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“Pardon This Interruption-Columbus Has Landed!!!”
Students research, design, rehearse, record, and present a 60 second Public Service Announcement, based on Columbus' arrival in the America. The students, working in groups, utilize the design process in creating their PSA. This lesson...
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Persuasive Writing
Eighth graders study persuasive writing. They analzye an editorial for introductory,body, and concluding sentences. They develop arguments for and against various topics in small groups.
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What Do Writers Do?
Pupils learn about honing their writing through editing. They write the beginning of a story, paying attention to vocabulary and detail. Then they split into groups of two to peer edit. After discussing ways they can improve their...
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Working on the Railroad
Young scholars plan a trip on the railroad. In this railroad creation and implementation lesson, students listen to the song "Working on the Railroad", make a map of where the track was laid and discuss the geographical...
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Haiku Wrap Up
Students create a haiku about the land formations they've studied. In this haiku lesson, students identify the metaphor and meaning of a given haiku, brainstorm comparisons for a landform photo as a class and choose one to use in a...
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Piercing the World of Silence
Learners explore the sign language alphabet. They examine the difficulties faced by handicapped persons, and are introduced to Helen Keller, Anne Sullivan and The Miracle Worker.
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Working Like a Dog
Students consider ways animals help human beings with certain chores, then research more specific tasks dogs are trained to do. They create a help wanted ad enumerating the traits a dog should have before applying for a particular position.
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Abbreviations As Words
Students explore the definition and derivation of the popular usage of abbreviations in the English language. Using worksheets and lecture materials, students provide meanings for the abbreviation "prenup" when used as an word. They...
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Complete or Incomplete? That is the Question!
Students work in small groups to determine factors that contribute to a well-done assignment. They report their findings to the rest of the class.
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Kolam: A Living Art of South Asia
Students will read the short story "Meenakshi's Magic Hands" by Santhini Govindan and view a slide show of photo images interspersed with the text to learn of the art form of Kolam. Students read and reflect upon a nonfiction essay,...
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Andy Warhol and Silkscreen Pop Art
Students explore art history by researching famous paintings on-line. In this Andy Warhol lesson, students discuss who Warhol was, his impact on popular art and methods of painting. Students examine his use of silk screen printing and...
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Bill Irwin: All in a Day's Work
Young scholars perform for an audience. In this performing arts lesson, students explore the work of actor Bill Irwin in a variety of roles. Young scholars direct and perform a fairy tale in small groups .
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Poetry language in "Mother to Son"
Sixth graders respond to poetry. In this poetry lesson plan, 6th graders read the "Mother to Son" by Langston Hughes and they are split into 3 groups for below, at and above grade level. Each group has a different activity to show...
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"Trails, Rails, and Roads" Lesson 1: "Language and Transportation"
Students, in groups, identify the origins of a number of transportation idioms. They search for current transportation idioms to have a partner explain.
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The Adder and the Ladder: Figurative Language as Persuasion in "Julius Caesar"
Students read and analyze figurative language used in William Shakespeare's "Julius Caesar." They participate in a choral reading of a soliloquy, analyze the soliloquy for figurative language in small groups, and discuss how the reading...
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Language Arts: Before-Reading Organizers
Sixth graders discover how to create graphic organizers using the titles and subtitles of informational texts. Following a teacher demonstration, they work in pairs to create their own organizers based on assigned texts. Upon...
Desert Discoveries
Conservation Cartoons
Third graders read and create cartoons about endangered and threatened species of plants. Pupils are split up into groups. They each consider a conservation cartoon and attempt to decipher its meaning. They must decide if they agree or...
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Creating Dramatic Monologues from The Grapes of Wrath
The characters in The Grapes of Wrath come to life through an activity that asks groups to craft a dramatic monologue for a character in John Steinbeck's National Book Award and Pulitzer Prize winning novel. Writers are...
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Understanding language registers as a means to more effective communication
Students become familiar with registers of language through class discussion and exposure to examples of a common fairy tale written in two different registers. Working in small groups, students then translate a story into two different...
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A Thanksgiving Language Lesson!
Sixth graders, in groups, create restaurants, menus, and advertisements to attract Thanksgiving Day customers.
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Art Transitions: Morphs
Students identify artistic expression by participating in a morph activity. In this art analysis lesson, students identify the work of Keith Haring and examine some of his flip books. Students practice creating artistic transitions...
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Internalizing Group Norms
Young scholars consider how to internalize group norms. They descirbe a situation where people internalize group norms and a situation where people do not internalize group norms. They brainstorm examples of group norms and define...
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Making Decisions by Group: The Jury System
Students discover how to work cooperatively within a group and communicate their ideas clearly in order to reach an agreement. They summarize their experience in writing and hand down a verdict of guilt or innocence based on the...
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Little Cloud
Students create "little clouds" after reading the story "The Little Cloud" by Eric Carle in this cross-curricular Art and Language Arts lesson for the early-elementary classroom. The author suggests using this with a "Raindrop Picture"...