National Endowment for the Humanities
A Wrinkle in Time: The Board Game
Tackle some big questions about A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L'Engle with a board game project. As learners brainstorm for and complete their board games, they consider what helps and hinders Meg on her journey and why she succeeds in...
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Memory Games
Researchers say that we need to hear and see new language 12 times before we remember it! Here's a plan that details a series of games that can be used as memory exercises. Bingo, Noughts and Crosses, Pelmanism, and repetitive speaking...
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Origin of the Modern Summer Games
Where did the Olympic Summer Games originate? The class takes a look at ancient origins of modern Olympic games. They research the Olympics and write a compare and contrast essay that describes how the Olympic Games have changed since...
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Create Your Own Classroom Olympic Games
Students create their own version of the Olympic Games. They compete in the games of their choice and keep score.
Media Smarts
First Person
High schoolers explore the relationship between video games and actual population. Example: A 2005 study showed Latino youth play at higher rates than other groups, but there are no Latino playable characters. They watch a brief video...
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High Five Blend and Word Family Game
Practice using word blends and learning about word families by participating in a class game. Learners will collaborate as teams in a game by throwing beanbags onto a shower curtain with word blends on it. They will say the sound their...
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Peace Bridge Game
Students examine the border between the United States and Canada. As a class, they are introduced to the purpose of the Peace Bridge which is located from New York into Canada. In groups, they use the internet to research the...
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Improving Speaking Skills in the Language Classroom
How can you create an "English-free" classroom for your foreign language learners? This year, use some of these strategies to maximize your students' opportunity to communicate in the language.
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Go for the Gold!
The options are vast with this Ancient Greece and Olympics research project! Using Scholastic online resources, historians have interactive and educational supports to guide them through researching and writing about the 2004 Olympics in...
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Weather and Seasons
Use pictures and manipulatives to develop vocabulary with your beginning language learners. This plan can be used with foreign language learners (although you'll have to provide the vocabulary), English language learners, or a young...
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What I need for School
You can use this instructional activity with English language learners, a young language arts class, or speakers of a foreign language. The phrases learned are I need and I don't need. The teacher collects several items around the room,...
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The Rooms in a Home
Enhance your foreign language students' skills to describe a house. After reading a description of rooms in a house in their target language, they work to answer corresponding questions correctly. Additionally, they view a PowerPoint...
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Blogging to Create a Community of Writers #6: Writing a Review
Looking for a good social media lesson for your class? Then, this lesson is for you! They study various written reviews, then must choose an item to review of their choice. They can choose from: a book, restaurant, CD/musical...
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Passover Picture Game
Students discuss the history of the Passover celebration. They comprehend the preparations that go on in Jewish households to get ready for the Passover, including the Passover Sedar table. Students show their comprehension of the...
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Learning From the Past
Coming up on the Olympics? Be sure your middle schoolers understand the dynamic and ancient history of this global tradition. They begin by recalling traditions parents have passed down, considering their relevance and ways they might be...
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Self-Monitoring Strategies and Vocabulary Games
Middle and high schoolers identify how to discover a word's meaning by exploring context clues and any pictures, diagrams, photographs, and charts that might be included. They continue this process with other examples and locate one on...
The Kennedy Center
Fairy Tale Variations
Here are two great lessons that work together and are inspired by the Stephen Sondheim musical Into the Woods. Young writers and actors will retell the story of "The Frog Prince" through games, improvisational script writing, and song....
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Survivor Game
Learners discover competition and trickery by participating in a class game. They participate in a role-playing game called "Survivor" in which students utilize critical thinking skills to identify who is the "Bad Guy." Students win the...
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Classified Advertisements: Target Language Practice
Foreign language learners decipher the meanings of classified ads in the target language. They investigate a large collage created by the teacher of foreign language advertisements and discuss the content with classmates. Then they...
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Football Spelling
Third graders play a football spelling game where two teams spell words and gain yardage for each correctly spelled word. This clever spelling game will be highly motivational for your class! Each team gains ten yards every time they...
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Lesson: Cultural Comparisons
A game, research, and cross-cultural comparisons are in the works as you open an artistic lesson. Upper graders get analytical as they make observations that will help them create a link between abstract and creative thinking. They...
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Playing Vocabulary Basketball
Learners view a slide show featuring famous athletes and educational institutions that have played a part in the history of basketball. They participate in a game in which a basketball is tossed from person to person as facts and...
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Many Meanings
Second graders listen to the book, Play Ball Amelia Bedelia, and find words in the story that have more than one meaning. In this language arts lesson, they write four words that have multiple meanings on the worksheet embedded in the...
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Miscast and Seldom Seen
Consider how well students' favorite TV shows, movies and video games reflect the diversity of society. The lesson introduces your class to several media literacy concepts, such as how media conveys values and messages, as well as the...