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A Question of Faith?
Should organized prayer be prohibited at high school sporting events? Students explore their own feelings about prayer in school-sponsored events, before discussing the recent Supreme Court decision banning public prayer at high school...
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Writing About Holidays
Students research a holiday celebrated by their family and write a studenT story in which they explain the history of the holiday and describe ways in which it is celebrated.
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Hoot: Anticipation Guide
Should companies be able to build wherever they want? Are animals worth protecting? Explore the literary themes from Carl Hiaasen's Hoot with an anticipation guide. Kids read ten statements and decide if they agree or disagree, then...
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The Outsiders: Anticipation Guide
The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton is always a favorite for middle and high school readers because it addresses issues that hit home to them, decades after the book is set. Have learners fill out an anticipation guide that encourages them to...
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Writing a How-To Paper
Students discover that when writing a how-to paper, they are telling readers how to do something such as cook a particular recipe. They then choose one of the provided topics and write their own how-to paper.
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Power of Persuasion
Teaching students about persuasion can be a fun experience that involves writing, PowerPoint presentations, and vocabulary building.
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Persuasive Text: Vocabulary Charades
Students play charades to act out vocabulary words that have recently been introduced in class. In this vocabulary lesson students may work in groups or in pairs.
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Thesis Statements
Develop an understanding of main ideas and thesis statements with your class by using this step-by-step presentation. The concepts presented will guide learners through essay focus, main idea, central points, coherency, and proper...
Channel Islands Film
Magic Isle: Lesson Plan 1
What are the factors that limit growth and expansion? As part of their study of Catalina Island, class members view the West of the West's documentary Magic Isle and research William Wrigley and the Santa Catalina Island Company. After...
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Environmentally Friendly
What can your pupils do to promote better conditions for wildlife? After researching issues around wildlife management, class members use the Internet to locate three different organizations devoted to protecting wildlife. They then...
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The Aftermath of War
Students share their opinions on the war in Iraq. After reading an article, they identify the thoughts of President Bush on the conflict. In groups, they share their opinions for and against current United States policy in Iraq and the...
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The Power of Persuasion
Young scholars explore the power of persuasion. In a classroom setting, students discuss incentives, testimonials and deceptive pricing schemes that are used to influence others. After observing professionally made infomercials, young...
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A Picture is Worth a Thousand Words: Public Views of Lincoln
Students write a letter in the voice of Abraham Lincoln. In this history lesson, students interpret the way the public viewed Lincoln during various times by examining political cartoons and images. Students write a letter in the voice...
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Making School a Better Place.
Students study the problems in their school and work on solutions for those problems. For this writing process lesson, students analyze a problem and work as a team to find a solution. Students present written and oral work to support...
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I Don't Pay Attention to Advertisements
Sixth graders examine the eight persuasive techniques, identifying them in all avenues of media including magazine, TV, Internet, and billboards, and making them aware of how advertising already influences them. They write an essay using...
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Local History Project: Create a Tourism Brochure
Learners create a Chamber of Commerce tourism brochure for their community . They work in small groups to research historical sites, community events and natural attractions. After each group completes their topic they are peer edited...
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Acting Out
Sixth graders investigate peer pressure, gangs, drinking, and using drugs. In small groups, they conduct research, develop, edit, and write a three-minute script, and perform the script for the class.
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Fiction vs. Nonfiction
Young scholars explore fiction and nonfiction writing. They identify the elements of fiction in a short story and identify the criteria necessary in a nonfiction piece. Students distinguish the author's purpose in an expository text,...
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The Great Paragraph Race
Students construct and analyze paragraphs. In groups, students place given sentences in order to form a paragraph. They determine the main idea of the paragraph. Students perform activities to determine the concept of topic sentence,...
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American Revolutionary War: Two Sides...Two Perspectives
Young scholars investigate the American Revolutionary War era from the perspective of Britain and the American colonists by researching causes, effects, events and people. They compare the views of the Colonists, and the British and...
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Biographical Scene Investigators
Sixth graders become members of the BSI in this research simulation. They apply for Biographical Scene Investigator membership, investigate an individual, keep an evidence notebook and write an investigator's report.
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I Oppose!--Counter-argument/Classifying
Learners create an effective classification and counter argument. In this counter-argument activity, students decide upon a label for at least three types of people and then describe their groups. Learners describe three types of...
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History: Impact of the Lewis and Clark Expedition
Students formulate theories about the Lewis and Clark Expedition about its purpose and impact on America. They write position papers supported with facts discovered in their research. Students include quotes, factual references, maps,...
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The City Life or the country Life: conventions: Comparative and Superlative Forms of Adjectives and Adverbs
Reinforce knowledge of adjectives and adverbs by game playing. To better understand English conventions young writers, use flashcards to identify the base word and its comparative or superlative form.