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Discovering Saturn, The Real "Lord of the Rings"
Reading, writing, and rings! A lesson from NASA combines space science with authentic reading and writing tasks. Included in this lesson are pre-reading activities, four mini informational booklets on Saturn, a structured note-taking...
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Macbeth News Broadcast
Here is an authentic assessment task for Shakespeare's Macbeth. Young literature scholars prepare, perform, and record a news broadcast about the major events in the play. For example, groups may choose to report on the death of Lady...
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The South, the North and the Great Migration: Blues and Literature
Here is a complex lesson plan that interweaves the history of the Jim Crow South and the Great Migration with the study of poetry, art, and blues music from the Harlem Renaissance. The plan helps young historians develop a deep...
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Let's Plan a Trip!
Take a virtual trip to see other countries and cultures! After learning about different cultures and populations, English learners think about a place they'd like to visit. Small groups or individuals plan a trip to a country of their...
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A Christmas Carol Exploration
Seventh graders explore the history of Christmas by researching classic literature. In this holiday instructional activity, 7th graders read the story A Christmas Carol and discuss the tone of Charles Dickens' classic literary work....
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Website Evaluation
Students examine how to differentiate between authentic and unauthentic websites on the Internet. They view and discuss a photo of a shark that is a hoax, then discuss the eight ways to evaluate websites. Students then evaluate three...
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Poetry Coffeehouse
This resource contains a vague plan for a poetry unit conducted at an elementary school during the month of February. Although this plan does not included detailed instructional strategies, this does outline a basic unit, some creative...
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Twain: Tom Sawyer—Mythic Adventurer
Students take a closer look at archetypes. In this characterization lesson plan, students examine the setting and the characters of The Adventures of Tom Sawyer as they read and analyze the novel. Students consider how Twain mythically...
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Too Good to be True-Science Frauds
Learners practice listening and reading in English and are introduce to vocabulary connected to forgeries and fakes.
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Hoaxes, Scams, Chain Letters and Urban Legends
Students explore the evacuation of New Orleans due to Hurricane Katrina. Using the internet, they research stories they may have heard and verify a story's authenticity. Students discuss rumors and urban legends. Given a worksheet,...
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Propaganda Flyer
Fourth graders create a persuasive flyer to sway the opinion of the class on a controversial issue. They read assigned editorials representing the viewpoint that they must defend.
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Eden's Last Stand: Why Did Anthony Eden Resign in 1938?
Students investigate the politics of England by reading historic letters. In this world history lesson, students research the Conservative British Government during the beginning of World War II. Students examine an authentic letter...
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Real or hoax?
Seventh graders brainstorm a list of criteria that makes a webpage useful for research and not useful for research. They complete the activity, "Real or Hoax," and discuss fiction and non fiction stories and determine which websites are...
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Pathways
Students are introduced to how to use a flow diagram. As a class, they brainstorm all of the steps to a specific task and discuss the importance of completing them in the correct sequence. They read books that have an alternate ending...
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Alexander The Great
Students investigate the historical person of Alexander The Great. They view a video in order to create the context for the lesson. They read some biographies and conduct research using a variety of resources. Then students create their...
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Evaluating an Olympic Sport
Students research the political context of the Winter Olympics in general and within certain countries in particular. They read authentic, published articles on the topic from the Internet and add this information to the spreadsheet as...
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The Underground Railroad as an Act of Civil Disobedience
Students write an essay from rough draft to final copy about the Underground Railroad. Civil disobedience is researched from a variety of sources. There is a prewriting exercise that is included in the lesson. The whole writing process...
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A Colony is Born : Lessons 7 - 10 What's My Line?
Fifth graders research their assigned regions, complete regional guide and prepare presentations about the New World colonists. They refer to "Everyday LIfe: Colonial Times" as well as searching marked internet sites.
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A Colony is Born : Lesson 11 - Group Presentations and Summatives
Fifth graders give presentations on colonial research. The others take notes on the presentations. They play a card game which helps them review content. They take a summative assessment and present their research notebooks.
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A Colony is Born : Lesson 6 -To Leave or Not to Leave
Fifth graders connect reasons for coming to the New World with identity. The create identities and place them in one of three settled regions. They refer to prior study notes in their Colonial Notebooks to establish their identities.
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Slang and Dialogue in Bud Not Buddy
Students identify the 1930's slang in the novel, Bud, Not Buddy. They compare it to modern slang and rewrite a section of the book using modern slang instead of 1930's slang.
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Does One Tree a Forest Make?
Students take a walk around the schoolyard looking at and identifying the trees. One leaf for each tree is collected. A chart is developed that represents the population of trees on the school ground. They keep journals and write an essay.
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Multicultural Attire
Students research the native attire of a chosen culture, write an essay reflecting the role of the attire in the given culture, and create a significant piece of attire from that culture that be modeled in a fashion show.
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Social Studies: Exploring Boston's Big Dig
Students, in a high school class for autistic children, take a virtual tour of Boston's "Big Dig" and the artifacts discovered there. During weekly lab sessions, they discover the processes involved in artifact preservation. Using...