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Find the Main Idea
It's important for learners to be able to identify the main point in an article, paper, or essay. Start by having them identify the main idea in a short paragraph. There are three short paragraphs (each with four multiple choice options)...
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Hello, Is Anybody Out There? (cont.)
In this space science worksheet, students read an informative passage about radio waves and the possibility of sending messages in space. The passage describes a "Sounds of Earth" record on the Voyager satellite which contains messages...
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Ancestors Help the Living
Contained here is a six-paragraph article about mammoth ivory for learners to read. They read the article and then respond to short answer, fill-in-the-blank, discussion, and comprehension questions. Vocabulary words and definitions are...
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Playground Safety Check
Students study a playground safety checklist, conduct a safety check of the schoolyard and/or local playground and write a report about their findings, # present the report to school or community leaders
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Johannes Gutenberg and the Printing Press
Students use library or online resources to create time lines on the life of Johannes Gutenberg and tell the impact his invention, the printing press, had on the development of newspapers.
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Cutting Costs With Coupons.
Students clip coupons for food items, create a menu using those items, and add up the total savings. They correctly calculate the total amount of money that would be saved if they used the coupons.
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So You Want to Be a Copy Editor?
Explore what a copy editor does and take a copyediting test. Pupils practice spelling while identifying the skills and knowledge necessary for a career in journalism. The resource is well done.
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"Memories of Mom" Memento
Students brainstorm a list of writing topics for a "Memories of Mom" book, choose one of the topics as the subject of a daily essay and combine a week of daily essays into a book to give their mothers for Mother's Day.
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The Betsy Ross Story: Truth or Legend?
Young scholars discover that some historians question the story of Betsy Ross's involvement in the creation of the first U.S. flag, study why historians question the story and list reasons the story of Betsy Ross might not be true.
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The Perfect Pet
Students take on role of an associate in a pet shop and help imaginary customers compare pets for sale.
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Pet Pellets
Students create and design advertising for a tempting new pet food! They create an imaginary pet food, analyze and identify types of propaganda and design packaging and advertising for the pet food.
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The Problem with Profiling
Students explore the issue of racial profiling and post their conclusions to a youth message board. They research the issue of racial profiling and post their thoughts to a message board.
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What Makes the Writer Write
Your 11th and 12th graders are ready to critique society! Channel that inclination by studying a novel that offers social criticism of other eras (book recommendations included). This resource presents a well-thought-out overview of such...
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Writing a Newspaper-Style Article
Help your secondary reader/writers assess texts by studying press releases from Statistics Canada and drafting articles based on them. They then compare the press release, their own articles, and actual news stories they find online. I'd...
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A Study of Twentieth Century British Culture through Art and Literature
Here’s an interesting approach to the analysis of similar subjects in different mediums. Based on the methodology of Professor Jules Prown, learners apply his three stages (description, deduction, and speculation) to a painting and a...
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Looking Back - An Art/English/History Interdisciplinary Unit
High schoolers research historical events of the past century to recognize that society impacts the themes within art and literature. They then interview an individual to develop a biographical narrative, a collage and finally an oral...
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All the World's a Stage
Is the circus a form of theater? Read "A City of Clowns? What Else Is New?" to sway your class that a circus, is indeed, a theatrical performance. Critical thinkers compare/contrast various forms of theater and identify what makes the...
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Gandhi Speech Writing
Explore non-violent protest in this social values and world history lesson plan. After viewing the movie Gandhi, and discussing important events in Gandhi's life, young orators write a speech defending Gandhi's position on the value of...
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12 Days of Christmas
Learners utilize different problem-solving strategies and creative writing when dealing with the words from the song, "12 Days of Christmas." They try to problem solve how may presents were given and then explain their sequence in the...
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"Every Block, Every Borough"
From the New York Times Learning Network series, this learning exercise poses 10 questions on an article entitled, "Leaving His Footprint on the City" about a man planning to walk every street in all five New York boroughs. The prompts...
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Reading for Information
What should readers do to prepare for reading an informational text? What should they do during their reading? What should they do after completing such a text? Introduce your pupils to reading strategies and techniques to gain meaning...
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Strong Convictions
How can the rhetorical structure of an editorial help to develop its argument? Use this New York Times editorial to emphasize the importance of structure in a piece of informational text. Adolescent writers then use the editorial as a...
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Finding the Main Idea
Thar she blows! An excerpt from Herman Melville’s Moby Dick provides the text for an exercise in finding the main idea. After recording the main idea of the passage, readers also provide two supporting ideas. An answer key is provided.
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Metaphor Meanings
Help your young writers decipher the literal meanings of metaphors. After reading several metaphors, learners write the real meanings that the phrases are describing. Use this resource in a figurative language lesson, or when preparing...