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Venn Diagram for Compare/Contrast
Use this lesson to focus on a compare and contrast writing structure in your middle school language arts class. Here, young writers compare and contrast two texts using graphic organizers. They use a double bubble format for their...
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The Outsiders Journal Guide for Chapter Six
For this novel guide worksheet, students respond to eleven short answer questions about the plot and literary elements of Chapter Six in The Outsiders.
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The Corps: Counterattack Quiz
Chronicling the events following America's involvement in WWII, this quiz centers on the historical fiction novel Counterattack from W.E.B. Griffin's The Corps series. Ten multiple-choice questions focus mainly on characters from the story.
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Literary Analysis of Theme
Remember reading "The Lottery" and "The Possibility of Evil" by Shirley Jackson? Learners can experience and analyze the tension, themes, and human experience found in these pieces through reading and class discussion. They use...
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Don't Stop the Weaving
The importance of oral tradition is evident throughout time and across space. Introduce your learners to some interesting stories and then test their knowledge with these questions. Ten multiple-choice questions focus on characters and...
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Lyddie
Students investigate the character trait of perseverance and how it is used to help a girl gain independence in a fictional story. The story also has them think about the value of relationships and then write reflectively about...
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The Power of Mental Images: Visualizing Literature
With a chapter book in hand, readers practice visualizing the events and characters of the story. The lesson gives suggestions of novels that are rich in detail to help facilitate the process. Drawings from what they read act as the...
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Native American Clay Pots
Learners explore world culture by conducting an art project in class. In this Native American culture lesson, students identify the types of materials American Indians utilized in their artistic endeavors, specifically clay. Learners...
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Guess Who's Coming to Our Classroom
Students use their research skills to determine the famous person given in clues. Using a character recently dicussed in their classroom, they discuss how they would create a costume for them. They write sentences to be used as dialogue...
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Time Capsule Survey
Here's a fun way to incorporate technology into your curriculum. E-mail each of your class members a picture and 10 questions about the photo. Individuals then imagine the story behind the image and e-mail back their responses. Although...
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Personal Strengths, Talents and Goals
It's important to discuss individual strengths, goals, and talents. With a partner, fourth graders create a PowerPoint presentation of one of their classmates, showcasing their goals and talents. They then complete a worksheet showing...
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Animal Legends
Seventh graders review the concept of a legend. Using the internet, they research animals found in Illinois. They write their own legends based on the animal they researched. They share their story and show pictures of the animals to the...
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Go Walk East of Eden
What will you find when you go East of Eden? A tale of deception and untruths, family and love, betrayal and discovery - all of humanity in a novel. Most questions in this quiz focus on the plethora of characters and relationships upon...
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Conflict
Middle schoolers take a close look at the different forms that bullying can take, and share their ideas of ways to stop bullying in schools. Learners get together in groups of three and come up with a scenario that depicts a...
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Integrating the Craft of Writing into Physical Education
Incorporate writing into your physical education class. In groups, learners unscramble a list of words related to exercise and use them in their journal writings. Using their name, they write one word related to physical activity that...
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The Portrayal of the Witches
Eleventh graders discover the importance of the fortune teller in Shakespeare's Macbeth. After watching two interpretations of the play, they examine and compare the portrayal of the character. They create their own modern adaptation of...
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Nicholas Sparks' The Wedding
The romance of The Notebook continues in The Wedding, but with the second generation. Focused on the protagonist Wilson, the novel is a classic story of love and loss. Show how well you recall the characters and sequence of events in...
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The Minister's Black Veil
Students explore writing a short story. For this literature lesson, students are introduced to "The Minister's Black Veil." After reading, students write their own story with a main character who exhibits some of the characteristics of...
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Transparency
Eighth graders discover proper use of quotation marks. They examine conversations between characters in comics and magazines. In pairs, 8th graders punctuate sentences correctly. They create a story, with dialogue, involving people in a...
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African Art and Culture Lesson 3
Students explore African storytelling and the use of masks in telling stories in Africa. They create their own masks to represent characters in a story told to the class.
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What is a Folktale?
Students are read an apache folktale and discuss the characters in the story. Using the text, they identify the factors that make it a folktale and not a fairy tale. On a map, they locate where the Apache people live. As a class, they...
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Making Native American Vests
Students listen to the story Brother Eagle, Sister Sky and observe Native American clothing worn by the characters in the book. Students create a vest out of a pre-cut brown paper bag and decorate with Native American symbols.
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Traits that Foster Success
Students generate list of traits that facilitate success (tolerance, respect, integrity, etc.), and identify traits portrayed by characters in literature.
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We're Flipping for Nursery Rhymes
Students read a variety of nursery rhymes with a focus on "Humpty Dumpty". While reading, they identify the words that rhyme along with the setting, plot and characters. To end the lesson, they complete a Venn Diagram comparing "Humpty...