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Reading Strategies: Main Idea
Identify the main idea and the supporting details of a story in a literacy resource from Discovery Education. Complete with procedures, vocabulary, and assessment activities, this is a great way for pupils to practice their outlining...
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Skill Building: Alphabet Poem
Amateur poets explore alphabetical poetry. They choose a topic and brainstorm vocabulary that relates to the topic using each letter of the alphabet. The class then generates ideas for a group alphabet poem. After creating one as a whole...
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The Clay Pot that YOU Built!
After listening to a story called The Pot that Juan Built about Mexican clay pot maker Juan Quezda, learners discuss this artistic process. Then, they discuss the special techniques used to make clay pots. And, finally, they make their...
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The Final Analysis: Cause and Effect, Fact and Opinion
Middle schoolers read and review informational texts, analyze cause and effect, and distinguish fact from opinion. They assess a "one-minute mystery" you read aloud for cause and effect relationships. Resource includes complete set of...
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Graph It!
There is more than one way to represent data! Learners explore ways to represent data. They examine stacked graphs, histograms, and line plots. They conduct surveys and use stacked graphs, histograms, or line plots to chart the data they...
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Estimate How Many Seeds Are In a Fruit or Vegetable
Help mathematicians estimate how many seeds are in a given vegetable or fruit. They are divided into pairs and estimate the amount of seeds in a whole fruit without seeing the inside. They then cut the fruit or vegetable in half and...
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Gandhi's Ashrams and School Sustainability
Explore philosophy and religion by researching Gandhi. Lead your young students to investigate the life and accomplishments of Mahatma Gandhi by reading the assigned text. Your class will define sustainability and create a sustainable...
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An Era of Innovation
Research milestones from the past century. Transportation milestones have changed society, the economy, communication, and travel. Pupils research these changes in order to create a transportation exhibit showing the enhancements in...
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Conventions - Punctuation Research
Study unusual punctuation marks in this punctuation instructional activity. Young grammarians work in small groups to research one of the unusual punctuation marks (semi-colon, colon, dash, comma, ellipses, or quotation marks) and...
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Money: Bucks, Banks, and Business
Put economics and currency exchange rates into a real-world application kids can understand. They'll compare bus fares from various cities around the world. Each child selects three international cities to research. They determine the...
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Using Political Cartoons to Understand Historical Events
Examine historical perspectives through the use of political cartoons. Learners complete analysis activities related to the president's title, the establishment of the national bank, and the Jay Treaty.
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Comparing Plans
Good consumer practices such as price comparison can make or break a budget. Youngsters research five different cell phone carriers and the plans they offer. They compile their data and determine which plan offers the best value. They...
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Jeffersonianism at the Bar
Eleventh graders participate in a political roundtable discussion. For this Jeffersonianism lesson, 11th graders role play individuals from the 19th century and discuss issues of the Federalist period.
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Pumpkin Science
Fourth graders examine pumpkins and use the scientific method to explore its contents. In this Pumpkin Science lesson, 4th graders measure pumpkins for circumference. Students dress as if they were in a lab and work in pairs to...
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"Snapshot" Exercises & Sensory Detail Word Bank
Read a sample of creative descriptive writing to your science class. Discuss how writing can be used to record and communicate observations that scientists make. Reading selections and thought-provoking questions are suggested. Also...
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Paper Production
Students compare paper making by hand and by assembly line. In this manufacturing instructional activity, students compare and contrast the two main ways to make paper, by hand or by machine. Students research paper making and have...
School City of Hobart
Too Many Types Of Titles
Direct instruction on punctuation rules for titles is followed by collaborative practice in class. Two worksheets with aesthetically engaging graphic design provide practice. For 12 examples, small groups either underline, italicize, or...
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Fact Or Opinion
Groups of junior highers find newspaper articles which contain both facts and opinions, and present examples of each to the class. The focus is on discerning between fact and opinion. Two excellent worksheets are embedded in the plan...
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Using Graphical Displays to Depict Health Trends in America's Youth
Identify the different types of graphs and when they are used. Learners will research a specific health issue facing teens today. They then develop a survey, collect and analyze data and present their findings in class. This is a...
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The Power of Graphical Display: How to Use Graphs to Justify a Position, Prove a Point, or Mislead the Viewer
Analyze different types of graphs with learners. They conduct a survey and determine the mean, median and mode. They then identify different techniques for collecting data.
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Gender Roles: Exposing Stereotypes
A series of activities help middle- and high-schoolers identify and explore gender stereotypes and how they can lead to violence and abuse. Use think-pair-share to activate whole class brainstorming about what it means to "be a man" and...
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News Journalism Across the Media: Introduction
Although students are aware of news as information that influences their perceptions of the world, they are often unaware of the various ways to present that information. Encourage them to investigate, discuss, analyze and make valuable...
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Political Cartoons: Literacy
Readers decode and deconstruct political cartoons to heighten critical thinking, extra-textual literacy, and making meaning from symbolism and metaphor. A compatible activity to use in English class when your 8th or 11th graders are...
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Easy Access: Creating Annotated Versions of News Articles
How can news coverage be made more accessible for teens? Model for your class how to use technology to annotate news stories containing unfamiliar references that hinder their interest in and understanding of a news story. Use the...