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When A Story Met A Sandwich
How is a story like a peanut butter and jelly sandwich? Use making a sandwich as a metaphor to remind your writers that a good, solid beginning, a rich and rewarding middle, and an ending that brings everything together spices up a...
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Developing Story Ideas
Students complete activities to learn how to develop story ideas in journalistic writing. In this story ideas lesson, students learn news value judging criteria, identify language to ask beat sources for story ideas, distinguish story...
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Fiction Stories
Students complete writing activities for fiction. In this fiction writing lesson, students complete four sets of activities in a writer's workshop format to practice reading and writing in a fiction style. Students develop plot outlines,...
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Where Do I Begin: Writing an Effective Feature Story
High schoolers write an effective feature story. For this journalism lesson plan, students learn through 6 activities to ask open-ended questions, write effective leads, and handle quotes, and write headlines for news stories.
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Control the Classroom from Day One
Avoid the beginning-of-the-year scramble by having a strategy for the first few days of school.
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Literary Analysis - Young Goodman Brown
Why is literary analysis so important? Readers explore writing a literary analysis by reviewing literary elements such as character, metaphor, plot, setting, simile, personification, and style. They read "Young Goodman Brown" by...
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Baseball Stories, Cards and Interviews
Everyone can be an MVP! Young learners create their own baseball cards about themselves in this autobiographical lesson. They use information about their lives to create a baseball trading card. They make flash cards using baseball...
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I Had a Hero Lesson
Students read "I Had a Hero" a memoir written by a Peace Corps volunteer serving in the Democratic Republic of Congo. They discuss the story, respond to it in writing, complete comprehension activities and relate the account to their own...
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Great Expectations: Group Writing
Examine the differences between totalitarianism and democracy in this writing lesson. Using the same format and theme from Great Expectations, young writers work in pairs to compose their own short stories. They follow guidelines for the...
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How to Write Really Good Dialogue
How do you create (and punctuate) really good dialogue so that it moves your story forward and provides strong characterization? Use this literary worksheet loaded with examples, clearly stated directions, and fun exercises. Fifth in a...
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Reading Study Guide: I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings
Meant for use with Maya Angelou's first autobiographical volume I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings, the materials here are designed for a homeschool setting, but they'd suit any classroom or text. Graphic organizers, chapter summary guides,...
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Literature: Mapping the Mockingbird
Young scholars read Harper Lee's To Kill a Mockingbird, focusing on setting. They list items that create mental images of the novel's setting along with location references to characters and events. Using posterboard, they construct...
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Drama/Theatre
Young scholars discover how setting, props, and character-action communicate information about the characters and the story. Access to videos and a video camera are important to make this lesson a success.
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Texas Kid Writes Book About Presidents
Arranged into small groups, learners read a paragraph of the news story "Texas Kid Writes Book About Presidents." As one reads, others mark the text (underlining important information and writing notes in the margin of the story). After...
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Literary Analysis of The Minister's Black Veil
After reading The Minister's Black Veil, by Nathaniel Hawthorne as a homework assignment your class will complete a literary analysis. Learners will analyze important element of the story and take notes to help support their essays....
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Plagiarism in the Real World
How would you feel if someone plagiarized your work? After class members turn in an assigned newspaper article, you rewrite the piece using elements of their writing. Then you claim you will be selling the story and that you will profit...
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Recalling History by Pulling Strings
Learners investigate the role and nature of story-telling as it preserves history and culture and discuss how puppetry serves as an effective method of presentation. They create basic outlines for puppet shows that relay important...
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Ancient Cultures News Broadcast
How does geography influence daily life? Guided by an essential question, class groups select and then research an ancient culture, and develop a news broadcast about the geographical setting and its impact on the culture. Teams select...
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First Set of Essay Questions on The Hobbit
Students read The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien and choose two essays to write about the first six chapters. In this reading comprehension lesson, students read the first six chapters of the novel and use a worksheet to take notes as they...
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A Basic Photography Lesson
Students explain the aesthetics of photography, take photos that demonstrate their understanding of aesthetics, and take photos that convey a message or tell a story. They analyze the qualities of a given photo.
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The Basics of Photography
Young scholars identify the importance of photography as an entry into the news, good photo taking skills, and the appreciation of photo aesthetics. In this photography lesson, students identify the 'Rosetta Stone' of photography skills...
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Adventures of Huckleberry Finn
Twelfth graders read The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn and choose the ten most important adventures of the novel for a timeline activity. In this Huckleberry Finn instructional activity, 12th graders read the novel and list the...
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Native Lands: Indians in Georgia , Losing Ground: Removal, 1802-1838
Pupils investigate the removal of the Creek Indians from Georgia. Students read the story of the Creek removal from Georgia, locate sites mentioned on a map, and create a related timeline. Pupils share their thoughts on the Creek removal...
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Summarizing
Students use their note-taking skills to write summaries of information. In this writing skills lesson, students use the notes they have taken in another lesson to write adventure stories by implementing the Rule-Based strategy.