MODULES Created by PCS ELA Teachers: 

LDC_Transcendentalism Module.rtf (Skiba, Chew, and Wilson) 

EDUCore: New resources about the Literacy Design Collaborative 

Resource Chart for LDC Module.rtf - use this document in planning your LDC module 

Familiarizing Yourself with LDC Module Design 

Need Big Picture? 

The_1.0_Guidebook_to_LDC.pdf

Task Template Collection - 

LBD Framework_Technical Guide.pdf

LBD Template Module_Argumentation_Chart Format.doc

LBD Template Tasks.pdf

Instructions for Developing a LBD Module.pdf

: Design an argumentative module 

These are samples to help guide your thinking. You may want to PRINT an example module to help you during the workshop 

Sample LDC Module on Hamlet.pdf

Sample LBD Module_Argumentation_Economic Systems.pdf

This is the TEMPLATE you will use to create your module 

LDC Blank Module Argumentation.doc

UNITS Created by PCS ELA Teachers: 

LDC_Transcendentalism Module.rtf (Skiba, Chew, and Wilson) 

Task-Only Templates

Some participants choose to create and share teaching tasks without including plans for skills and instruction. For that shortened approach, these templates can be helpful.

Download Argumentation Task-Only Template
Download Informational/Explanatory Task-Only Template
Download Narrative Task-Only Template

Argumentation Templates

Why are there multiple templates for each kind of writing? They’re an illustration of how LDC operates as a framework, with multiple options for building within our short list of rules. As LDC develops, you’ll see still more templates becoming available, using varied layouts but still offering all the elements required for LDC design. Here are two choices for argumentation, and you can read about other options below.

Download horizontal, chart-based template
Download vertical, narrative-style template

Paideia Templates

These templates are designed to teach and assess the Common Core College and Career Readiness Anchor Standards identified in the LDC standards as well as those for “Speaking and Listening” including a formal and rigorous dialogue about concepts and ideas. Common Core “Reading” and “Writing” standards are practiced and assessed around the Paideia Seminar discussion. If you are not trained in leading Paideia (Socratic) Seminars, you can still teach this module by replacing the Seminar in Cluster 3 with another discussion-based strategy.

Paideia Argumentation Templates

Download Paideia Argumentation Template
Download Paideia Argumentation Template (Analysis Prior to Reading Discussion)
Download Paideia Argumentation Template (Analysis After Reading Discussion)

Paideia Informational-Explanatory Templates
Download Paideia Informational-Explanatory Template (Analysis Prior to Reading Discussion)
Download Paideia Informational-Explanatory Template (Analysis After Reading Discussion)

Paideia Narrative Templates
Download Paideia Narrative Template (Analysis Prior to Reading Discussion)
Download Paideia Narrative Template (Analysis After to Reading Discussion)

Informational-Explanatory Templates

Once again, there are multiple options that meet the LDC framework requirements.

Download horizontal, narrative-style template
Download vertical, narrative-style template

English Language Arts

These are the sample modules in the area of English Language Arts.

	Stranger in the Village Students analyze how poems, novels, essays, films, and photographs work with the “stranger in the village” theme in this informational module created by Hillsborough County teachers Barbara Beers, Patricia Bishop, Amy Otero, Maryann Robertson, Kathryn Robinson, and Deborah Van Pelt. (LDC partner: Hillsborough County Public Schools, Florida) Download Module
	Existentialism and Kafka Sherri McPherson calls on students to research existentialism as preparation for defining the movement and explaining its impact on The Metamorphosis. (LDC Partner: Fayette County County Public Schools, Kentucky) Download Module
	Great Expectations: Growing into a Hero How does Charles Dickens’s classic novel embody the “hero journey” archetype? Chad Peavler challenges students to develop and share their thinking. (LDC Partner: Fayette County Public Schools, Kentucky) Download Module
	Romeo and Juliet: Decisions, Decisions Students use a business decision making model and current adolescent brain research articles to evaluate the decisions made by Romeo and Juliet in this module developed by Susan Haines, Karen Brence, Michele Walker, Carla Byars, and Lynda Gillespie of the Fort Smith (Arkansas) Schools. (LDC Partner: SREB) Download Module
	O Captain, My Captain! “Does Walt Whitman adequately portray the sense of loss felt by Americans after Abraham Lincoln’s assassination?” Students read his famous poem and other informational texts and then then argue for their answer in essays using evidence from their reading question during this module from Allison Bullock & Kelly Newswanger of Lebanon (PA) Middle School. On our video page, check out Allison’s thinking on “LDC: Changing Teacher Practice in Communication Arts.” (LDC Partner: Lancaster-Lebanon Intermediate Unit 13) Download Module
	The Power of Language Laura Billings (National Paideia Center) builds this module on “The Power of Language” around a teaching task asking: “How does language structure shape meaning? After reading ‘Birches,’ ‘Trees,’ ‘Thirteen Ways with Figs’ and the ‘Fig Butter Recipe,’ write an essay that compares the effects of different language structures on meaning.” A Paideia seminar approach is used to develop speaking and listening skills alongside understanding of the content. (LDC Partner: Paideia) Download Module
	Courage In Part One: To Kill a Mockingbird Students are challenged by this teaching task: “How does Harper Lee use characters and events inTo Kill a Mockingbird to define courage? After reading Part One of To Kill a Mockingbird write an essay that defines courage and explains how three different characters show courage. Support your discussion with evidence from the text. What conclusions or implications can you draw?” Melanie Hewins, Steven Hampton, Paul Kwarcinski, and Marsha Hudson of the Rogers (Arkansas) Public Schools are the module authors. (LDC Partner: SREB) Download Module
	Language is Power Abby Dobie (Jessamine County, Kentucky) combines study of Animal Farm with analysis of varied sources on the skillful use of language to achieve social change and asks students to build arguments on whether manipulating language for power is ever justifiable. (LDC Partner: Jessamine County Schools) Download Module
	Good Readers and Good Writers Sherri McPherson (Fayette County Schools, Kentucky) offers a module in which students consider the question “What are the qualities of a good reader and writer?” and argue for their answers using reading texts from Vladimir Nabokov, Stephen King, Francine Prose, and Sherman Alexie. (Early Sample Module) Download Module
	A Cinderella Comparison Students compare various cultures and gain an understanding of what is important in different cultures through analyzing various versions of the fairy tale Cinderella. Donna Schaidle, Kevin Biddle, Michelle Heckman, Monica Cressman, and Jeremy Troop of the Elizabethtown (Pennsylvania) Area School District in Pennsylvania are the teachers who created this argumentation module. (Early Sample Module) Download Module

Science & Technical Subjects

These are sample modules in the area of Science & Technical Subjects.

These resources give you the tools to try out the LDC approach hands on. We recommend reading the 1.0 Guidebook first as a way to understand the tool designs.

	Photosynthesis, the Conservation of Matter, and the Conservation of Energy Uniting a central biology concept with two laws of physics makes for a powerful thinking and learning task in this module from Georgia teachers, Katherine Bryant, Marcus Watson, Matt Faircloth, and Karen Cox. (LDC Partner: Georgia Department of Education) Download Module
	The Effect Algal Blooms have on Marine Ecosystems Mark Weese’s students combine lab observations and learning scientific texts to develop a letter to the Environmental Protection Agency on the causes of algal blooms and their effect on overpopulation of algae in marine ecosystems. (LDC Partner: Georgia Department of Education) Download Module
	Career Exploration Wrap Up Students describe their career choices and the education needed to meet their goals, using on-line research to develop their understanding in Melissa Thomas’s Career and Technical Education module. (LDC Partner: Georgia Department of Education) Download Module
	What are the Causes and Effects of Noise Pollution? Students connect their study of mechanical longitudinal waves to the issue of sound pollution and its impact on marine animals. Katherine Bryant, Marcus Watson, Matt Faircloth, and Karen Cox are the module authors. (LDC Partner: Georgia Department of Education) Download Module
	Nuclear Sustainability Diana Weldon and Jennifer Hower (Tech Valley High School, Rensselaer, New York) challenge students to develop op-ed opinion pieces after identifying what they know and want to learn about nuclear chemistry and nuclear power, researching the topics, completing labs/ activities about atomic structure, reading a number of different opinion pieces, and hearing a presentation from an activist. (LDC Partner: New Tech) Download Module
	Diseases in Livestock Lee Smith and Jennifer Turner (Arkansans educators) use this Career and Technical Education module to builds understanding of the diagnosis, treatment, and prevention of livestock diseases, explaining to students that “If you are seeking a career in Agriculture you are very likely to have to consult farmers or ranchers. It is important for your to know how to communicate scientific and technical terms into common language that your clients can understand.” (LDC Partner: SREB) Download Module
	Should Helmets Be Required? Students write letters to state representatives, supporting their position on the question with evidence they identify as they read informational texts on the Laws of Motion, bodily injury, and current state laws on helmet requirements. Deanna Fedor and Dawn Connelly of the Lebanon (PA) School District are this module’s creators. (LDC Partner: Lancaster-Lebanon Intermediate Unit 13) Download Module
	Antibiotic Resistance Bacteria Students examine the causes of resistant bacteria strains and explains the effects of those strains on the use of antibiotics in this module developed by Jessamine County (KY) teachers Matt Albertson and Amy Klein (LDC Partner: Jessamine County Schools) Download Module
	Animals In Zoos After studying scientific texts, students use evidence from their reading to build arguments answering the question: “Do animals belong in zoos?” Monica Cressman, Sean Houseknecht, and Alex Shubert, teachers at Elizabethtown (PA) Area Middle School share this module—and on our video pagefeatures Alex’s thinking on “LDC: Changing Teacher Practice.” (LDC Partner: Lancaster-Lebanon Intermediate Unit 13) Download Module
	Cryobiology Should cryobiology techniques be used to preserve living matter for future use? That’s the teaching task that guides students’ reading, thinking, and writing in this module from Elizabethtown (PA) School District teachers Anne Maxwell, Monica Cressman, Megan Adams, Holly Particelli. On our video page, don’t miss Holly’s thinking on “LDC: Changing Teacher Practice. (LDC Partner: Lancaster-Lebanon Intermediate Unit 13) Download Module
	Biodiversity Students read a set of on-line articles and then write an essay that define biodiversity and explains its importance in this module shared by Monica Cressman, Sean Houseknecht, and Alex Shubert of the Elizabethtown (PA) School District. Alex’s thinking on “LDC: Changing Teacher Practice” is available on our video page, (LDC Partner: Lancaster-Lebanon Intermediate Unit 13) Download Module
	Energy Transfer Deanna Fedor and Dawn Connelly of the Lebanon (PA) School District challenge students to “write an essay that defines ‘kinetic energy’ and explains what happens to water when its particles lose and gain energy.” (LDC Partner: Lancaster-Lebanon Intermediate Unit 13) Download Module
	Using Classification to Investigate Living Organisms Kim Cheney (Forsyth, Georgia, schools) offers a module that leads students through investigations of organisms’ organization from basic to complex. Students investigate processes associated with systems that function in: acquisition and utilization of energy e.g. digestion and respiration, and excretion in preparation for writing a report that defines organisms and classifies them by Domain and Kingdom. (Early Sample Module) Download Module
	Plastics – To Use or Not to Use? Michelle Buroker (Kenton County Schools, Kentucky) calls on students to construct an argumentative piece that defends their position on the widely debated topic of the use of plastic water bottles and storage containers for drinks and foods, drawing on scientific sources for evidence on the chemical bonding issues. (Early Sample Module) Download Module

History & Social Studies

These are sample modules in the area of History & Social Studies.

These resources give you the tools to try out the LDC approach hands on. We recommend reading the 1.0 Guidebook first as a way to understand the tool designs.

	Julius Caesar: Hero or Tyrant? Plutarch, Suetonius, Shakespeare and other authors provide the readings students use to decide and support their positions on Tilney Wickersham’s question: Was Julius Caesar a tyrant or a hero of the people? (LDC Partner: Center for Inspired Teaching) Download Module
	You Can Run But You Can’t Hide! Students prepare an editorial on the privacy challenges of the digital world and a solution that could address those challenges. Teachers Mary Rafferty, Kathryn Robinson, Kate Ramsey, Tracy Stanley, Ashlee Predmore, Catherine Glass, Taryn Anello, Sandra Tune created this module and note that it could be used in social studies, English language arts, technology courses or other disciplines. (LDC Partner: Hillsborough County Public Schools, Florida) Download Module
	The British Industrial Revolution Students wrestle with the question “Were the achievements and growth of the Industrial Revolution Era worth the cost to society?” Secondary and primary sources support development of argumentation essays in this module created by Sara Ballute, Candace Hurley, and Timothy Lent at the High School for Service & Learning in Brooklyn, New York. (LDC Partner: New Visions for Public School) Download Module
	Gettysburg Address Modules Here are two options for engaging a core text of American history, combining LDC reading and writing with Paideia seminar work on speaking and listening. First, “A Reading of the Gettysburg Address” asks “Has “The Gettysburg Address” influenced our contemporary understanding of American Democracy? Second, in “Government of the People,” students compare the definitions of democracy provide by Lincoln and by Pericles in his “Funeral Oration.” Download “Reading of the Gettysburg Address” Module Download “Government of the People” Module
	Alexander the Great Dan Rau and Chad Thomas of Lebanon (PA) Middle School teach an argumentation module that asks “From a historical perspective, how great was Alexander as a military commander? On our video page, we share Dan and Chad’s thinking on “LDC: Changing Teacher Practice in Social Studies. (LDC Partner: Lancaster-Lebanon Intermediate Unit 13) Download Module
	US Policy of Isolationism vs. Aggression in the 1930s Paul Wilson of the Rogers (Arkansas) Public Schools in Arkansas challenges students with this teaching task: “After researching selected websites, textbook and printed articles on the US policy of Isolationism and fascist aggression (German/Italian) in Europe along with Japanese aggression in the Pacific, 1933-39, write an essay that identifies a problem with the US policy and its affect on World events during that time and argues for a solution. Support your position with evidence from your research. Be sure to examine competing views. Give examples from past or current events or issues to illustrate and clarify your position.” (LDC Partner: SREB) Download Module
	Letter to Congress Stacia Snow and Josh Hatala, (Tech Valley High School, Rensselaer, NY) draw students into constitutional participation with this teaching task “After researching fundamental elements of the Constitution, landmark Supreme Court cases, and a modern Constitutional issue, write a letter to an appropriate elected official that argues your position on a constitutional issue of your choosing. Support your position with evidence from your research. Be sure to acknowledge competing views. Give examples from past or current events or issues to illustrate, clarify, and support your position” (LDC Partner: New Tech) Download Module
	Foreign Wars “When should the United States become involved in foreign wars?” Carolina Azeles and Jason Dermes of the Lebanon (PA) School District challenge with that big question, asking them to read both informational texts and argumentation texts before writing a letter to the President that addresses the question. (LDC Partner: Lancaster-Lebanon Intermediate Unit 13) Download Module
	The Great War: Evaluating the Treaty of Versailles Daniel Zeitz (Jessamine County, Kentucky) assigns students to study primary sources, maps, and other tests as they develop their arguments on the question “Was the Treaty of Versailles a fair one for Germany? “ (LDC Partner: Jessamine County Schools) Download Module
	The Individual and the Community: My Responsibilities in a Time of Crisis This module is built around the Paideia method and the Socratic Seminar. The Gulf Oil Spill of 2010 created with an opportunity to think about the individual’s role in society: specifically the individual’s responsibility during a disaster. The essential question addressed in this module is: “What is the individual’s proper response to a disaster?” A Paideia seminar approach is used to develop speaking and listening skills alongside understanding of the content. This module reflects the collaboration of Ross Anderson (Moore Square Museum Magnet School, Raleigh, NC), Amy Freeman (Chattanooga School for the Arts and Science), Melissa Hedt (Ashville Middle School, Ashville, NC), Nathan Marsh (Pueblo School for the Arts and Sciences, Pueblo, CO), and the National Paideia Center. (LDC Partner: Paideia) Download Module
	Ideologies of the 19th Century Laura Jordan (Washington, DC, private school) shares a history module that asks students “Of the political ideologies we’ve studied in this unit which do you think was the most influential ideology in Europe during the years of 1814-1871?” (Early Sample Module) Download Module
	Comparing Economic Systems Kathy Thiebes (Centennial High School, Gresham, Oregon) offers an argumentation module for teaching this social studies task: “What combination of market and command systems do you believe creates an ideal mixed economy? After reading informational and opinion texts, write an essay that addresses the question and support your position with evidence from the texts. Be sure to acknowledge competing views.” (Early Sample Module) Download Module
	Ancient India & China Donna Schaidle, Kevin Biddle, and Jeremy Troop (Elizabethtown Area School District, Pennsylvania) call on students to synthesize their learning in response to this teaching task: “After researching secondary sources on ancient India or China, write a report that explains the geography, culture/customs, and government of these civilizations. What conclusions or implications can you draw? (Early Sample Module) Download Module
	The Cold War Kathy Thiebes (Centennial High School, Gresham, Oregon) asks students to evaluate the question “How effective was the United States government in its attempt to halt the spread of communism in Europe and Asia between the years 1945 and 1975?” The students use primary source documents and earlier class work to develop their essays. (Early Sample Module) Download Module
	Why Canadians Live Where They Live: The Impact of Geography on Population Density in Canada Symantha O’Byrne (Forsyth County Schools, Georgia) works with texts on Canadian geography as students develop an editorial on the question: “Do geographic characteristics such as climate, location, and distribution of natural resources have an impact on population density?” (Early Sample Module) Download Module