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Minnie and Moo and the Thanksgiving Tree
Third graders practice retelling stories. They read a story and work with a partner to discuss the key elements: characters, setting, events, beginning, and end. They assess one another as they retell the story. They rewrite the story in...
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Unwind: Vocabulary Strategy, Creating an Unwind Glossary
Prior to reading Unwind, Neal Shusterman's 2007 young adult science fiction novel, class members research the common definition of words drawn from the novel that will come to have a very different meaning to them as they are...
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Narrative Writing Outline
Students explore the elements of a narrative for its purpose, type of audience, mood, main character, minor characters, setting, and conflicts in the story. A story outline is developed and a five paragraph essay composed in this lesson.
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Life Size Characters
Sixth graders analyze character traits and create a life size character outline. In this character analysis lesson, 6th graders analyze character traits of a character using character webs and poems. Students then create a life size...
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What is cooperative negotiation?
Tenth graders differentiate between positions, interests, and values. In this current events lesson, 10th graders analyze, in a response to literature, the failure of a fictional negotiation. Students demonstrate the ability...
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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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Come On, Rain!
Students read and analyze the story. In this language arts lesson, students read Come on, Rain! and examine how mood and tone are created, the use of figurative language and the characteristics of the genre. Students research the...
University of Georgia
Bag O' Isotopes
Accommodate your chemistry class with an experiment that is both entertaining and educational. Through the activity, blossoming chemists perform calculations on various isotopes, as represented by beans and legumes, to obtain...
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Introduction to Archetypes
Here is a full lesson with all the needed materials and PowerPoints attached! Introduce your class to archetypes by showing them the included presentation. The presentation gives definitions and examples of archetypal characters,...
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It's Just a Barn
Investigate Pennsylvania Barns. Have your class consider the elements common to Pennsylvanian barns and why they are significant to the food production process. They write summaries of Frederick Watts and his impact on agriculture.
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D¿rer Watercolor - Patterns and Texture
Students create watercolor paintings using their knowledge of elements of design, value, and texture, discuss concept of art reflecting time and place, review art-related vocabulary, and reflect on their work.
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Paul Revere, American Patriot
Students research Paul Revere's life and role in U.S. history by examining first-person accounts, works of historical fiction, a popular narrative poem, and other resources. They create a mural depicting their findings.
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Prince Ibrahima
Sixth graders read and utilize the facts from the story "Abd al-Rahmen Ibrahima" by Walter Dean Myers to analyze the main character's life which is ruined by conflict, jealousy, and greed. Journal entries are created in response to the...
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Maniac Magee: Life Without Problems
Young readers discuss how they would deal with problems faced by the main character in Maniac Magee. They write down their own problems and exchange them with others to analyze and provide possible solutions. They establish a "Dear Abby"...
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City People, City Stories
Learners create fictional inhabitants to scale for a place called 'Box City'. They develop stories and personalities to go with the created people, share the stories with the class and write a newspaper for their city.
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Forensic Detectives: Who Did It?
Students explore forensic science and its uses in criminal investigations. They solve a fictional crime by identifying and analyzing the fingerprints, strand of hair, and thread samples for evidence. After completing charts for each,...
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Diary of Anne Frank: Act 1 Scene 1 & 2
Eighth graders read act 1 scenes 1 & 2 of the play Diary of Anne Frank. In this Diary of Anne Frank lesson plan, 8th graders discuss how the setting of the play affects the mood of the story and answer short answer questions.
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Things Aren't Always What They Seem
Students use video and the Internet to make predictions, draw conclusions, determine conflict and point of view while reading a short story. In this short story analysis lesson, students watch a related video and complete a prediction...
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Carson McCullers: Loneliness and Frustrated Love
Students examine the themes of loneliness and frustrated love in the work of Carson McCullers. In this theme analysis lesson, students complete a comparison of patterns in the novels of McCullers as a part of a theme analysis.
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The Name You Once Gave Me, by Mike Phillips and The Dying Wish by Courttia Newland
Students read, analyze, critique and study the novels, "The Name You Once Gave Me," by Mike Phillips and "The Dying Wish," by Courttia Newland. They evaluate an extract from each novel and consider how a theme can provide a framework for...
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Keep the Lights Burning, Abbie -The Story
Learners explore lighthouses in literature. In this reading activity, students read Keep the Lights Burning, Annie as well as Birdie's Lighthouse. Learners participate in pair/share activities regarding plot and literary devices. Student...
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Picturing Shakespeare: Creating Illuminated Texts
Students experiment with illuminating important text. In this fictional literature lesson, students research Shakespearean sonnets. Students identify key elements of the sonnets, and examine the relationship between...
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The Legend of Sleepy Hollow
Fourth graders read The Legend of Sleepy Hollow aloud, make predictions, compare characters, discuss plot and setting, and rewrite the ending to the story.
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Story vs. Plot
Students, after reading and discussing the two texts by Flannery O'Connor, "Good Country People" and "Greenleaf," analyze the plot, tone, characters, themes and setting in each story. They write their own short stories dealing with a...