The annual Elie Wiesel Writing and Visuals Arts Competition is open to students in grades 6 through 12 and serves to inspire middle and high school students and teachers to learn more about the Holocaust, racism, bigotry, and the dangers of prejudice. The questions posed each year guide students to explore the lessons of the Holocaust while examining contemporary issues such as bullying, peer pressure, unthinking obedience to authority, and indifference.

Allegories are similar to metaphors: in both the author uses one subject to represent another, seemingly unrelated, subject. However, unlike metaphors, which are generally short and contained within a few lines, an allegory extends its representation over the course of an entire story, novel, or poem. This lesson plan will introduce students to the concept of allegory by using George Orwell’s widely read novella, Animal Farm, which is available on Project Gutenberg.

We can look at art to analyze and interpret the ideas at play; we can also use art as a prompt for creativity; but these two things don’t have to be mutually exclusive. Use this simple creative writing exercise to help students collaboratively use creative thinking in tandem with critical thinking as they make meaning from an abstract artwork.

Shared narratives can be found in art from many cultures and throughout time. Use this resource to encourage students to explore diverse narratives, discover their own personal narrative, and express that narrative through their own work of art.Using provided engagment strategies students are able to hone Critical, Creative, and Communication skills using works of art in the Virginia Museum of Arts collection. Discussion prompts and activities offer instructional oppotunities for building Collaboration and Citizenship skills. 

English Instructional Plan – Women’s Equality, Civil Rights, and the Super Hero: Using Paired Passages to engage student learning outcomes   Students will read paired passages about different aspects of women’s fight for equality or the Civil Rights Movement. These readings will provide background knowledge to students to connect these movements to two superheroes: Wonder Woman and Black Panther. This will allow students to analyze the intersection between historical movements and superheroes through various forms of writing. Primary Strand: 8.5/8.6, 9.5/9.6 - Reading Integrated Strand/s:  Writing/Communication/Multimodal Literacies

This resource provides an explanation of, sample directions for, and suggested logistics to implement a reflection and revision assignment after students have completed at least one draft of a writing assignment. The assignment requires students to pinpoint problematic issues in the writing and to focus revisions on those. The assignment requires both reflective writing about and actual revision of particular problems in order to develop awareness of their individual struggles with writing and practice solving those problems.

Use this resource to help students explore the human experience across time and place, give voice to diverse perspectives found in art, and collaboratively reimagine a museum that presents a new story centered around our shared human interactions.

Last March, schools all around the world were thrust into virtual learning, due to the COVID-19 pandemic.  In the future, do you think virtual learning should continue to be an option for high school students?  Why or why not?** This performance assessment was developed by a collaborative team of teachers and division staff from Middlesex, Poquoson, and West Point school divisions.