Curriculum
Expository Writing
The beauty of the way this expository writing resource is structured is that the units can be presented as a complete writing workshop or sequenced throughout a course of study
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Can You Get the Signal?
What is a signal word? Recognizing these words is an important step in both reading and writing formal text. Review a list of signal words (provided and organized into specific categories), and then have your class play a game to...
Kenan Fellows
Determining Stream Health by the Diversity and Types of Benthic Organisms
How diverse are the benthic organisms found in local streams? Using the information learned in previous lessons on identification of macroinvertebrates and on calculating stream index values, groups determine the health of local streams....
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Creative Writing and Analysis
Learners read and analyze poems by Li Po and Wang Wei. They answer discussion questions, identify the elements of the poems, examine and discuss Chinese landscape paintings, write an original poem, and write a comparison/contrast essay.
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Comparing Countries
Students use a graphic organizer to research, compare and contrast two countries. They write a brief (or detailed - depending on age) report of their findings.
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"What is an American?"
Eleventh graders ponder about what it means to be an "American." They discuss the impact of an author's word choice and sentence structure on text. They identify some major themes and development of the Letters... Compose paragraphs and...
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The Pursuit of Truth: Comparing Roger Williams and Martin Luther King Jr.
Fifth graders compare the life and times of Roger Williams and Martin Luther King Jr. In this life comparison lesson plan, 5th graders explore the key events that happened in each of their lives and fill out worksheets, write essays, and...
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History Detectives
Fifth graders investigate aspects of the Civil War. In this history lesson plan, 5th graders complete several tasks involving the economy, culture, and geography of the Civil War. First, students are divided into groups to study primary...
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Goddess Worship in a Modern Perspective
Learners consider gender roles and religion. In this gender equality lesson, students compare and contrast the idea of patriarchal and matriarchal religious practices and how they impacted society. Learners will pose questions and...
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Freedom and You
Students research the American Revolution. In this Revolutionary War instructional activity, students research facts about the American Revolution, write an expository essay, and peer edit for good content. The paper is suggested to be...
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The Early American Temperance/Anti-tobacco Movement
Tenth graders consider movements to regulate alcohol and tobacco use. In this Temperance Movements lesson, 10th graders compare and contrast movements in the 1800's and the modern era as they research selected primary and secondary...
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Immune System Alive
Learners examine the function of the immune system. They read and discuss text, complete a K-W-L chart, sequence photos of white blood cells encountering bacteria, develop an outline, and write an essay.
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Up Close and Personal with Black Bayou Lake
Students get up close and personal with Black Bayou Lake. Visiting web sites and taking virtual tours, they write multi-paragraph essays using descriptive words and literary devices.
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It's Your Birthday! Expository Writing Unit 2
Students create an expository essay. In this writing lesson Students are assigned a country and must conduct research surrounding a historic event that occurred in that country at the time of their birth.
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Infusing Equity by Gender into the Classroom
Twelfth graders examine the different gender roles in the workforce. In this Social Studies lesson, 12th graders participate in a class discussion on their roles in society. Students write an essay.
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2005 USDA Food Guide
In this food pyramid activity, 4th graders will answer 6 multiple choice questions about the newest version of the food pyramid (released in 2005), compare and contrast the old and new food guide using a Venn diagram, write a brief...
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The Pioneer Experience
Tenth graders consider the move westward. In this Westward Movement lesson, 10th graders compare and contrast the experiences of 2 pioneers by creating t-charts. Students analyze diaries, photographs, and political cartoons that capture...
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A Look at U.S. and Canadian Approaches to Individual Liberties
Students compare and contrast Canadian and U.S. policies regarding social issues. In this sociology instructional activity, students research social and governance policies in the countries and write personal essays using their findings.
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"Et tu, Brute?" - The Characters, Conflict and Historical context of Shakespeare's Julius Caesar
Students analyze the Shakespearian play, "Julius Caesar" in this seven lesson unit. Through readings, hands-on projects, and the study of plot development, comparisons are made to the movie and the historical records available.
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Crane, London, and Literary Naturalism
Students identify the key characteristics that comprise American literary naturalism in Jack London's "To Build a Fire" and Stephen Crane's "The Open Boat." In this naturalism analysis instructional activity, students identify...
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Fairy Tales
Students read and analyze fairy tales. They discuss the story elements of a fairy tale, compare/contrast various fairy tales, complete an Anticipation Guide, and write an essay comparing the structure of a fairy tale to the structure of...
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Internet Art Research
Fourth graders choose two artists from a Yahooligans search of African-American artists, answer questions on an artist Biography Checksheet, and write an essay on the differences and siimilarities of the two styles.
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The Wild Life: Writing Exercise
In this description activity, students describe a typical summer morning in a teepee village. Essays should include introductory paragraph, body paragraph, and concluding paragraph.
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Family Life
Students investigate the lives of families in two different centuries. They compare the 1600's to the 1800's. Students write an essay about the differences and how they developed in history. Special attention is paid to the external...