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The Golden Door: U.S. Immigration Through Ellis Island
Young scholars complete a unit covering various aspects of immigration to the United States through Ellis Island. They plan a fictional trip to America, entering at Ellis Island. and actually visit Ellis Island and the Statue of Liberty.
Council for the Curriculum, Examinations and Assessment
Victorian Historians
Take the class back in time to the Victorian Era! The resource provides a plethora of activities that create experiences for scholars in class. Some activities include a fun fair, viewing the starry-night painting, and even experiencing...
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Express Yourself Lesson Seed 6 Close Reading
Look back at the third chapter of The Cay with your class. Pupils will conduct a close reading, taking a second look at a chunk of text and responding to a series of text-dependent questions. Wrap up with an analytical writing prompt...
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Express Yourself Lesson Seed 13: Character Development 2
Building upon prior lessons in the series, this reading and writing exercise requires pupils to look back at their own writing, track character development in the novel The Cay, and analyze how Phillip has changed. The reading focus is...
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Fall Similes
Fall is like a beautiful painting come to life—or is it more like an overflowing cornucopia? Practice writing similes with a lesson on figurative language. As learners review simile structure, they come up with their favorite similes for...
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In A Station Of The Metro And A Pact
Students are exposed to two different works of poetry in order to complete a task of comparing and contrasting them. They analyze the poem and identify the juxtaposition. The analysis is compiled by them to make a class report of it.
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In Honor of . . .
Students review examples of poetry written to honor someone and brainstorm memories about someone they wish to pay tribute to themselves.
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Immigrant Photo Analysis
Learners examine photographs taken of immigrants during late 1800s and early 1990s in America, and identify factors involved in immigration through examination of primary documents that include statistics, trends, graphs, photographs,...
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All About Me
Students write a paragraph, make lists, draw, and brainstorm things about themselves, their goals, and their past. In this all about me lesson plan, students recall information about themselves, and interview others in order to write...
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Using History to Teach Tolerance: A Ripple of Hope
Students investigate the prejudice and racism that has existed in the U.S. for centuries by attending a field trip. In this equality lesson, students visit the Tolerance Museum and discuss the history of the U.S. Students...
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What is American Culture
Students create what they feel is American Culture using a video camera and capturing 5 frames. They are animating parts of a poem in small groups. They decide the set up, create movable figures, and have a music section. Each person...
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War Heroes & Woes
In this United States history worksheet, students utilize a word bank of 10 terms or phrases to answer 10 fill in the blank questions about the War of 1812. A short answer question is included as well.
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Express Yourself Lesson Seed 9: Climax
Conduct a close reading of chapter 9 of The Cay. Read the chapter again and ask pupils to respond to a list of included text-dependent questions. Finish the class with the provided writing assignment, which asks learners to use textual...
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Express Yourself Lesson Seed 7: Pronouns
Take a break from literature study to address some grammatical concerns. Using a text you've already read in your class, show how to analyze pronoun use. After watching the master, pairs analyze a short excerpt on their own, identifying...
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Rainforest
Students create a rainforest poster and move to music learning about the rainforest. In this rainforest lesson plan, students express themselves in a variety of ways using their knowledge of the rainforest. Activities include creating a...
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Social Studies and Children's Literature
Pupils write a journal in response to literature. The story that is read is about prairies. The subject of prairies becomes an object for research. The culminating activity is the making of a map where prairies exist in the United States.
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Depression
Middle schoolers work together to develop a survey to ask people who lived during the Great Depression. Using the information from the survey, they write an essay or a poem describing why it was bad for one of their family members to...
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Geo Jammin'
Students compare and contrast related two- and three-dimensional shapes, and complete a Venn diagram illustrating the attributes of each. Using a poem pattern from another lesson, students use data from the diagram to write an attribute...
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What's Being Done?
Young scholars explore the concept of animal welfare. In this philanthropy lesson, students examine legislation that supports animals in their state as well as the role of the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to...
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Hollywood
Pupils listen to a play, or perhaps, take turns reading portions of it aloud. Afterward, they thoughtfully analyze and discuss the components of a well-written play. Next, a theme is assigned, and each person writes a play in conjunction...
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Up From the Streets: Hip Hop as a Recognized Art
Students discuss the historical roots of Hip-Hop to the present as an example of an art form that arose from the street into popular culture. Emphasis is placed on in-class discussion and written reflections in this introductory lesson.
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Responding To Literature
Learners prepare for and respond to literature selections. This package includes nineteen lessons, each covering a different reading selection. Pre-reading and response activities are included for each lesson as well as extension and...
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Crackin' the Musical Code
Students decode musical notation and then synthesize and apply by notating their own musical composition. Students draw various rhythmic examples which are equal in time duration. They notate and count rhythmic patterns. Additional cross...
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Random Acts of Kindness
Middle schoolers make a bookmark. For this community lesson, students review the meaning of caring. They discuss how doing small acts of kindness can affect a community, and they make a bookmark to remind them to do kind things for others.