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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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Telling Stories in Art: Symbols of a Life
Through a series of activities, learners are exposed to how artists use symbolic imagery to create the narrative of a subject’s life. They study The Birth of Alexander and some manuscripts kept at J. Paul Getty Museum. They then draft...
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Sound/Story
High schoolers combine creativity with the rigor of careful editing by adding music to their story. It forces them to focus on how they communicate the meaning of their story to the listener.
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Story Structure Slide Show
Analyzing the sequence of actions in dramatic stories leads to deeper comprehension of story structure. The class identifies the main actions in each section of a story and develops frozen tableau's for the identified actions of the...
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Narrative Pantomime: The Great Kapok Tree
Students pantomime the story of The Great Kapok Tree for younger students. In this The Great Kapok Tree instructional activity, students warm up with a game before volunteering for parts in the story. Students practice acting out the...
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Make a Memory with Movie Maker
There is nothing more exciting than allowing learners to express themselves through a creative medium. In groups, they write narrative stories, focusing on building a strong storyline and dialogue. Next, they transform their stories into...
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Same Theme, Different Story Using Fox by Margaret Wild
Middle schoolers work with themes in this instructional activity, which is based on Fox by Margaret Wild. Because the book has multiple themes, it is a great way to transition into exploring literary analysis and writing stories. A Six...
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Telling Stories: Symbols of a Life
Art and literature can go hand in hand, they both are used to express elements of the self in a creative and interesting way. Budding story tellers interpret and analyze the narrative elements they find in a work of art. They focus on...
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Varied Beginnings: Research Process / Narrative Writing Techniques
What's the best way to start a story? Learners write a memoir using effective openings. They research the process and work through a list of hooks to use in their writing. They use at least two hooks to begin their personal memoir. A...
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"Knot" the Whole Truth: Writing a Modern-Day Story with a Tall Tale's Voice
Beyond Paul Bunyan and his blue ox, tall tales can be a great way to teach young writers about word choice and voice in their writing. Using Jerry Spinelli's Maniac Magee and the Six-Trait Writing process, they begin to write their own...
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Migration During the Great Depression: Living History
Students interview immigrants of Central Florida and photograph them to learn their oral history and life stories. In this immigration lesson plan, students discover where people come from, and write about the life story of this person.
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Poetry Through Digital Storytelling
Bring digital storytelling to your language arts class! To begin, learners select their own topic, such as a poem that reflects a life experience they had or a historical figure who interests them. Then they work to create a storyboard...
MENSA Education & Research Foundation
Utopia/Dystopia: The American Dream
America was founded by dreamers, and the American dream still resonates in our country today. Track the American dream from its Puritan beginnings to its optimistic descendants with a instructional activity that focuses on speeches by...
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The Great American Fire Drill
Students read a story about fire safety and create their own ending to the story in order to learn about fire escape plans and to demonstrate their writing skills. In this fire safety instructional activity, students discuss the parts...
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PhotoStory 3 Lesson Plan
In this instructional activity, PhotoStory 3, students create a story board of an original poem through the use of PhotoStory 3 presentation. Students write a poem and use it to develop their storyboard. Students publish and share...
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New Shoes for Sylvia
First graders explore reading comprehension by analyzing a story in class. In this story structure lesson, 1st graders read the book New Shoes for Sylvia and discuss the character and her dilemma in the story. Students answer study...
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The Great China Chase: Adjectives
Stories are created, by students, using a variety of adjectives. 3-5th graders will learn about adjectives and use their new knowledge to create ad-lib stories to share with the class demonstrating their mastery of adjectives, indefinite...
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The Mighty Great Lakes and St. Lawrence Seaway System
Students participate in a variety of activities in a unit about the Great Lakes/St. Lawrence Seaway System. They create a diorama, read related stories, and correspond with other classes located in other port cities along the St Lawrence...
Time Warp Trio
My Big Fat Greek Olympics
The Olympic Games are indeed a significant and far-reaching cultural component in our international community today, but from where do they originate? Where do our traditions stem from, and how do we choose the sports that constitute...
Mathematics Vision Project
Module 2: Systems of Equations and Inequalities
The brother-sister pair Carlos and Clarita need your class's help in developing their new pet sitting business. Through a variety of scenarios and concerns presented to the siblings, the learners thoroughly explore systems of equations...
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Creating a Newspaper
Get the scoop with a fun, engaging newspaper project. After analyzing the parts of a newspaper, including the headline, subtitles, and pictures or images, young journalists get to work by writing their own stories in a newspaper article...
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Literal Meaning of Reading
Students practice basic reading skills. In this reading lesson plan, students review the letter M, read the story If You Give a Mouse a Muffin. Students will then write a book using their name, for example: If You Give a Taco to Tracy.
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Story Dolls
Students create autobiographies. In this autobiographical writing activity, students use a story doll template and write about themselves. Students decorate their autobiographies.
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Bud, Not Buddy
Fifth graders read the book Bud, Not Buddy and participate in activities that generate understanding of the Great Depression. In this realistic fiction lesson, 5th graders read about a boy who grew up during this time. Students research...