Women in History: Research for Expository Writing

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Students will read an excerpt from Amelia Earhart’s autobiography, The Fun of It, and explore various nonfiction resources about her life. Then each student will write a short newspaper article on a specific event from Earhart’s life and develop a longer piece of expository writing on the life of a different notable woman in history.

OBJECTIVE
Students will:

1. Identify the author’s purpose in an autobiography.
2. Identify character traits that fulfill personal goals.
3. Use technology to research the life and accomplishments of an important American figure.
4. Compare and contrast the accomplishments of two notable women.
5. Write an anecdotal news account of an American hero based on biographical information.
6. Write an expository essay based on online research.
7. Complete the writing process: prewriting, drafting, revising, editing, publishing.

LESSONS FOR THIS UNIT
Lesson 1: For the Fun of It
Lesson 2: In the News

REPRODUCIBLES
Organizer Patterns: Idea Web (PDF)
News Story Rubric (PDF)

CULMINATING ACTIVITY

Students will apply the learning from Lesson Two to a longer piece of research writing. Using the supplied list from the Honor Roll of Notable Women Online Activity, students will choose another notable woman and write about her life in an expository essay. You may use a rubric similar to the one used in Lesson Two to evaluate this essay. I also recommend that you give students an audience to share these women's stories, whether in class or on a school bulletin board.

SUPPORTING BOOKS

Resources for Exploring Women's History and the Writing Process

Women's Suffrage
Students read about the suffrage movement , research and answer dicussion questions, and write essays.

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Fiction vs. Nonfiction
Utilize this unit plan to teach your students to distinguish between elements of fiction and nonfiction and identify author purpose, through...

ARTICLE	Top 10 Multimedia Units: Plan Your Year Plan your year with the Top 10 Online Activities: Writing With Writers; Clifford Interactive Storybooks; The First Thanksgiving; Research Starters; Culture & Change: Black History in America; Weather Watch; Building Language for Literacy; Immigration: Stories of Yesterday and Today; Flashlight Readers; and Women's History.
LESSON PLAN	In the News Instructs how to present a lesson plan on Amelia Earhart. Students research her life with the biography Lost Star then write their own newspaper...
ONLINE ACTIVITY	Home | Write It Write It is the premiere site for kids' and teens' writing instruction and online publishing. In genres like poetry, essays, short fiction,...
BOOK INFORMATION	Scholastic's Dictionary of Synonyms, Antonyms and Homonyms This handy guide will help kids remember just how many different ways there are to express their thoughts and feelings. It's the perfect portable reference for any student writer!