What So Proudly We Hail
A Lesson on Benjamin Franklin’s “Project for Moral Perfection”
Benjamin Franklin identified 13 virtues that he felt would strengthen his character if he could focus on each one. A thorough lesson explores high schoolers' personal values in the context of their lives, and compels them to strive for...
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Picturing America: Images and Words of Hope from Romare Bearden and Langston Hughes
A carefully crafted three-day instructional activity integrates poetry and visual art. By analyzing and comparing Langston Hughes' poem "Mother and Son" and Romare Bearden's collage "The Dove," readers explore the theme of hope. The...
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Freak the Mighty: Chapter 18 Semantic Feature Analysis
Intelligent? Arrogant? Obnoxious? After completing Chapter 18 of Freak the Mighty, individuals fill out a semantic feature chart for characters in Rodman Philbrick's novel. Group members then use their charts to discuss relationships...
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World Cities
Students examine the settlement patterns of world cities. In groups, they are given a region of the world and asked to create a city in the location. They are given a set of characteristics of the city and determine what would be found...
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So Foul and Fair a Play
Students watch various interpretations of Shakespeare's Macbeth in film. In groups, they examine the setting, characters, music and sequence. They compare and contrast the various films and discuss the differences. They write an essay on...
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The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn: Semantic Feature Analysis
Racist, independent, conflicted? Readers of The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn brainstorm words that describe the traits of characters in Twain’s novel and then rate these qualities in several of their favorite characters. Individuals...
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Wave Math
Students identify the different factors affecting the size and shape of ocean waves. In this math lesson, students calculate wave speed and wavelength given a mathematical formula.
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Exploring Heroism
Students examine the concept of heroism in this lesson, through personal reflection, group activities and a thoughtful analysis of the documentary, HEROES OF GROUND ZERO. They explore their own understanding of what it means to be a hero.
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Electoral Politics
Students formulate their own opinions about the issues in an election campaign through a critical examination of political advertisements, candidate debates, and political cartoons.
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A Picture's Worth 500-700 Words: Neoclassical Painting Analysis and Creative Write
Middle schoolers survey Neoclassical art and create a narrative based on their analyses. Focused questions and relevant background information provided by the Getty Museum provides a great foundation for students to understand art...
Teacher Created Resources
Thanksgiving Coupon Book
Learners create a Thanksgiving coupon book. In this holiday lesson, students review the history of Thanksgiving and create coupon books to give to someone who they are thankful for.
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American Frontiers
Students study the settlement of the American frontier through literature. In this literature lesson, students read and discuss works by James Fenimore Cooper, Bret Harte, Mark Twain, Willa Cather, and Hamlin Garland. Students compare...
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Harriet The Spy
Fourth graders investigate the style of diary writing as its own genre of literature. They read Harriet The Spy in order to have a text for this literature study. Students use the skill of prediction to preview the story, and then...
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The Civil War Through a Child's Eye
Students use primary and secondary sources to observe a child's view of the Civil war. In this Civil War lesson, students understand that different people had different perspectives on the war. Students recognize the difference between...
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The Shapes of Art: A Lesson in Aesthetic Awareness
Students become immersed in analyzing the influences on and development of an artistic paradigm; they also move into, through and beyond the literary piece.
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Vaccines--How and Why?
Twelfth graders study the history, progression and current uses for vaccines in the prevention of disease. They simulate an epidemic and experiment with pathogens.
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Unit Lesson on The Gingerbread Man (Elementary, Reading/Writing)
Students sequence the main events of the story, The Gingerbread Man, into chronological order and rewrite the story changing characters and settings.
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Designing Local Studies
Students think about and identify significant aspects of local weather patterns by reflecting on their own observations. They design local weather studies by deciding which information to collect and how to collect and record it...
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Comparing Characters Across Two Short Stories
Ninth graders listen to a read aloud of two short stories focusing on literary devices. The write about the settings and realism of the stories, and decide each main character handles the conflict he faces with nature.
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Land Associations
Middle schoolers identify and explore life forms of various biomes, define transitional regions, examine effects of abiotic and biotic interactions, research a biome, and produce newspaper that features environmental information. Lessons...
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Where I Come From
Students discuss the countries and cultures that are part of their family history. They research the country their family "came from" and write a report.
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Getting to Know Yourself: Developing and Accessing Intrapersonal Intelligence Among Early Adolescents
Students improve understanding of the concept of self-awareness by differentiating the internal from the external world. They develop a vocabulary to describe feelings and to understand the uniqueness and variations of people's inner...
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Monologue Preparation
Tenth graders use a published monologue to create three various interpretations featuring different emotions. Following the presentation of the three interpretations to the class, the student will use self-evaluation and audience...
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Plot Summary for Story Element
Seventh graders identify story elements utilizing a plot summary organizer. In this story elements lesson, 7th graders discuss the elements of a good story. Students use The Three Little Pigs to practice finding the plot elements....