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Letters of Inquiry
Students compose letters of inquiry. In this written communication lesson, students read sample letters of inquiry about sites in Washington, D.C. Students then write their own letters of inquiry to the Washington, D.C. Chamber of Commerce.
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Lesson 3: Voice
Explore voice in writing with the story Chess Rumble. After examining the character's voice to understand the character better, sixth graders analyze and discuss the dialect, tone, and descriptive language used. A good way to focus on...
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The Job Application
Students complete job applications. In this written communication lesson, students discuss the purpose of job applications and then complete job applications in their field.
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You Be the Judge
Students explore nonfiction writing by completing a worksheet in class. In this research questions lesson, students read several stories about the Wild West icons Wyatt Earp and Wild Bill Hickok. Students answer study questions about the...
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Recycling
Learners read or listen to a story, and discuss how it relates to them. For this personal event writing activity, students write about recycling. Learners read "The Giving Tree" a Shel Silverstein poem and discuss the poem's meaning....
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Drawing a "Life Map"
Students create an autobiography. In this writing lesson, students use a life map as a graphic organizer to develop their autobiography.
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Reading on the Farm
Second graders study farm life. In this writing instructional activity, 2nd graders listen to "Pigaroo" and write their own story about farm life.
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Splish, Splash Poetry
Students write weather shape poems and sing weather related songs. In this creative writing lesson, students read the book, It's Raining, It's Pouring and list weather words they heard in the story. Students use the writing process to...
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Garden Guard
Students read about the history of farming with the use of scarecrows and then sort clothing, build scarecrows, write descriptions, and more. In this scarecrows lesson plan, students also play a game called Garden Tag.
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Create a Word Graveyard to Teach Synonyms
Students explore descriptive writing by creating headstones. In this memorial lesson, students utilize an 11" x 17" piece of paper to create a cemetery headstone memorializing a word rather than a person. Students decorate their...
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Dichotomous Keys
Students utilize dichotomous keys to identify trees in their schools. In this ecological identification lesson, students practice creating dichotomous keys based on simple subjects such as hair color or sex of a person. Students use...
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Introduction to the Civilization of Ancient Greece
Students explore Greece. For this introduction to ancient Greece lesson, students locate and circle the names of the bodies of water surrounding Greece, then underline the names of important cities in Greece on a world map displayed on a...
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Reading with Bailey’s Book House
Students decode words as they construct meaning. In this writing lesson plan, students create a story using the software program Bailey's Book House. They listen to their story on the computer, print it out, and read it aloud.
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Describing Clothes
A instructional activity all about clothing and colors, this might be a useful instructional activity for English language learners or introducing descriptive writing. After a short review of colors and clothing vocabulary, learners...
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Exploring Photographs - Writing the Artist's Statement
Learners read an artist's statement by Dorothea Lange and write a statement based on their own photographs. In this photograph and writing lesson, students examine the relationship between photography and the artist's statement. Learners...
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Geo Jammin' By DeSign - Day 5, Lesson 25: Geo Jungle
Learners search the school grounds for examples of symmetry in nature. They bring examples back to the classroom and write about them.
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Theatrical Economics
Read then role-play the characters from story of If You Give A Pig a Pancake. Young actors use improvisation and characterization to create the characters from the story. They will also write and role play original version of the story...
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When A Story Met A Sandwich
How is a story like a peanut butter and jelly sandwich? Use making a sandwich as a metaphor to remind your writers that a good, solid beginning, a rich and rewarding middle, and an ending that brings everything together spices up a...
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Career Education: Office Workers
Frist and second graders explore career options. First they will watch career videos and then prepare to interview school personnel regarding their job responsibilities. They will then send thank you cards to the interviewed subjects...
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Image as Metaphor
A Dorothea Lange photograph launches this study of metaphors. Using the questions provided, the class examines the image and the title to consider how Lange uses her photo as a metaphor. Class members then select an object they can use...
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The Progressive Era: Muckrakers Grade 8
As you explore an excerpt from Upton Sinclair's The Jungle with your class, discuss how his descriptions of the meat-packing industry caught the public's attention and helped to promote change in the Progressive Era.
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The Lion, the Witch and The Wardrobe: Literature and Theater
Students read and discuss the literary elements of "The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe" by C.S. Lewis. They explore the elements of dramatic performance and create a TV news program based on life in Narnia. They videotape their...
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Documentary-Style Research Projects
Show your pupils how to use guiding questions to help them focus their research into a topic. Using the framework provided by these questions, researchers explore a topic, collect interesting facts, and prepare a PowerPoint presentation...
University of Wyoming
Free Fall…From SPACE!/Nanotechnology in the Classroom
Provide the details about Felix Baumgartner's sky jump from the far reaches of our atmosphere, 39,045 meters up! Then get your physics free fallers to evaluate the factors that played a role in his acceleration, the time to reach maximum...