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Aluminum Can Drive
Second graders complete a recycling project to clean-up their school. In this service project lesson, 2nd graders assess their campus for litter, set up a recycling project, clean up their campus, and recycle the trash. Students also...
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A House Divided: Slavery in the United States
Students explore the history of the United States and slavery. In this slavery lesson plan, students view primary sources, complete journal writing, view videos, and answer short answer questions.
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Songs of Unrest - Lesson 4
Pupils identify popular songs from 1968 and make connections with the year's current events. They pretend that they are producing a new CD. The CD includes four songs that comment on today's social issues. They write the liner notes.
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Colonial Life in Virginia
Fourth graders compare and contrast life in England with plantation life in America. They study the dependencies or mini-industries that could be found on plantations.
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Stateside Slavery
Students read "Slavery's Past, Paved Over or Forgotten" from The New York Times and discuss as a class. This activity is the introduction for researching a topic on the history of slavery in the U.S. Student groups present their...
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African Architecture
Seventh graders investigate cultural influences on architecture in Africa south of the Sahara. They compare the architecture to that in North America, Europe, Russia, and North Africa, Asia, and South America.
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Comparing Cultures Through Symbols
Students examine symbols used by the Plains Indians. Using examples of African art, they discuss what symbols they use that relate to the Native American symbols. They compare and contrast the two cultures and discuss as a class to end...
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In My Dream
Students listen to recordings of early jazz and identify examples of ostinato and syncopation. They discuss important personalities from jazz cultures and take a quiz on aspects of jazz.
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Dialect Poems of Paul Laurence Dunbar
Students examine the life and works of Paul Laurance Dunbar. In groups, they read various poems of his and use a database to examine the covers of his books. They also discuss the criticism he faced during his life and how he dealt...
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"The Block": Romare Bearden's and Mine
Students study Bearden's style of collage and create their own collage that reflects their neighborhood. They are read "The Block" and poems about neighborhoods and write one about theirs.
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Through Their Eyes: Perspectives on Slavery
Learners examine different perspectives of slavery. They write a personal account of slavery as a slave trader, a plantation owner, and fugitives and working slaves. They role-play these roles for the class.
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Criminal or Hero
Fifth graders explore the origins of slavery. In this US History instructional activity, 5th graders create a map of the United States that shows where slavery existed. Students examine the life of a Northern slave through...
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Re-Presenting Race in the Digital Age: "Who Can Pass"
Eleventh graders examine the relationship between race and class in historical and societal settings. They read and discuss the poem, "Passing," by Langston Hughes, analyze photographs by Yinka Shonibare, answer discussion questions,...
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The Search for Identity: "Their Eyes Were Watching God"
Students read the novel "Their Eyes Were Watching God". While reading the novel, they identify and discuss the figurative language used and use a passage of interest to them and analyze it in a written paper. They also discuss events...
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Torn From Each Other's Arms
Students explore the transformations that the institution of slavery underwent in the English Colonies. They study the impact of slavery on black families.
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The Scarlet Letter
Students listen to group reports and then individually research one of the other reports. Upon the completion of this second research activity students write a short story in the style of Hawthorn's writing.
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Abridged and Unabridged Dictionaries
Students perform research into the history and formation of the English Language. The use of multiple types of activities is used for application of the theory of Multiple Intelligences.
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Comparing News Sources: Where Would You Turn?
High schoolers follow the study of Ray Bradbury's Fahrenheit 451 and attempts to connect the thematic underpinnings of the novel to Students' own lives.
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Eureka! I've Got an Idea
Students research the accomplishments of an inventor. They create a web site based on the research including historical, economic and scientific impact of the invention.
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A Guide Through the Culture of the Blues
Students examine the history of blues music and discover how it relates to the music of today. As a class, they listen to the drum songs of Africa and compare it to the use of drums in pop music today. Using the internet, they research...
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Who Am I?
Middle schoolers investigate the question "who am I?" They create an original self-portrait of themselves that incorporates written words. Students' self-portraits depict who they are.
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Biographical Scene Investigators
Students explore different activities that are centered on the subject of discovering the meaning of a biography and autobiography. This is done with the application of Howard Gardner's Theory of Multiple Intelligences.
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We Can Dance
Fourth graders research the different kinds of dances Texans participate in. They try to dance the dances they have researched.
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Blues Improvisation
Students practice playing and improvising while playing the 12 bar blues. They practice compositional skills, evaluate and perform musical pieces focused on the blues.