this activity, students explore and write about the importance or personal relevance of the issue at hand.
Write! Science
Internet Research
If you have “surfed the net,” you know that there are all sorts of lists, web sites, and information exchanges you can access. In this activity, students hang ten on the keyboard and research a given1
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If you have “surfed the net,” you know that there are all sorts of lists, web sites, and information exchanges you can access. In this activity, students hang ten on the keyboard and research a given science topic together as a team. Students write their own paper on their topic of inquiry.
Write! Science
Compare and Contrast
The ability to compare and contrast is one of the most fundamental thinking skills of the scientist. In this activity, students develop this capacity as they compare and contrast scientific concepts1
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The ability to compare and contrast is one of the most fundamental thinking skills of the scientist. In this activity, students develop this capacity as they compare and contrast scientific concepts with regard to specific characteristics. Students use this exercise as the basis for a compare and contrast paper.
Write! Science
Classify This!
What are phyla or the tidy columns and rows of the periodic table but classification systems? Classifying is an essential skill for a scientist. This is a generic activity that can be used to classif1
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What are phyla or the tidy columns and rows of the periodic table but classification systems? Classifying is an essential skill for a scientist. This is a generic activity that can be used to classify anything from animals to elements. Teams develop their own classification system, and share them with other teams. Students write about their favorite system.
Write! Social Studies
Time Lines
When was World War I? How about World War II? Truly understanding historical events involves not only learning the details of the event, but understanding its relationship in time to other events. In1
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When was World War I? How about World War II? Truly understanding historical events involves not only learning the details of the event, but understanding its relationship in time to other events. In this activity, develop students’ logical/mathematical intelligence as students work in teams to sequence events on a time line.
Write! Science
My Opinion
Many scientific pursuits have associated ethical issues. Cloning has been demonstrated with animals, should we clone humans? Students need to form reasoned opinions based on fact. In this activity, s1
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Many scientific pursuits have associated ethical issues. Cloning has been demonstrated with animals, should we clone humans? Students need to form reasoned opinions based on fact. In this activity, students explore ethical issues and write on their opinions.