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Understanding Europe: A Cultural Mosaic (Theme 1)
Students discuss the cultural similarities and differences found in Northen Europe, Southern Europe, Western Europe, and Eastern Europe and create daily journal entries charting their discoveries. This lesson is the First Part in a Four...
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Greece: The Landscape
Young scholars work in small groups to create a topographic map of Greece. They must include labeled line drawings of bordering countries and bodies of water. Students use salt and flour clay to make Greece three dimensional, showing the...
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Photography
Students practice the basic operation of a point and shoot camera while taking a variety of photographs. Included in this instructional activity are various activities that aid the student in becoming familiar with camera terminology and...
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My Building, My Community
Learners become familiar with the concepts of community and neighborhood and what buildings are associated with these. In this neighborhood activity, students tour the neighborhood as a class, observing and taking photos of the local...
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Fat Fast Foods
Students explore the fast food industry. In this fast food lesson, students research fast food restaurants and the food served. Students create a tri-fold handout to explain the history of fast food and types of food served. Students...
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Invasion of the Germs: We Fight Back!
Students fight off germs. In this technology skills lesson, students create claymation videos with accompanying podcasts that educate others about the H1N1 virus and methods to fight germs.
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How Many? How Much?
First graders recognize and learn the value of coins. In this instructional activity on money, 1st graders read the book Monster Money by Grace Maccarone, discuss the role of money in society, identify various coins, and explore making...
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Introduction to Spreadsheets
Sixth graders utilize Excel or other spreadsheet software to create both text and numerical valued columns to produce a Christmas or birthday wish list. They study the difference between text and numerical values for column use and...
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The Value of Exchange
Sixth graders examine the relationship between the Jefferson Peace Medal and the nickels in the Westward Journey Series. They make bartering negotiations to similate the ones made by Lewis and Clark. They note the similarities and...
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Exploration Across Eras
Students discover the chronology of events related to the Corps of Discovery and the United States space program of the 1960s. They compare the Corps of Discovery's journey with the space exploration program.
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Christopher Columbus: Historical Perspective
Sixth graders study Columbus Day in relation to who discovered Canada. They complete a KWL about Canada and discuss Columbus Day as an American holiday. After viewing a video, they read articles of Christopher Columbus and work in groups...
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The Star Spangled Banner
Young scholars perform Star Spangled Banner, and analyze purpose and meaning of patriotic songs.
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Teaching Empathy : The Story of Ruby Bridges
Students explore "The Story of Ruby Bridges," by Robert Coles to uncover examples of courage in the lives of others and in themselves. This search into the story is meant to help students form connections with others and to foster the...
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Word Relay
Students identify words from the class word wall or other vocabulary lists. They form teams and read words in an effort to identify as many correctly as they can. They utilize words from a variety of sources within the classroom to...
National First Ladies' Library
School Reform, Again!
Students discuss their perceptions and experiences with changes in schooling. They work in small groups to prepare a PowerPoint presentation to explain the efforts toward reforming schools since 1983. Students speculate on the next...
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Storytellers: Coldplay
Students discover the importance of lyrics in the successful combination of music and words in the process of composing a song. They discuss how emotion-based lyrics influence the creative aspects in composing a song.
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Friday and Friends: A Prospectus of the Mexican Family through Children's Literature
Students use literature to examine how the structure of families in Mexico has changed over time. In groups, they examine how their life now relates to their ancestors and the Spanish conquest of the area. As a class, they are read...
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Dialect Poems of Paul Laurence Dunbar
Young scholars examine the life and works of Paul Laurance Dunbar. In groups, they read various poems of his and use a database to examine the covers of his books. They also discuss the criticism he faced during his life and how he...
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Music Storytellers
Students identify the quality and effectiveness of musical performances through the use of music telling a story. They will compare and contrast philosophy and form of song segments.
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Understanding the Newspaper
Learners examine newspapers and identify the elements included in them. After discussing newspapers, they conduct a scavenger hunt to identify the paper's elements such as headlines, bylines, and illustrations.
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The Editorial
Students read several editorials such as those written by Upton Sinclair, Lincoln Steffens, and Ida Tarbell. They recognize the similarities between several editorials and summarize and outline the arguments presented in several editorials.
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Architecture Beyond the Industrial Revolution
Students learn about well-known international architects and how they influenced the United States.
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Commemorative Coin Poetry
Students discuss and research an individual or event that has been memorialized on a commemorative coin. They use the information they found to write acrostics, creating stand-up accordion books to display the poems.
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Music and Technology
Students analyze the lyrics, instruments, sounds and technology from the song "Vertigo" by U2. They view a video presenting interviews with the band and complete a stage design for the live playing of the song.