ProCon.org Gives Teachers What They Want, Free Common Core Lesson Plans

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Mar 04, 2015, 02:35 ET

SANTA MONICA, Calif., March 4, 2015 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- ProCon.org, a national leader in educating students in civics and critical thinking, has published 20 free lesson plan ideas to support teachers in complying with the Common Core standards. The lessons are now available in the "Teachers' Corner" at www.procon.org.

In keeping with ProCon.org's mission to teach critical thinking, informed citizenship and respectful debate, the free lesson plan ideas help teachers cover important skills in English Language Arts (ELA), Social Studies, Speech, and Debate. The curricula teach students to: distinguish between fact and opinion, engage in counterargument, analyze primary sources and develop other critical thinking, writing, and speaking skills.

ProCon.org developed the lesson plans in partnership with Dr. Faith Rogow, an award-winning curriculum developer and Co-Founder of the National Association for Media Literacy Education (NAMLE).

Kamy Akhavan, President of ProCon.org, stated:

"Dr. Rogow is one of the leading media literacy experts in the nation. We are thrilled to partner with her and bring her expertise to bear in helping teachers meet their Common Core requirements. These lesson plan ideas will save teachers precious time, and save money for school districts. Most important, these lessons will help teach students some of the most vital thinking skills they will need to become college-ready and successful citizens."

Commenting on her work with ProCon.org, Dr. Rogow explained:

"For students to become deep and independent thinkers, they have to learn how to ask questions for themselves. That's what all of ProCon.org's resources, including the new lesson ideas, are designed to do. It's inquiry skill-building at its best, a gold-mine for educators committed to real-world rigor that engages all students in their own learning."

Each lesson targets specific grade levels and includes adaptations to make the lessons easier or harder. Each lesson is also designed to help meet multiple Common Core anchor standards, content standards, and curriculum goals.

All 20 lesson plan ideas are available at http://www.procon.org/view.background-resource.php?resourceID=006121

About ProCon.org

ProCon.org (www.procon.org) is a nonpartisan 501(c)(3) nonprofit public charity, founded in 2004, whose mission is to encourage critical thinking, respectful debate, and informed citizenship. ProCon.org has more than 20,000,000 annual readers. Information is presented on 52 different ProCon.org issue websites in subjects ranging from alternative energy, gay marriage, and medical marijuana to the death penalty, immigration, and physician-assisted suicide.

ProCon.org is free of charge, requires no registration, and has been used by educators in more than 5,700 schools in all 50 states and 73 foreign countries.

ProCon.org has also been referenced by mainstream media more than 470 times in 2014, including: The New York Times, Washington Post, Wall Street Journal, Associated Press, CNN, Fox News, MSNBC, Huffington Post, Los Angeles Times, Boston Globe, ABC, NBC, CBS, PBS, BBC, Slate, Daily Beast, Forbes, The Atlantic, and USAToday.