National First Ladies' Library
Writing (and Rewriting!) History
Middle schoolers differentiate between fiction and non-fiction, discuss historical fiction, which combines both genres, choose historical novel from list and read independently, and write original short stories that combine elements of...
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Hydrogen Powered Cars
Learners apply the principles of chemistry to investigate the concept of how a hydrogen powered car works. They study the electrochemical reactions that provide the energy source. Students also record observations in the functioning of a...
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Student Travel in the Shadow of War
Students research on the Web and in magazines and newspapers what a variety of school districts have decided on student travel during the War in Iraq. Students examine the rationale the administrators or state officials use for canceling...
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Creating a Memorial Day Poster Poem
Does your class know about the meaning of Memorial Day? Discuss the history of the holiday in this lesson, which prompts elementary and middle schoolers to create word webs of ideas about the holiday. Additionally, they create poems...
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Understanding the Needs of the Aging
Students recognize the physical changes of old age. They identify and differentiate diseases of old age. They discuss stereotyping and complete written summaries of their responses.
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Moving West With Pioneers
Fifth graders read a book written by Laura Ingalls Wilder to examine the hardships that were endured by pioneers traveling during the Westward Expansion of the US. They predict, summarize and participate in literature circles. They visit...
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Egyptian Fairy Tale
Students explore ancient Egyptian culture and government. In this social studies lesson plan, students compare the legal system from ancient Egypt to our current American legal system. Links are included for web searching Egypt and the...
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Pirate Treasure Hunt
First graders name the directions North, South, East, and West on a map. They work collaboratively in small groups and create a treasure map using directions as clues.
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Friends
First graders use the software Inspiration to create a web describing characteristics of a good friend. With the use of a digital camera and PowerPoint, 1st graders create "Friends Found" posters after reading the book, "Don't Need...
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Learning to Fight Peer Pressure
Young scholars discuss what peer pressure means to them and give examples of peer pressure. They discover what assertiveness means and how to distinguish it from aggressiveness.
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Does My Vote Count? Teaching the Electoral College
Students comprehend the purpose, function, origin, and historical development of the electoral college. They evaluate issues of fairness and representation in the electoral process, both individually and through group discussion....
Virginia Department of Education
Revising Writing
Junior high writers investigate other student’s sample writing and critique on how it could be improved. Skill emphasis is place on elaboration, voice, and sentence variety. The student writing is provided, but the checklist for revision...
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Future Actions
How do you conjugate a reflexive verb? This plan suggests reading a children's book to your intermediate Spanish speakers. Follow the reading with a PowerPoint slide show that presents reflexive verbs, a sentence using the verb, and a...
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Costa Rican Food Chain
Discuss the animals and plants in the rainforest food chain using this lesson. Learners talk about and do research on the top predators from the Costa Rican region and create a model of one of them in class. They also make a visual model...
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A Brief History of Fairfax County
Students brainstorm a list of things they already know about the history of Fairfax County, Virginia. After reading a primary source document, they discuss the similarities and differences between their prior knowledge and what they...
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Personal and Global Conflict
Students review vocabulary of conflict. In this citizenship lesson, students practice conflict resolution skills by participating in a role play involving national representatives working with a UN Mediator. Students reflect on the...
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Ellipses and Kepler's First Law
The class examines graphs in the form r = F(¿¿) in polar coordinates (r, ¿¿), in particular with the circle, ellipse and other conic sections. They determine the nature of an ellipse by studying the role of the semimajor axis and...
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Benefits, drawbacks of alternative healing
Students discuss alternative healing techniques, then chart the potential benefits and drawbacks of alternative health therapies. They design symbols representing alternative healing techniques.
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Collecting Rocks
Students examine how rocks are formed, used, and how to collect them. They listen to and discuss the book, Let's Go Rock Collecting, sort rock samples, and collect rocks from home.
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Exploring Ecosystems
Students examine the relationships between plants, animals, and the environment in ecosystems. They sort animal cards, collect natural materials from the schoolyard, and record an ecosystem web in the form of a poster.
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Definition Expedition
Learners study about three ways to define a term in technical writing, search the Web for scientific text, then copy and paste sections into a Word document. Finally, they use the highlighter feature of Word to highlight examples of...
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Keeping a Physical Activity Log
This study asks students to keep a log at home of their daily physical activities for at least one or two weeks. They bring their logs back to class. They compare the activities and discuss different levels of intensity.
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You Call That Art? - Activity 1
Learners formulate a definition of art in the introductory lesson for a unit on various art forms. The learning emphasis is placed on Oregonian artist Duff Severe and reflective writing. Learners compose an essay describing various art...
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Activity 2: Disappearing Drainage - the Incredible Shrinking Everglades Watershed
Students examine drastic changes in Florida Everglades watershed, compare and contrast two watershed maps, discuss effects of addition of agriculture, loss of wetlands, and introduction of Water Conservation Areas, and predict condition...