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Larger Than Life
Students research the Spanish artist Francisco de Goya and his use of fantasy and allegory in his artwork. After reading either classic or contemporary fantasy stories, they discuss how Goya might have illustrated the stories. Students...
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Labor Day Workers Cube
Students examine the history of celebrating Labor Day and discuss the important role blue-collar workers play in the country's economy. After discussion, they create a cube displaying drawings of various jobs they admire. Panels of cube...
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Kwanzaa Window Book
Learners research Kwanzaa, focusing on the seven principles used in celebration, with an artistic lesson. They design their own window books to demonstrate comprehension of the principles and symbols of Kwanzaa in words and pictures.
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King of the Forest
Students in a special education classroom use the internet to research the characteristics of the rainforest. Individually, they decide whether to write a short story or poem with a main character who lives in the rainforest. To end the...
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Juneteenth Proclamation Jubilation
Students research the U.S. holiday Juneteenth and examine the historical elements that contributed to the delayed announcement of the emancipation of slaves in Texas. They recreate a facsimile of the Emancipation Proclamation with the...
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Make a Solar Oven
Students build a solar oven. In this Science activity, students construct a functional solar oven. Students design the oven and explain the energy concepts involved.
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Jobs in Our Classroom
Students brainstorm jobs that help contribute to a smooth running classroom. After identifying responsibilities and skills necessary for each job, they created "Help Wanted" posters. Students design their own letterhead and submit...
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Interviews and Beyond
Students get to know their classmates by interviewing them. Individually, they develop questions they want to know about their classmates and ask one a week. To end the activity, they use a tissue box to draw their partner and the...
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MAUS Cloze Procedure
Determine if the graphic novel Maus, by Art Spiegelman, is an appropriate reading level for your class by performing this cloze activity. Kids read the passage and attempt to complete the sentences on a second or third read through. All...
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Reading Comprehension 3 (Level 7)
Have you ever been in a hot air balloon? Whether your readers are English language learners or native speakers, assess their reading comprehension with this short passage and the seven multiple-choice questions that follow. A detailed...
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Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde: The Cloze Procedure
Is your class prepared to read Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde? Do they have the reading level necessary to truly comprehend the novel? Use the cloze procedure (detailed here) to determine if this text is appropriate for your class. The first...
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Fast Food Nation: Study Questions
Are you introducing your class to the horrors of eating unhealthy? This lesson contains 24 reading comprehension questions relating to the non-fiction book. Readers are encouraged to copy these and answer them in their reading journals.
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Fahrenheit 451: Questioning Strategy
After reading Captain Beatty's speech (pg. 54-63) in Fahrenheit 451, provide your class with these analysis questions. Six questions are included here, using Bloom's Taxonomy to focus on knowledge, comprehension, application, analysis,...
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Egyptian Tomb Treasures
Students are taught that the culture and customs of ancient Egyptian civilization. They recognize Egyptian symbols, patterns, and artwork. Students demonstrate their knowledge of Egyptian funeral procedures by creating replica sarcophagi.
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Barrels and Buckets: Access to Water - What Would It Be Like to Live in Africa?
Learners compare water access in the United States with that of Africa. In this water access lesson, students located Ghana and Kenya on a globe before reading Peace Corps Volunteer accounts of the difficulty of accessing clean water....
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Magic Squares Vocabulary Activity for Ella Enchanted by Gail Carson Levine
What are magic squares? First, review the activity with your class (there is a description available for you in the resource). Then, match terms from Ella Enchanted to their definitions. When your puzzle, or square, is finished, the...
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Coming of Age During Japanese Occupation: Richard E. Kim's Lost Names: Scenes from a Korean Boyhood
Explore the implications of the Japanese occupation of Korea during World War II. Learners read Lost Names: Scenes from a Korean Boyhood, participate in classroom discussions about the novel and keep journals in which they respond to...
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Celebrate Change
Learners develop fantasy creatures and characters, describing personalities in terms of gestures, actions, and expressions displayed. Then they make fantasy masks, focusing on shape, form, proportion, line, and emphasis to demonstrate...
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Castles With Character
Students read historic or contemporary fiction that is set in and around castles. Then they build castles and characters to use in retelling stories, demonstrating their understanding of fiction texts and period architecture. Students...
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Castle in the Sun
Students use the internet to find pictures of castles throughout Europe. After reading stories about castles, they use recycled boxes to build their own. To end the lesson, they write their own script and act it out in front of their...
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Building Up Books
Learners participate in a book club in which they share the setting, characters and plot of the book they read. Individually, they make a list of the most important or appealing features of the book on construction paper to try to...
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Bringing Rain
Students research folklore and scientific information about rain and water cycles. Then they communicate their understanding of water cycles by creating mobiles showing each stage. Students also write their own folk tales, explaining the...
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Big-as-Life Book Report
Students read fiction or nonfiction books that stretch their reading levels. They reflect on the books they read with classmates and select a dynamic scene, colorful setting, or appealing characters to illustrate in a visual book report....
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Bas-Relief Book Report
Students, after reading a variety of books, choose one book to analyze story events and summarizes them in one illustration for a book jacket cover. They gather information about bas-relief sculpture and use that technique to create a...