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Street Language and Learning
High schoolers examine the type of language they use on the street in the city. In groups, they brainstorm ideas about a topic they decide on from a cluster of words. Using those ideas, they organize them into a written paper using...
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Mariposas
Students examine how animals use camouflage for survival. In this investigative lesson students define vocabulary words and see how it is the environment that controls which adaptations will help in survival.
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Checkerboard
Students create checkerboards using paints, glue, rulers, and masking tape in this upper-elementary/middle level Art lesson. The lesson emphasizes the history of checkerboards, strategies and rules, and the checkerboard as an example of...
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Ancient Cyprus: The Cesnola Collection at the Semitic Museum, Harvard University
Ninth graders review what they already know about ancient civilizations. Before visiting the museum, they complete a pre-test on Cyprus and how trade is important to the island. During the visit, they travel in small groups to examine...
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Evolution: Adaptation
Tenth graders practice new skills and apply them. The skills of research should motivate them to want more knowledge. The concept of adaptation is used as a context for the lesson of practicing research skills.
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Pendemonium: The Italian Job
Students identify prefixes, roots, and suffixes. In this grammar rules lesson, students analyze word parts to determine the meaning of unfamiliar words.
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The Physical Setting
Ninth graders study the configuration of atoms in molecules to see that it determines the molecule's properties. In this chemistry lesson plan students divide into groups and complete their assigned task.
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The Media and Social Justice in the United States
Students have group discussions that allow the teacher to assess the level of comprehension of the ideas of subjectivity and objectivity. Level of discussion at the end of the class provides some indication of comprehension as well....
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Printable Story Starter: The Arrival
A creative writing prompt about the arrival of a boat after a long journey helps students to continue the story by providing the two opening sentences. Students compose the middle and ending of the story. This prompt could be used in the...
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Once Upon a Time...
Model for emergent readers how to write a story by interpreting picture clues. For guided practice a second book is used, and then pupils work independently or with an adult to write their own stories based on illustrations.
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Doodles
Here is a fun drawing activity that is sure to develop listening, shape recognition, drawing, skills and eye-hand coordination. The class doodles over an entire page based on the instructions they are given. This resource includes...
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Novice Drivers
Students explore the concept of social trade-offs in the context of graduated driver licensing. They discuss the benefits and drawbacks of the graduate licensing program.They create a list of factors that contribute to traffic accidents...
PBS
Team Work and Planning
Welcome to the Great Marshmallow Challenge. To conclude a unit study designed to help scholars develop teamwork and collaboration skills, groups are charged with developing a free-standing structure using only one marshmallow,...
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Bill Pickett, Bulldoggin' Cowboy
Who was Bill Picket? Interested readers work through an informational passage to find out about a famous "bulldogger" from the old West. They answer several reading comprehension questions and use a seven step process to decode new...
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Pendemonium: The Italian Job
Discover how to use prefixes and suffixes to determine the meaning of unfamiliar words. The group views a jovial video on the topic, and then they create a chart of prefix and suffix meanings to identify the meanings of words in a social...
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The Hobbit
Students list W.H Auden's six characteristics of a quest story. They say what is meant by a "metaphorical quest." Pupils discuss some differences between symbolism and allegory. Students indicate how Bilbo Baggins's adventures changed...
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STEP INTO IT WITH GOLDILOCKS
First graders use sequencing to recall and tell the story of Goldilocks and the Three Bears. They create a storyboard using pencils first and then crayons with six illustrations in sequence.
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What's Civil About War?
Students study about the Civil War through primary sources used in the PBS production of "Freedom: A History of US" based on Joy Hakim's books, "A History of US", and the companion PBS Web site.
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Who is George Washington Carver, Anyway?
Students read about George Washington Carver, then work in small groups to design, write and illustrate a booklet about his accomplishments.
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Rosa Parks Refused to Do What?
First graders listen to two books about Rosa Parks. They contribute factual information for a web. They listen to an interview with Rosa Parks on the internet, adding more information to the web. They write and illustrate a book using...
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Good Health Care
Students work in collaborative groups researching topics such as nutrition, the benefits of exercise on the body, dental and personal hygiene. They conduct interviews, create charts and posters, and report their results with a written...
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Is This a House for Hermit Crab?
First graders identify text that uses sequence or other logical order. They identify and interpret how different plants and animals inhabit different kinds of environments and have external features that help them thrive in different...
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Story Starters: Woodpeckers' Park
A great Earth Day and environment assignment, or even a basic creative writing lesson, this prompt helps students to begin the story of Woody and Woodruff, two woodpeckers who don't like litterers! Both a picture and an introduction can...
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Printable Story Starter: Christmas Morning
A writing prompt about a surprise on Christmas morning provides students with the beginning of the story, and invites them to finish the middle and ending. This prompt could be a good addition to a Christmas-themed unit, or as a lesson...