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Lifestyles of the Tribe, or Tomorrowland?
Eighth graders identify with and analyze through writing various Indian cultural values and how they fit in the modern world. Students organize data utilizing Educational software programs and present their opinions and inferences in a...
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Do a Ditty
Fourth graders work in cooperative groups to create a ditty to teach the characteristics that distinguish literary forms to younger students. The ditty is performed before the class.
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"Christmas Comes to Moccasin Flat"
Students discuss the life of the author of "Christmas Comes to Moccasin Flat". They also discuss the piece of literature and what Christmas means to them. In groups, they discuss how the novel ends.
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Let's Recreate Our World To Make It Better
Pupils examine art by artist by Tom Rollins. They discuss the painting and what it means to them. They create their own models of apartment complexes based on ideas from literature.
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Search for the Shadowman
Students read the novel "Search for the Shadowman" by Joan Lowery Nixon. Using the internet, they research her life and works and write a report on their findings. They also compare and contrast two of her works to end the lesson.
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The Kite Runner: Amir Debate
Does Amir have an obligation to find Sohrab and take him to the orphanage? That is the question class members debate as part of their reading of Khaled Hosseini's The Kite Runner.
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Anticipation Guide for Death of a Salesman
"It is better to ignore something unpleasant than to face reality." Readers of Death of a Salesman complete an anticipation guide before tackling Arthur's Miller's tale of Willy Loman and his sons. After completing the play, class...
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Pride And Prejudice: Anticipation Guide
In this anticipation guide worksheet, students thoughtfully mark statements according to whether they disagree (D) or agree (A). Students will mark the same 7 statements before and after they read Pride and Prejudice.
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Socratic Questioning
If you are new to the technique of Socratic questioning, check out this resource that details the five steps in the Socratic method. The examples of each step are drawn from Brave New World.
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Catcher in the Rye: Chapters 18-20 Venn Diagram
Well into Catcher in the Rye, when things are looking bleak and your readers may be needing some levity, read the picture book The Perfect Square by Michael Hall. Then use the Venn diagram included to compare how Holden Caulfield and the...
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Searching for Me in You
Students explore their own culture and identity through the study of literature and artwork of other cultures. Students read and discuss Last of the Breed and identify cultural values. They create a presentation that incorporates their...
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Hell Island by Matthew Reilly
Students read, analyze and discuss the novel, "Hell Island," by Matthew Reilly. They assess the anticipating action, the synopsis, what's in a name, the greater good and the prologue introducing the anticipating action of the novel.
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The Call to Greatness: A Search for Moral Integrity in the Urban Classroom
Eleventh graders read a variety of novels surrounding the theme of "greatness." In groups, they discuss various aspects of each novel and create a group bulletin board to identify and display the most important information from the...
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Dealing with Growth and Change
Students discuss the right and wrong actions of a young Navajo boy. Using that information, they compare and contrast his culture to their own. In groups, they create a newspaper or poster showing the cultural contributions of the...
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Jamestown Journey Part 2
Fourth graders create a chart or web to display qualities and characteristics of a good leader.
They write a paragraph describing the qualities of a good Jamestown leader. Finally, 4th graders contribute to small group discussion about...
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A Magic Flower of Wishes
Students discuss which values are most important to them and their families. They read poetry and fairy tales to find a story that has the same value they find most important. They create a presentation and share it with the class.
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Great Expectations: After Reading Strategy
Class members are asked to consider how they would respond to situations faced by characters in Great Expectations. After completing one exercise as guided practice, individuals are presented with a second problematic situation and...
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Bring Literature Circles Into Your Classroom
Tips and strategies for adding literature circles to your language arts curriculum.
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Pairing Picture Books with Edith Hamilton's Mythology
As a before reading strategy, class members select a tale from mythology, examine several picture book versions of the myth, and fill out part of a Venn diagram with observations about the hero in particular and the myth in...
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Maniac Magee: Problematic Situation
As part of their reading of Jerry Spinelli's Maniac Magee, class members consider what it would take to survive living on their own. Using the provided worksheet, individuals list their needs and decide where they would...
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Raise Awareness for National Learning Disabilities Month
Raise awareness of learning disabilities through reading, writing, research, and collaboration.
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Hic-Hic-Hooray!
What is really the best way to get rid of hiccups? Investigate some old wives' tales and folk remedies related to health. Middle schoolers explore the science behind why people might believe these myths to be true and find the real...
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Moral Development in Camus' The Stranger
“In the depth of winter, I finally learned that within me there lay an invincible summer.” Readers of The Stranger rate Mersault’s moral development (or lack thereof) using Kohlberg’s Theory of Moral Development scale. Using...
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Screen Play
High schoolers examine the New York Times review of the film adaptations of J.R.R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings and explore the elements of scriptwriting. They read the article about the film adaptation screenplay and examine a...