Virginina Department of Education
Planning Persuasive Writing
A nice starting exercise that organizes a learner’s persuasive writing assignment by issue, claim, and hard and soft evidence. Definitions of the terms aforementioned are provided, as well as the worksheet needed by the class. The...
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For the Fun of It
Students view pictures of Amelia Earhart and discuss the social and historical context of her life. They read excerpts of Earhart's autobiography "The Fun of It" and analyze her purpose in writing it.
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Once Upon a Time
High school pupils research online to complete a family tree and explore their ancestry. They view a sketch of a family tree, and brainstorm questions to ask their parents about their heritage. They also diagram their own family tree. In...
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The Sounds of Daydream
Based on the poem "The Lake Isle of Innisfree" by Irish poet William Butler Yeats, this resource is well constructed and guides learners through examining the Yeats poem (rhyme, meter, content) to composing a poem of their own about a...
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More Details and Transitions
Use details and transition words to enhance writing. Sixth graders examine their own writing and insert more details and transition words provided by their teacher. There is a list of 11 "Terrific Transitions," but brainstorm several...
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A Critical Role
Students read a New York Times review of the Museum of the African Diaspora in San Francisco. They discuss the roles and responsibilities of a cultural critic, and prepare for a visit to a local museum in order to write their own reviews.
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The Earth Day Groceries Project
Students research Earth Day and make bags to hand out on Earth Day to help promote taking care of the environment.
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Making a Colorado Brochure
Students create brochures reflecting the state of Colorado. In groups, they write about tourist attractions, important people, major cities, and statistical information. After writing, they create their brochure importing clip art and...
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Building a Volcano
Learners research volcanoes and then build one out of salt dough. Before the final step is completed, they find main ideas about volcanoes, write sequential steps to building, use correct grammar, to gain knowledge about them. There is...
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Health Wheel Self-Care Plan for Diabetics
Students help create a Health Wheel: a personal, inspirationally based, self-care plan for preventing or managing diabetes in daily life. They (student or client) researches the causes of diabetes, and creates a "health wheel" that...
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School Newspaper
Fifth graders write a website based school newspaper using a variety of literary forms to present the news of the school.
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Women in History: Research for Expository Writing
After reading an excerpt from Amelia Earhart's autobiography, The Fun of It, learners explore various nonfiction resources about her life and write a short newspaper article on a specific event. They then develop a longer piece of...
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Teaching The Personality Profile
Students write a comprehensive personality profile feature that demonstrates knowledge of the Wall Street Journal formula of feature writing and the concept of show, don't tell. They experience a press conference interview situation.
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28 Days - The Lunar Cycle time line
Third graders create a labeled lunar diagram time line illustrating the lunar cycle using Internet resources. An assigned date/month is given to each student, and an online Moon Phase calculator assists them with their drawings.
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Back to School Books for All
Start the year off strong with reading that inspires, engages, and
entertains.
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D.E.W. (Drop Everything and Write!)
Students gather, determine validity and reliability of, analyze and organize information. They employ the most effective format for purpose and audience. Students write fully developed paragraphs that have details and information...
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The Declaration of Independence
Students identify and examine the Declaration of Independence and ascertain its true intent and its eventual realization. Then they analyze the Declaration of Independence and summarize the intentions of the Declaration. Students also...
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More Details and Transitions
Provide young learners with the terrific transitions handout attached here. As a group, discuss the importance of putting ideas in an order that is easy to understand. Although this activity is designed to follow a writing activity from...
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Social Studies
Young scholars, when researching a space topic in connection to Indiana, find six events related to the topic with a 100% accuracy. They place the six events in chronological order, create a time line, and then make a layered book out of...
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Math, Chemistry, and Food
Students explore the effects of chemical reactions when cooking. Using the Internet, they research enzymes and then mix jello. They examine their results and test enzyme activity by adding pineapple to the jello. Finally, they test...
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Dream Catchers
Young scholars create Native American dream catchers to represent the Native American culture. After reading and discussing the origin of the Dream cather, they begin to construct their dream catchers using wire hoops, thread, beads, and...
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How Atoms Work
Students explore the concept of atoms and how they combine to form molecules and compounds. In pairs, they read an article on how atoms work and discuss the main points. They draw atoms and write a paragraph about their elements.
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Titration and Molarity
Students investigate the concept of molarity and its relationship to the concentration of a solution. After mixing chemical solutions, they calculate how many moles of acid and base should be in each solution. They record their results...
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The Adventure Begins: A Historical Fiction
Seventh graders create a piece of historical fiction documenting the immigrant experience in New Brunswick, Canada in the 1800s. Using Internet research from a web exhibit, 7th graders synthesize historical facts with their description...