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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

"Hard Times Come Again No More" : Letters From Arkansas Families in the Great Depression

For Teachers 7th - 12th
Through this series of terrific lesson plans, pupils learn about the extent of poverty in the state of Arkansas during the Great Depression. They read documents from the period which describe how hard times were, view an online photo...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Pairing with Picture Books: Chasing Lincoln's Killer

For Teachers 7th - 9th
Readers of Chasing Lincoln’s Killer, James L Swanson’s young adult novel, use a Venn diagram to compare information about Abraham Lincoln and the events surrounding his assassination, with the images and information presented in picture...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde: Request Strategy

For Teachers 7th - 12th
Model for readers how to develop effective questions with a request strategy for questioning. Text-explicit, text-implicit, and experiential based questions are the focus. Step-by-step instructions are included for the strategy that...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Dandelion Wine: Vocabulary Strategy

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Prior to reading chapter 17 of Dandelion Wine, partners look up and illustrate level three words found in Colonel Freeleigh’s many allusions. Pairs then share with the whole class. Detailed instructions for the activity are included. 
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Cyrano do Bergerac Anticipation Guide

For Teachers 10th - 12th
Introduce Cyrano de Bergerac with an anticipation guide that asks class members to rate a series of qualities that they look for in a friend. Groups then share their responses and present the class with the quality that provided the most...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Allusions, Slang, and Literary Analogies

For Teachers 7th - 9th
Partners identify literary allusions using a provided worksheet and use this knowledge to examine the allusions in Toni Cade Bambara's "Raymond's Run." The class also examines the impact of allusions and slang on the tone of the story.
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Contra Dance

For Teachers 4th - 12th
Contra dance was brought to America by French Soldiers after the Revolutionary War. Contra dancing is done in lines, but with partners facing each other. Some moves one partner is moving forward while the other moves backwards. Some...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Basic Waltz Steps

For Teachers 6th - 12th
Learn the five basic waltz steps: box step, under arm turn, walt left box or waltz right box, hesitation step, and progressive waltz step. Teach a little about the history of the waltz and the countries from which it came: Germany and...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Active and Passive Voice: Finding Examples Online

For Teachers 7th - 12th Standards
Incorporate technological fluency with a search for examples of active and passive voice in online resources. Discuss how use of active or passive voice influences mood or tone and contributes to author's purpose. List of...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Formal and Informal Language

For Teachers 7th - 12th
“C u l8r @ skool.” As part of a study of formal and informal language, class members examine excerpts from Lil’ Boosie lyrics, the Emancipation Proclamation, a speech by Martin Luther King. Links to the resources not provided; however,...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Biopoem: Bud, Not Buddy

For Teachers 7th - 12th
Young poets focus on one character from a story they are reading, collect details, and use a biopoem template to analyze this character. The activity can be used with any text.
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Creating a Science Fiction Story

For Teachers 7th - 12th
As the culminating activity in a unit study of science fiction, young writers demonstrate their understanding of the genre by producing their own graphic novel. After deciding on the main elements of their story, individuals use a comic...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Two Sides, Same Coin: How Political Beliefs Influence Language Use

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Learners read several magazine articles on the same topic written from different political perspectives, paying particular attention to the diction, syntax, and arguments presented in support the point of view expressed. They then select...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Introduction to Bacteria

For Teachers 7th - 12th
Beginning biologists survey several websites to learn about the types, structure, motility, feeding habits, and reproductive methods of bacteria. All websites are linked to the lesson plan, so you can have individuals access it and click...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Victorian Fashion Detectives

For Teachers 8th - 10th
A rare lesson plan on fashions that were in vogue during the Victorian era. Learners discover what types of clothes both rich and poor people of this time period wore. They see how fashions changed during the reign of Queen Victoria, and...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Diction: Formal and Informal Language

For Teachers 7th - 12th
Coke or Pepsi? Is it the taste or the advertising that determines preference? As part of a study of diction, class members examine two passages, one formal and one informal, about Coca-Cola and Pepsi. In addition, they consider word...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Choose Your Own Adventure: School Nutritional Policy

For Teachers 10th - 12th
Mature audiences are required for this instructional activity on implementing health-related policies. First, they openly explore the CDC obesity page while taking notes about what they discover. Then they view a PowerPoint about the...
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Lesson Plan
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How to Sing and Play Happy Birthday

For Teachers 4th - 12th
Here is a clever, and simple, lesson on how play the guitar while singing the Happy Birthday Song. There is media content embedded in the plan that allows learners to see a video of it being played, and to print out tabulature which...
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Lesson Plan
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Compass Reading

For Teachers 6th - 10th
Here's a basic lesson plan on reading a compass. Learn the names of the parts of a compass. Learn how to read a bearing in degrees. Then go outside and follow a course of cones set up on the grass or in a clear area. Starting at one...
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Lesson Plan
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Analyzing Sonnets

For Teachers 10th - 12th
Model for your class how to craft an analysis of a sonnet by examining the literary techniques used, the background of the poet, and critical reviews of the poem. As guided practice, learners are assigned a sonnet, complete a preliminary...
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Lesson Plan
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Thinking About Hate

For Teachers 8th - 10th
This lesson starts out with a guided discussion about the statement "Birds fly in the sky; airplanes fly in the sky; therefore, airplanes are birds" and goes on to cover logical fallacies and reliable sources, relating these to the topic...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

The Price of Happiness: On Advertising, Image, and Self Esteem

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Are your young scholars aware of the effect advertising can have on their self-image, self-esteem, and happiness? This lesson from the Media Awareness Network is aimed at increasing that awareness and mitigating any negative effects it...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Mark Twain and Huckleberry Finn Introductory Lessons

For Teachers 9th - 11th
“What is the role or function of controversial art? And, should children, our children, be required—forced—to study certain works they may find painful or humiliating or offensive?” Robert Zalisk’s question, found in his article, “Uproar...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Get the Drift?

For Teachers 6th - 9th
The anticipatory set is clever: give groups five minutes to work on the puzzle and then discuss what strategies they used to match the few that connected. This introduces middle schoolers to the concept of continental drift. A portion of...