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Rehearsing the Fashion Show
Students edit written work about a fashion show. In this fashion show lesson, students write a presentation piece and works in groups of 4,6, or 8 to edit what they have written. Students rehearse by pair sharing and give their short...
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An Amusing Speech
Practice public speaking by telling an amusing story in this speech preparation lesson. Young speakers use note cards to plan out a speech of an interesting story in their lives. They practice their speech at home, ultimately delivering...
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"I Believe..." Podcast Style
Use this communication skills lesson to emphasize evaluating a speaker's main point and argument. After reading Martin Luther King's, "I Have a Dream Speech" and John F. Kennedy's speech, "I Believe in an America Where the Separation of...
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Reading the Play
Do figures of speech enhance a play or story? In small groups, learners locate and describe figures of speech they find while reading a reader's theater play. After making predictions, they describe how the figures of speech make the...
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We the People: The Citizen and the Constitution: The American Revolution
The contributions of African-Americans to the American Revolution are the focus of this Social Studies and language arts instructional activity. After reading and discussing Linda Crotta Brennan’s The Black Regiment of the American...
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Poetry in Depth
Scholars use technology to explore poetry and its related elements, such as theme, figures of speech, and other literary devices. They complete four poetry projects including a poem analysis with a concept web, an interactive poem...
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Creating Civic Awareness Through Artistic and Literary Forms
Interpret current events using editorial cartoons and other print media. Middle schoolers explore the meanings of literary and artistic terms such as satire, irony, and caricature. They visit internet sites to develop an understanding of...
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Poetry Workshop: Fixed Form Poems
Encourage the poetic genius in your young creative writers with a poetry workshop. Fix form poems (cinquains acrostic poems, octopoems, hello/goodbye poems) provide a framework and encourage vocabulary development as well as an awareness...
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Vivid Verbs
Spice up your writing! Your amateur writers will benefit from concentrating on understanding and improving verb use in writing. An introductory activity addresses weak verbs. A second exercise helps them see the importance of strong...
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"The Gunny Wolf": American Folktale
While you tell the story of "The Gunny Wolf," your class will actively participate by asking questions and clarifying. Next, they answer questions about the story to increase comprehension before creating a storyboard to document the...
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Eating Up Idioms
Ah, food idioms! Now that sounds tasty. Class members read and discuss various food-related idioms, create an illustration of a food-related idiom, and develop a class book or bulletin board to celebrate figurative language and National...
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"Ing" Words as Descriptors
This clever lesson has your students listen to story about bugs, work together to brainstorm list of "ing" words that describe bugs, create t-chart of words, choose words to place in poem template to create class poem about bugs, and use...
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Prepositional Relationship Dance
Students learn the meaning of prepositions through movement. In this dance lesson, students choreograph a piece showing that they understand the meaning of various prepositions.
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A Very Short History of the English Language
Students apply their knowledge of world history to research major influences on the language that has become the English we speak today; develop timeline of events in Britain and explain contributions of various invading groups to the...
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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A Look Through My Antonia's Eyes
Thoroughly delve into My Antonia by Willa Cather with a plethora of activities. Engage scholars with videos and web sites in this week-long unit that explains the historical context and creates pioneers in the field of research. An...
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Cyberbullying: Effects on Teens Across the Nation (Segment 3)
Free speech, privacy, and cyberbullying are the focus of a series of activities that prompt class members to engage in discussions about these interrelated topics. They view a segment from PBS’s series on bullying, read articles about...
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Paper Spiders
The positional words up and down are the focus of a language and visual arts lesson plan. Learners get a paper plate and eight strips of construction paper. They create a spider out of their paper plate, and cut out a circle out of a...
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The Bernstein Bear's Trouble with Money: Financial and Academic Literacy
What do figures of speech have to do with financial literacy? Take an interdisciplinary look at The Berenstain Bears' Trouble with Money to find out. Young analysts read about the cubs' spendthrift ways and how Mama and Papa Bear teach...
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Sentence Puzzle Race
Students create sentences based on the word cards they are given. In this sentences lesson plan, students work in teams and get points for correct sentences.
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Mad About Parts of Speech
Eighth graders review and use the different parts of speech using Mad Libs or Web Libs. They also utilize creative writing skills by providing the most interesting word(s) for the story line. They utilize worksheets imbedded in this plan.
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Crazy Critters Teach Parts of Speech
Students create pieces of writing about a creature they have created. They examine the parts of speech and how they are used in their writing to see how they can write more specifically.
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Let Freedom Ring: The Life & Legacy of Martin Luther King, Jr.
Students use text and photos to visualize the delivery of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.'s historic "I Have A Dream" speech. They analyze Dr. King's speech for examples of imagery and allusion and create original poetry and illustrations...
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Digital Parts of Speech
Students investigate different parts of speech by creating digital skits. In this digital education instructional activity, students collaborate in groups to research the Internet for clips and music that represent the different parts of...