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Fictional Biographies
Students read and discuss the fictional biography, "Strega Nona: Her Own Story" by Tomie dePaola. They compare the characters of the story to other fictional characters then choose their own favorite fictional character to write a...
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Contemporary Fairy Tales
Eighth graders listen Steven Kellog's, Jack and the Beanstalk, and Raymond Briggs, Jim and the Beanstalk. They use a Venn diagram to compare the two elements of the two stories. They write and publish an original contemporary fairy tale...
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A Day During Colonial Times
Fifth graders participate in read aloud activities of three books about life in Colonial times. They compare their life to that of children of Colonial times using a Venn diagram. They draw a picture and write about what a day in the...
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Cooperative Jigsaw Expert Report of Fables
Young scholars research literary elements of fables. In this literature lesson plan, students analyze literary elements of fables. Young scholars work collaboratively using a jigsaw strategy to analyze literary elements.
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Developing Open-Ended Questions
Pupils work in groups of two to develop questions and sample answers that are relevant, accurate and use higher level of thinking skills about a literary unit. Students present their questions and answers to the class as a review of the...
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Pablo Neruda
Eighth graders explore the life and works of Pablo Neruda. They complete an author map concerning his personal and professional life. Students identify the key components of an ode. They write an ode to a common object around their...
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Searching For The American Dream
Ninth graders explore the meaning of the American dream and how it has been explained in various forms. After reading various immigrant accounts, 9th graders use poetry and writing to explain how different cultures view the American...
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Letter Writing
Third graders write to themselves or to known audiences, share news, explore new ideas, and record notes. They identify that holidays are days that people set aside to recognize a person or event that has made a great impression....
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Getting to Know You
Students explore the concept of communication. In this communication lesson plan, students create collages featuring their likes and dislikes. Students present the collages to their classmates.
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Introduction to Poetry
Students are introduced to poetry and music. They discuss what the two have in common. They identify a song as their favorite and explain why.
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Memior: The Stuff of Our Lives
Fourth graders reflect upon the significance of remembered events and to keep a "notebook" of their thoughts and feelings. They read books that exemplify memior writing. They write their memiors, taking it through the writing process.
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Gandhi's Voice: Writing as Nonviolent Resistance
Ninth graders identify how Mahatma Gandhi used writing as a means of nonviolent communication. In this nonviolent resistance lesson, 9th graders watch a film about Gandhi as a writer and identify characteristics of nonviolent activism....
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Reading Multicultural Literature
Students read several fictional pieces which examine issues of urbanization and rural cultures. They discuss how the place a person lives affects the kind of person they become.
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Pizzeria (reading Encouragement)
Students create a pizzeria atmosphere in the classroom with Italian music, pizza menus and checkered table cloths. They compare their different tastes in pizza toppings to different tastes in reading. Then they use a reading menu to...
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Find a Book
Student receives one book description card and in less than 2 minutes, they walk through the Media Center to find a book matching that description. After a matching book is found, each student evaluates the book.
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A Courtly Love Poem
Pupils engage in a writing assignment to produce a thirteenth century Italian Courtly Poem. They imitate the literary patterns of writing to produce a unique poem using a model for example. Students review the basic terminology for...
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Autobiographical Postage Stamp
Students design a postage stamp that communicates to the world who they are, what they hope to be, what they are good at, and factual information. They use, "My Great Aunt Arizona" by Gloria Houston as a model for a biography.
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The Legend of the Indian Paintbrush: Native American Life
Students read," The Legend of the Indian Paintbrush" by Tomie dePaola and discuss the way legends are passed down orally. They then create their own legend and illustrate it on a simulated "Buffalo Skin" made from brown paper.
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Poetic Expression
Ninth graders evaluate the effectiveness of literary techniques including figurative language.
They demonstrate an understanding of the main ideas, events, or themes of a variety of novels, stories, poetry, other print material, and...
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SCI-FI TALES
Fifth graders brainstorm known features of science fiction books and titles read. They pair up and discuss the possible physical characteristics fo a creature that could appear fron an excerpt of SCI-FI TALES.
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"The Father of Lavish Advertising": P.T. Barnum
Students examine the life and work of P.T. Barnum. They discover his advertising techniques and business practices. They examine his use of people with disabilities for amusement.
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Cloudy With A Chance of Meatballs
Third graders read the book, Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs." Using the internet, 3rd graders research weather conditions, plants, animals and foods from different countries. After sharing information, they discuss similarities and...
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Expressing Our Thoughts Through Poetry
Students create a poem on about spring. They read final version of their poem chorally. They write reflections of their experience in creating the poem.
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Tasmanian Time Travel
Sixth graders perform research using the Internet about the Tasmanian Devil. The project can be presented in a variety of ways. The use of computer software is important for students to know, specifically Hyperstudio.