Novelinks
The Hobbit: Writing Assignment
As a culminating assignment for a unit study of heroes that uses The Hobbit as the core text, class members engage in a multi-genre writing project.
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Create a Holiday for Your Favorite Hero
Pupils create a holiday for a hero. The person may be someone in history who is not currently honored with a holiday, another famous person, a family member, a friend, or someone else they admire.
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Nym Family
List and identify words for each part of the "Nym" family: synonyms, antonyms and homonyms. Middle schoolers place words in the correct category, then find the corresponding mate in a dictionary or thesaurus.
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How to DO Just About Anything
Learners discover how to use a digital camera and how to make a PowerPoint presentation. They practice good listening skills and hear how to make a "Supa Dupa Egg." They take notes and use them to create an effective, step-by-step...
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Foods
Students identify what types of items are grown on a farm. They discuss how those items are processed and turned into food they everyday. They are to write a paragraph using transition words.
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Ant Writing
Students become effective writers. They need to practice strategies for working through the writing process. By presenting the students with a creative problem, they must choose a position and support it accordingly.
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The Faithful Friend
Learners work in co-op groups to create a Reader's Theater production of the story. Students create a flow map that sequences the major events in the story. Learners research the island of Martinique and create a travel brochure...
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Fact Versus Opinion
Young learners distinguish statements as fact or fiction. After exploring a newspaper, they determine the type of information it contains. They read editorial articles and discuss the differences between the editorial page and the front...
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Making an Argument: Effective use of Transition Words
Work on using transition words in context by prompting elementary and middle schoolers to write their own persuasive essays using transition words. They explore new forms of transition words and examine how they are used in an editorial...
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James and the Giant Peach
This James and the Giant Peach learning exercise provides 15 short answer questions and extension activities. They address characterization, basic reading comprehension, making personal connections to the reading, and more. The...
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Latin Roots dict, duct, and vent: Online Quiz
Readers can check their knowledge of words with the roots vent, duct, and dict in this interactive online quiz. True/false responses allow quiz takers to agree or disagree with usage and definitions of words as presented in the context...
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Running Out of Time: Picture Book Activity
Ease your class into reading Running Out of Time by first reading The Boy Who Stopped Time, a picture book with some similar concepts and themes. After a reading of the story, learners participate in a discussion and journaling exercise.
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Woodblock Printing: Early Printing Traditions in China
Pupils examine important role of woodblock printing in Chinese history, identify message important to them, and create woodblock prints to gain first-hand understanding of how it was used as tool for communication.
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Poetry Cubes
Students develop an appreciation for different styles of poetry and learn different techniques for memorization.
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Who's Your Hero/Heroine?
Students use research skills on the Internet and write a biographical report and present it to the class. They utilize a worksheet that's imbedded in this plan to guide them in their research. students come to school dressed up as their...
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Food Labels in the Classroom
Students study the nutritional information on food labels and become familiar with the basic dietary needs of the human body. They write letters to food companies.
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Spelling Clue Race
Pupils decode clues in order to correctly spell words. They find clues hidden in the classroom to review for their spelling test. Perhaps this isn't the most effective way to review, but it is creative, so it's likely to capture the...
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"Oh, Kingdom in the Sky"
Learners write a poem. In this historical figures lesson, students learn about Mary Ann Camp, read an interview, read vignettes about life in her host countries and read her poem "Oh, Kingdom in the Sky." Learners answer questions about...
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The Call of the Wild: Differences Between a Book and a Movie Adaptation
Fling your class members “into the heart of things primordial” with a Venn diagram activity that highlights how the same themes are treated in the film and book versions of The Call of the Wild. Consider extending the exercise by having...
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Hawaii: A Stolen Star
Explore the islands of Hawaii. Investigate Hawaiian culture and compare their personal traditions to Hawaiian traditions. They locate Hawaii on a map and research the history of Hawaii.
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Capitalization of Nouns
Which nouns are capitalized? Challenge young editors with these erroneous sentences, all of which require capitalization. After circling all the necessary capitals in 10 sentences, they rewrite two sentences (which are all in capital...
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Clear the Cobwebs!
Students actively involve themselves in a review competition of material already covered.
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Categorizing Research Questions
Show learners of all ages the necessary steps to solid research. Before even looking at a computer screen, they need to generate research questions or topics. They then work together to categorize all of the proposed topics. This process...
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The Week That Was
Students complete a weekly writing assignment that documents their writing progress throughout the year. Each week, students write a paragraph in response to a prompt or a synopsis of the week's events.