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Animation Pre-Production
Does your class love reading cartoons? Use their talents and interests to examine the process of writing a story they wish to tell through a cartoon. They develop the beginning, middle, and end of a story based on their original...
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Shakespeare 2000
Comparing the more modern film Ten Things I Hate About You to The Taming of the Shrew leads to an understanding of how Shakespearean plots can be applied to modern-day situations and characters. As a culminating activity, groups select a...
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Flipped: After Reading Strategy
Everyone can be an expert! After finishing Wendelin Van Draanen's book Flipped, divide your class into small groups. Then, assign each group a topic to become experts on. The resource suggests topics such as characters, themes, setting,...
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Julius Caesar : Dramatic Reading Project
Young scholars explore Shakespeare's words. In this literature lesson, students memorize and recite a dramatic interpretation of a passage from Julius Caesar.
Science 4 Inquiry
Deforestation
Young scientists observe deforestation from satellite photos and discuss the importance of forests to the global environment. They then simulate a plot of forest when farmers move into the area over the course of seven years. Finally,...
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Investigating Fables
Time for a story! Learners of all ages enjoy listening to stories, so read them some common fables and have them work cooperatively to create a fable. Differentiate for varying ability levels by providing sentence frames, graphic...
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The Breaking of Charity
The danger of mob mentality is on display in The Crucible by Arthur Miller. Get your class thinking with some challenging quickwrite questions, then assign characters from the play to be read aloud altogether. Links to worksheets...
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Comparing Two Poe Classics
Students read and discuss The Black Cat and The Tell-Tale Heart. For this poetry lesson, students construct a Venn diagram to compare and contrast two pieces of literature.
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Rolling with Links
First graders explore geometry by completing a worksheet in class. In this non-standard measurement unit lesson, 1st graders discuss different techniques for measuring items without the use of a ruler. Students read several short stories...
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Heaven or Ground Hog Day?
Learners discover the ideas of enlightenment by reading historical poetry. In this philosophical lesson, students read poems by Sir Walter Scott and Sergeant Joyce Kilmer while discussing the themes of the writing with classmates....
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Checkmate: The Play's The Thing
Students investigate the Middle Ages and it's relation to the theater. In this acting lesson, students read Arthurian stories form the Middle Ages and practice using vocabulary words from the Medieval Times. Students write a...
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Masks and Aesop's Fables
Students study and perform Aesop's fables. In this Aesop's fables lesson, students read and/or listen to a number of the famous fables. They make masks based on the characters and perform a fable using the masks. They write about the...
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Surveying our First President
Middle schoolers act as surveyors. In this George Washington lesson, students read transcriptions from Washington's surveying journal and then try surveying skills on their own.
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Literacy: Slowly, Slowly, Slowly Said the Sloth
Students explore language arts by analyzing a children's book in class. For this vocabulary lesson, students read the book Slowly, Slowly, Slowly... by Eric Carle. Students identify the characters, setting and plot of the story before...
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Re: Forest Station
Students read an online article to explore rainforests of the world starting with the Barro Colorado reserve in the Panama Canal. They participate in a mock international summit about rainforest conservation issues.
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Mangrove Loss Faster than Land-Based Forests
Students explore the reasons Mangrove forests are in jeopardy. For this lesson, students read an article that discusses specific facts on Mangrove forests, then complete numerous activities that reinforce the information, such as...
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Lawton: A Child of the Prairie
Students complete word study activities, read a story and write a descriptive paragraph about the setting of Goo Goo Avenue in Lawton 1901.
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Writing Novelettes
Students practice their writing techniques by creating a novelette. In this creating writing lesson, students brainstorm and decide on a topic they would like to expand upon in order to create their own novelette. Students...
Orange County Department of Education
Dear Mr. Henshaw
Fifth graders read Dear Mr. Henshaw and identify the character trait of self-respect as exhibited by Leigh throughout the story. They evaluate the author's use of letters to tell the story and discuss how the story would be different if...
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Introduction to "Julius Caesar"
Students discuss American form of government. They read the play Julius Caesar.
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Learning to Analyze Characters
Pupils discover writing strategies authors use to enhance characters. In this character writing lesson, students are read the Knuffle Bunny books by Mo Willems and analyze the story, characters and settings as they listen....
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Say It Like A Character
Students read a story and retell it to the class by role-playing one of the characters. In groups, they use the correct facial expressions along with body language and voice to convince the others in their group that they are actually...
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Who's Inside the Mitten?
Students read "The Mitten", by Jan Brett. They discuss vocabulary presented in the story and sequence significant plot events. They make masks to represent several of the characters and act out the story.
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Examining Redemption in King Lear
Pupils examine the concept of the tragic hero in Shakespeare's King Lear and explore how it affects the plot of the play. In this theatrical analysis lesson, students investigate the redemption or defeat of King Lear and perform two...