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Lesson Six: Nonfiction Text Elements (Part One)
Students examine nonfiction text elements in preparation for writing a nonfiction book about Lewis and Clark. In this social studies/language arts instructional activity, students discuss the term research and complete a cluster map....
Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
Alexander Graham Bell
Study the features of nonfiction text with a set of comprehension and analysis materials. Readers learn about Alexander Graham Bell with questions about the text, writing prompts, and proofreading activities.
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Rachel's Life is in a Hole
Explore how lack of access to water impacts peoples' lives in poor countries. Through text reading and discussion, middle schoolers are presented with the story of a young girl who lives and functions with limited water resources. They...
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The Effects of Slavery
The emotional and spiritual oppression of slavery in the African-American experience is the focus of this instructional activity. Middle schoolers analyze various texts by Frederick Douglass and Maya Angelou related to freedom...
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Desert Drama
Students read both fiction and nonfiction books with desert themes. Then they write desert stories and reports, reviewing texts for information to include in writing. Students also design desert scenes with details and setting elements...
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Idea-Noun Definition: Source Searching
A great idea for showing language arts pupils the universality of themes, even in the real world! Have class members choose an idea-noun (peace, justice, war, love, etc.) at the beginning of the year or semester. They complete weekly...
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Chinese Minority Cultures
Seventh graders identify the elements that characterize culture in literature.
Students analyze the representation of Chinese minority peoples
through textbooks. Students identify and interpret the differences among the people of China.
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The Prince and the Pauper
Mark Twain, the famous American author, is often studied in the school system. Use "The Prince and the Pauper" to analyze the differences between the text and its video version. This lesson includes several culminating project...
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It's Just a Barn
Investigate Pennsylvania Barns. Have your class consider the elements common to Pennsylvanian barns and why they are significant to the food production process. They write summaries of Frederick Watts and his impact on agriculture.
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Primary Sources and Protagonists: A Native American Literature Unit
Introduce your middle schoolers to the lives of past Native Americans. First, learners work together to put photographs in a sequence. Then, using their sequence, they create stories to share with the whole class. No matter how old your...
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The Play's the Thing: The Drama of Cyrano de Bergerac
Students practice dramatic 'living' through various drama activities. In this drama lesson, students define drama, view examples of dramatic elements in Cyrano de Bergerac and Roxanne, define characterization within the dramas, study the...
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Evaluate Problem-Solving in the Context of Culture and Time-frame
Students examine literary elements in non-fiction literature. In this problem solving activity, students read Rosa Parks, My Story and Beyond the Limits. Students make oral presentations based on the causes and effects, conflicts, and...
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Leapin' Landmarks: Locating 10 man-made landmarks around the world
Third graders engage in a lesson which addresses their curiosity about some of the outstanding people-made landmarks of the world. They explore the geographical themes of location and place through literature.
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Looking for Trouble - Using the Internet to Research Structured Controversy
Discuss controversial issues with your charges. More importantly, discuss how you have to research both sides of a controversy before taking a stance. In groups, middle schoolers research the controversial issue of dog sled racing. They...
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A River Ran Wild: An Environmental History
The Nashua River serves as the focal point of an investigation of the treatment of and care for natural resources. A reading of A River Rand Wild: An Environmental History by Lynne Cherry, launches the study and class members consider...
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"O Captain! My Captain!"
Who was Walt Whitman, and what link does he have to president Abraham Lincoln? After Lincoln's assassination, Whitman wrote "O Captain! My Captain!" This poem and "When Lilacs Last in the Dooryard Bloom'd" are the focus of...
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Some Houses Are Made of Straw, Wood, or Brick: But... This House is Made of Mud...
First graders read and discuss several stories. They share information about different types of shelter around the world. They explain that lifestyles and shelter depend very much on where people live and how they use the resources...
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Life Along the Trail
Students explore the significance of the Louisiana Purchase and the journey of Lewis and Clark's Corps of Discovery. They read to explain a new topic and write to inform readers of the historic events they explored.
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Worth a Thousand Words
First graders examine the significance of the American bison to the American Indians of the Great Plains. They create a story in pictographs in the style of American Indians of the Plains.
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Mission Accomplished
Second graders describe the impact of certain figures in United States history, including Meriwether Lewis and William Clark. They describe experiences of early American explorers and compose narratives from the perspectives of others.
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Beyond Louisiana
Young scholars examine the challenges that faced the United States as a new nation, especially those related to exploration, expansion, and international affairs. They study the chronology of events related to the expedition of Lewis and...
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Voices at Whisper Bend
Students examine life in Pennsylvania during and after World War II. Using primary source documents, they compare the unity of the United States during World War II and the Iraq War. They also discover how citizens adapt to the war at home.
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If These Walls Could Talk: Seeing a Culture Through Human Features
Pupils read Talking Walls and discuss the walls presented and their importance to the culture. In this geography lesson, students locate and label each country/continent discussed in the book on a world map. Pupils take a walk and point...
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Leapin' Landmarks: Locating 10 Man-made Landmarks Around the World
Third graders label continents, oceans, and major mountain ranges on maps and use the maps to write an informational report about landmarks. In this landmarks lesson plan, 3rd graders write about 1 major landmark.