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Irony in "The Gift of the Magi"
Use O. Henry's ubiquitous tale of love and poverty to explore irony. After reading the story, middle schoolers identify examples of all three kinds of irony in the story. With partners, they brainstorm original examples of irony. Then...
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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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Similes and Metaphors: An Interactive Review
Get your pupils' attention with this lesson plan on similes and metaphors, which features two poems by Tupac Shakur. A SMART board presentation guides them through the lesson plan, which includes a BrainPop activity (linked). After they...
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Narrative Writing
Imagine a day in the life of a child who has to work 12-14 hours a day, seven days a week. After viewing images and reading stories of child laborers, class members select an image and write a richly detailed narrative about a typical...
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An Introduction to Of Mice and Men
By collaborating on producing a product ad and slogan, learning partners demonstrate their understanding of the difference between connotative and denotative language. This week-long activity is designed to be used as an introduction to...
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Irony in Poetry and Prose (Fiction and Non-fiction Texts)
Middle and high schoolers examine the impact of irony in poetry and prose. For this figurative language lesson, they read instructor-selected literature and identify uses of irony. Then they discuss how irony enhances literature.
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Olympic Shadow Boxes
What a cool way to incorporate art and use reference materials. Learners use classroom reference materials such as almanacs, encyclopedias, and dictionaries to answer one of four questions, and then they use the information to create a...
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The Game of Persuasion
Why is it so important to learn the art of persuasion? Being persuasive helps you acquire the things you want or the things you feel are necessary. Print out these scenarios and assign one to each group of high schoolers. As a team, they...
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A Walk on the West Side
High schoolers comprehend what makes up the physical community. Read and construct scale drawings and models. Explore the history of infrastructures and how the contributions of science, math and industry have led to the development of...
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Jim Murphy, The Great Fire - Grade 6
The Great Fire by Jim Murphy provides the text for a study of the Chicago fire of 1871. The plan is designed as a close reading activity so that all learners have the same background information require for writing. Richly detailed, the...
2012 Teaching Resources
Analyzing Character Traits
Character analysis becomes easy with a 24-page packet packed with mini-lessons, graphic organizers, and activities. A must-have for your curriculum library.
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Blogging to Create a Community of Writers: Lesson 2 of 6
Using this lesson plan on blogs, you can lead your class through the process of setting up a blog, writing a blog entry, editing their work, and more. There is a link to the blog site used, and attachments of blog entries.
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Lesson Plan 11: Beginnings
Every good novel needs a solid beginning! Setting the stage can have your budding authors stumped, so use this lesson to get them thinking. After examining the plot rollercoaster image (included) they consider the four places their story...
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Lesson Plan 17: Novel, Take 2
It's all about using peer resources in this writing process lesson, which includes a fantastic novel revision worksheet packet. Learners have read a partner's story draft the night before, and groups have a "lightning round of praise"...
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Honey Bees and Communication
Did you know that honey bees dance to communicate information? Do you know why bees use hexagons to build their hives? The Honeybee Man, Brilliant Bees, and Show me the Honey provide background information on how honey bees communicate....
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Introduction to Cause and Effect
Teach your special education students about cause and effect with this SMART board activity. After analyzing real-life examples of cause and effect -'What happens when you eat too much? What happens when you don't get enough sleep?"-...
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Word Choice in Writing
Sixth graders explore language arts by writing dialogue. In this vocabulary choice instructional activity, 6th graders identify synonyms and the importance of using a thesaurus while writing dialogue in their own original work. Students...
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Writing Example Paragraphs
Sixth graders explore language arts by writing basic paragraphs. In this writing techniques lesson, 6th graders define an "example" paragraph and discuss techniques to prove a point in one paragraph. Students practice writing their own...
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Molas from South America
Third graders research world geography by creating a class presentation. In this South American lesson, 3rd graders read assigned text regarding the customs and traditions of different Indian communities in South America. Students...
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Active and Passive Voice: Finding Examples Online
Incorporate technological fluency with a search for examples of active and passive voice in online resources. Discuss how use of active or passive voice influences mood or tone and contributes to author's purpose. List of...
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"Where in the West" Guided Reading Lesson
Students complete a vocabulary chart, review proper/common nouns, discuss and review comparative adjectives and make "self to text" connections before reading. In this language arts lesson, comprehension questions are completed during...
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Analyzing Logos
Young scholars analyze common logos they see daily and describe what the logos bring to mind. They redesign a company logo incorporating the company's philosophy into their sketches. Students present their findings and redesign to the...
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Toulmin Argument Essay
After viewing a Prezi presentation on Toulmin’s argument, (claim, reason, warrant, backing, grounds, qualifiers, rebuttals), groups re-examine the format, and then individuals craft an argument essay in response to Lord Chesterfields...
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Character Analysis and The Crucible
Readers of The Crucible use a SATDO chart to collect evidence they will use to craft interpretive statements and an analysis of one of Miller’s characters. Background information on the play and about Miller, links to handouts,...