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Digital Photography and Language Arts
First graders in groups develop a sense of story by making peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. While one student makes the sandwich, the partner takes digital pictures of the five steps involved in the process. They switch roles. The...
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What About Health?
Students examine the concepts of healthy and unhealthy drugs. They read and discuss excerpts from the book "The Human Body," develop a list of healthy and unhealthy drugs, and write sentences relating to safety about medicines and other...
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Ted Hughes "Pike"
Middle schoolers analyze how a poet uses language to capture creatures and draft a poem on a 'sinister' animal. In this poetry analysis lesson, students read Ted Hughes' poem 'Pike' and analyze pictures of pike fish. Middle schoolers use...
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Esperanza Rising
Learners explore foreign cultures by reading a story in class. In this Hispanic history lesson plan, students read the story Radio Man by Arthur Dorros and identify the times discrimination is used in the story. Learners discuss labor...
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Introduce Vocabulary: Cows Can't Fly
Students are introduced to vocabulary words from the story Cows Can't Fly and identify words during the reading of the story. In this introduction to vocabulary words lesson, students recall vocabulary words from the story and...
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Charlie and the Chocolate Factory
Fourth graders research and write an author report on Roald Dahl, including books written by him, birthplace, family life, and other information on his writing. Students read aloud chapters in the book. Students create a newspaper...
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Harriet The Spy
Fourth graders investigate the style of diary writing as its own genre of literature. They read Harriet The Spy in order to have a text for this literature study. Students use the skill of prediction to preview the story, and then...
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Summer of My German Soldier
Students participate in a layered curriculum unit for a novel study. The teaching method allows for a student centered classroom that includes different methods of instruction and assessment.
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Poetry Describing Ordinary Life
Students examine the cultural and historical context which a poem is written in or describes. In this poetry lesson, students listen to an online recording of Philip Larkin reading "The Whitsun Wedding." Students explore how the poem...
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The Secret School
Fourth graders read THe Secret School. In this language arts lesson, 4th graders make predictions prior to reading and discussing the story. Students write a summary of the chapter.
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Writing About the Zoo Trip
Second graders practice writing. In this five senses writing lesson, 2nd graders describe their experience on the field trip they took to the zoo. They work as a class and independently to come up with different things they saw, smelled,...
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Techno Book
First graders explore language arts by utilizing educational software. In this storytelling lesson, 1st graders utilize Microsoft Word to create their own children's story incorporating images as well. Students proofread their creation...
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Halloween Story with Portrayal Movement
Students imitate action words in the story and engage in cumulative movement patterns.
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Listen to This
Seventh graders listen to a set of instructions and complete a drawing. In this listening skills lesson, 7th graders listen to a set of oral directions and follow a command. Students then listen to a second set of directions to draw a...
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Compare and Contrast the French Cinderella with Other Cultural Versions
Learners first compare and contrast the traditional French Cinderella with Cinderella stories from around the world as well as the opera synopsis. Students write their own Cinderella stories, personalizing them with aspects from their...
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Pair-Share: Constructing Paragraph Order
Students write with controlled and/or subtle organization. They identify the main idea and explicit details. Students analyze paragraph and essay structure. They utilize context clues to identify organization.
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Valerie Bloom Poetry
Students listen to Granny Is, a poem by Valerie Bloom and discuss the metaphors in the poem. In this poetry lesson, students read poetry written by Valerie Bloom and discuss the techniques she uses. Students write grandmother poems.
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Creating an Instructional Manual
Ninth graders create an instructional manual about using a mechanical device. In this technical writing lesson, 9th graders create a PowerPoint presentation that includes the step by step process of how to use the mechanical device.
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Praise for a Color
Students discover the 5 senses by analyzing poetry. In this poetry instructional activity, students read a poem with their class and analyze how each sense plays into their understanding of the poem. Students write a poem...
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Alphabet Book
Students create their own alphabet book using clip art in a publishing program. They are read Dr. Seuss's ABC by Dr. Seuss as an "attention grabber."
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What Do I Write About?
Second graders write as essay describing the cooperative group drawing they made or describing the process to draw a group picture.
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Gettysburg: The Civil War's Costliest Battle
Students research the Civil War and the Battle of Gettysburg. In this Gettysburg lesson, students analyze journals and letters written by the Gettysburg soldiers. Students define Civil War soldier vocabulary words. Students compare and...
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The Journey of the Magi
Learners create storyboards. In this pre-Christmas special lesson, students produce a storyboard for a TV version of the poem, "The Journey of the Magi". Options to complete with or without technology are included.