50 Essential Lessons by Jim Burke
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Contents

50 Essential Lessons (numerical order)
Tools for 50 Essential Lessons (alphabetical order)
Texts for 50 Essential Lessons (order of use)
Coming Soon! Essential Lesson Matrix that lists all of the lessons with their related Texts and Teaching Tools.

"The Essential Lessons are, foremost, anchored in standards taken from a range of national literacy standards found in both secondary and post-secondary-level documents. This is, above all, the world in which we now teach, one far removed from when I entered the profession in 1989 and, when I asked what I had to teach, was given nothing but a sheet of paper with the titles of some books. While some resist the push for standards, I welcome it as an effort to achieve greater social equity for all and provide improved support to teachers entering the classroom for the first time. I have deliberately chosen what some districts call 'power standards' or 'core standards,' as these tend to represent not just what the state exams assess but what such tests as the AP, ACT, and SAT expect students to know. Moreover, universities have become much more vocal about what they expect students to know upon arrival, so I have consulted a range of reports (Conley, 2005; Educational Testing Service 2003; Intersegmental Committees of the Academic Senates 2002) to cull from them those 'academic essentials' students must have to gain entrance to and succeed in college." —Jim Burke

The 50 Essential Lessons
The 50 Essential Lessons are organized into six standards-based strands: reading, writing, speaking and listening, taking notes, taking tests, and managing oneself.

    Reading
    1. Make connections
    2. Use a reading process
    3. Develop a purpose question
    4. Identify main ideas and supporting details
    5. Draw conclusions from what you read
    6. Make inferences about deeper meanings
    7. Analyze the author's argument
    8. Examine the author's purpose
    9. Visualize what you read
    10. Examine multiple perspectives
    11. Examine the structure of a text
    12. Ask questions about what you read
    13. Use the language of literary analysis
    14. Analyze character development
    15. Analyze the author's style
    Writing
    1. Write to describe
    2. Write to define
    3. Write to inform
    4. Develop a topic
    5. Begin an essay
    6. Craft an effective argument
    7. Summarize
    8. Write an effective paragraph
    9. Paraphrase
    10. Compare and contrast
    11. Improve academic writing
    12. Synthesize multiple sources
    13. Write a response to literature
    14. Write about a theme
    15. Write an effective introduction
    Speaking and Listening
    1. Contribute to class discussion
    2. Participate in small group discussion
    3. Prepare a speech
    4. Make an effective presentation
    5. Listen and respond to speakers
    Taking Notes
    1. Take notes from expository prose
    2. Take notes from lectures
    3. Take notes from literature
    4. Take notes from textbooks
    5. Take notes from videos
    Taking Tests
    1. Take multiple-choice tests
    2. Write likely test questions
    3. Learn content for a test
    4. Take essay tests
    5. Analyze sample essays
    Managing Oneself
    1. Use a planner
    2. Set goals and plan to reach them
    3. Study traits of successful people
    4. Manage your attention
    5. Monitor your academic performanc
      6. e

"Over time I have become a much more visual teacher. I have come to appreciate that thought has a shape to it and tools can help students better understand and convey their ideas whether in writing, speaking, or representing." —Jim Burke

Tools for 50 Essential Lessons
90+ teaching tools support the essential lessons as well as support strategy use across the curriculum and with multiple types of texts.
    Academic Habits Self-Evaluation
    Academic Writing
    ACCESS Final Exam
    Active Reading: Questions to Consider and Use
    Analytical Paragraph: FODP
    Analytical Paragraph Samples
    Analytical Reading
    Analyzing Symbolism
    Argument Organizer
    Article Notes
    Bookmark A (Reading: Think About It!)
    Bookmark B (Reading: Think About It!)
    Book Notes: Essential Information (2p)
    Character Arc
    Character Development Notes
    Character Study
    Comparison Organizer
    Concentration Cockpit
    Conversational Roundtable (CRT)
    Conversational Roundtable (CRT) Exemplar
    Conversational Roundtable (CRT) Guidelines
    Cornell Notes (Blank)
    Cornell Notes (Intro)
    Dense Question Strategy
    Discussion Cards
    Direct and Integrated Approaches: Exemplars
    Drawing Conclusions
    Elements of an Effective Speech or Presentation
    Episodic Notes
    Finals Preparation Checklist (2p)
    Financial Success Factors
    (Add cut lines in left column.)
    Four Core Questions, The
    Investor's Business Daily's 10 Secrets To Success
    Icebreaker Speech
    Inference Quiz
    Interactive Notes
    Introduction Evaluation
    Language of Literary Analysis, The
    Leonardo da Vinci's Notes: Visual Explanations and Visual Narratives
    Lesson Plan Template
    Lit Notes (2p)
    Literature Circle Notes: Overview of the Roles
    Literature Circle Notes: Discussion Director
    Literature Circle Notes: Illuminator
    Literature Circle Notes: Illustrator
    Literature Circle Notes: Connector
    Literature Circle Notes: Word Watcher
    Literature Circle Notes: Summarizer
    Main Idea Organizer
    Make and Use Study Cards
    Making Effective and Efficient Notes
    Making Inferences Organizer
    Making the Connection
    Narrative Design
    Organizational Patterns
    Paraphrase Prep
    Personal Progress Report (2p)
    Personal Reading Assessment
    Plot Notes
    Presentation Slides (2p)
    Q Notes
    Reading Process Self-Evaluation
    Reading Process Worksheet and Teaching Tool
    Reflective Reading Quiz (Exemplar)
    Reflective Reading Quiz (Template)
    Reporter's Notes
    Rhetorical Notes
    Speaker Notes
    Speech Evaluation
    Speech Prep Notes
    Structured Response Notes
    Sample Planner Page
    Student Weekly Planner
    Style Analysis Notes
    Summary Notes
    Summary Response Notes
    Summary of Basic Questions
    Summary of "Understanding Phobias"
    Target Notes
    Teaching Note-Taking Skills: Overview
    Test Creator
    Test Question Creator
    Test-maker Tool
    Test-Taking Strategy Directions
    Text Tool
    Textbook Feature Analysis (2p)
    Textbook Notes (Exemplar)
    Theme Tool
    Three-Column Organizer
    Time Line Notes
    Understanding Arguments: An Overview
    Video Notes
    Visualizing Strategies
    Weekly Record
    Writing Effective Introductions
    Writing Effective Introductions (annotated version)
Texts for 50 Essential Lessons
Jim's model lessons either draw on text common to English classrooms or are real-world readings Jim uses in his class. These core resources are provided in a reproducible format in Tools and Text for 50 Essential Lessons. The following lists the texts provided in Tools and Text for 50 Essential Lessons.
  • "The Second Coming" (Yeats)
  • "Robo-Legs"
  • "Burp, Rumble, Toot!"
  • "Messages from the Heart"
  • "Jesuit Greg Boyle: Gang Priest"
  • "Could it be that video games are good for kids?"
  • "Time 100: Bruce Lee"
  • "Sonnet 116" (Shakespeare)
  • "Sonnet 18" (Shakespeare)
  • "Emmanuel Yeboah preps for Fitness Triathlon"
  • "Walking Off the Fat, Across the Land"
  • "Leaders and Success: Abraham Lincoln "
  • "Inc. Magazine's 26 Most Fascinating Entrepreneurs: Reuben Martinez"
  • "Understanding Phobias"
  • "I Hear America Singing" (Whitman)
  • "I, Too, Sing America" (Hughes)
  • "Facing It" (Komunyakaa)
  • "Dulce Et Decorum Est" (Owens)
  • "Genesis 3: 1-24" (ESV)
  • "Vocation" (Stafford)
  • "What Work Is" (Levine)
  • "Measure of a Man's Life: As a Criminal"
  • "Measure of a Man's Life: As a Redeemer"
  • "Managing Oneself"
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