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Speech! Speech!
Critical thinkers consider how word choice in speeches impacts the meaning and effectiveness of the message being presented. They examine and respond to some of the speeches made at the 2004 Republican and Democratic National Conventions.
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Analyzing a Writer's Stance
Should college admissions decisions be based on whether whose family members attended? Secondary students read and respond to a New York Times article on the issue of 'legacy preferences' in college admissions. Following class...
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Liberation of the Garden Gnomes
Students read a lighthearted story about the controversial Garden Gnome Liberation Front. They debate the public's right to own garden gnomes. Personal - to lighten up the classroom a bit with a somewhat
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Direct Speech
Pupils explore characteristics of a good speech. They use speech marks to demarcate direct speech. Students read a report and rewrite it, using verbs that describe people speaking.
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Introductions
Pupils participate in the introductions at the beginning of the semester. As a class, they brainstorm questions that can be asked to gain more information about their classmates. Working in pairs, the students interview each other and...
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Friday Forum
Middle schoolers research a variety of controversial articles to gain knowledge. They form an opinion and defend their position with supporting data. They evaluate opposing arguments and present their viewpoint both verbally and in the...
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Climate Chaos Week
Pupils research the pros and cons of wind farm technology as an alternative source of energy. The class is divided into two groups that should formulate a debate on each side of the argument. Groups use a debate guide to help develop...
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Conversation Lesson: Internet Craze
Learning to support your opinions, debate, build arguments, and effectively respect another's point of view are vital skills. Learners work through a series of topics to practice discussion engagement and verbal communication.
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Fractions, Decimals, and Percentages Got You Down? "Tri" This!
Young scholars explore number sense by creating a math presentation in class. In this parts of a whole lesson plan, students define and discuss the relationship between fractions, decimals and percentages before completing a problem...
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Irregular Past Participles
Even though this activity on past participles is designed for an ESL class, it could work in any class setting. Questions prompt students to fill in the blanks with past participles, and to think about the functions of participles within...
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Coast-to-Coast Book Design-Part 4: Let's Create the Pages!
Pupils work in groups to share their lists of A-B-C ideas they came up with from the previous activity. They review page layouts taught during lesson two. Students complete a rough draft of their page. They create a colored illustration...
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Speaker Report
Fifth through eighth graders think of themselves as newspaper reporters as they listen to a presentation by a guest speaker. As reporters, they take notes during the presentation. Using these notes, they create a rough draft and then a...
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Collective Nouns and Verb Agreement Practice
Break down subject and verb agreement with this exercise. This activity only deals with present tense verbs and collective nouns. Pupils learn how to make the verb of a sentence agree with the collective noun by reading sentences and,...
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Presentation of Research Project
Middle schoolers deliver oral presentations using appropriate visual aids and PowerPoint. In this oral presentation lesson, students research a topic and deliver a clear oral presentation on their topic. Middle schoolers use PowerPoint...
Reed Novel Studies
Wolf Hollow: Novel Study
Annabelle, a young character in Wolf Hollow, discovers one bully can ruin everything when Betty walkes into her classroom. Betty bullies others and targets a war veteran. Individuals read how one person changed Annabelle's life. They...
Reed Novel Studies
The River: Novel Study
Some experiences are worth living again. At least, that is how government researchers feel about Brian's survival experience in the woods. The River is a sequel to Brian's adventures in Hatchet. Scholars read about the troubles Brian and...
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Using Commas in Your Writing
In this commas worksheet, students complete three activities that help them follow the rules for comma usage to make their writing clear.
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My View's Write!
After researching issues involving panthers, middle schoolers practice writing persuasive letters. They become familiar with a controversial issue related to panthers and write their position on the issue. This lesson would be a good...
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Fractions, Decimals, and Percents Got You Down? "Tri" This!
Have your class design their own mathematical study aids. Learners collaborate in groups on the design of tri-fold presentation describing the relationships between mathematical computations. Then, they write a business letter to the...
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Respect Yourself: The Stax Records Story - The Birth of Soul
Young scholars analyze various kinds of music. In this music lesson plan, students listen to music clips to determine the kind of music each clip is then they participate in a class discussion about the music and prepare a presentation.
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Survey Savvy
Students explore various aspects of design innovation. In this design activity, links are provided to three innovations from the Design for the Other 90% Web site in order for students to study and evaluate them. Students are challenged...
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ESL Holiday Lessons: Good Friday
In this language skills worksheet, students read an article about Good Friday. Students respond to 6 matching questions, 29 fill in the blank questions, 30 multiple choice questions, 12 word scramble questions, 30 short...