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Dr. Teeth and Dr. Gums To The Rescue
Second graders role play as dentists researching teeth and their care. They create a slide show showing how a character, Bear, can take care of this teeth explaining habitats, diets and teeth.
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Painters as Authors
Second graders explore artists as authors. They discuss the stories that their pictures tell. Students describe what story they think the artist is trying to tell in their pictures. Students search the Internet and choose a piece of...
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Memories
Fifth graders collect artifacts of their fifth grade school year and make a technology based Memory Book.
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Wanted Poster
Young scholars examine a fairy tale character of their choice in great detail. They create a wanted poster that includes the following: a picture of the character, a written description of his/her appearance, a reward amount, and...
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A Soldier's Valentine
Students create Valentine's for soldiers in Iraq. They review how to write a friendly paragraph and discuss the military and duties of soldiers in Iraq. They create postcards and write reasons why they are rpoud of the military and how...
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Bless Me, Ultima - 1
Tenth graders consider the importance of setting in the Southwest-themed novel "Bless Me, Ultima". As part of a larger unit, 10th graders research the setting of New Mexico and work in groups to prepare presentations about the region's...
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If a Picture's Worth a Thousand Words...
Students examine the debate between the preservation of and access to historical artifacts. They explore the notion of ownership and commodification of historical artifacts and come up with a plan for compromise.
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Research-based Writing
Eighth graders explore the steps for research based writing. In the computer lab, they examine approved, given websites. After observing a chosen site, 8th graders write a paragraph describing the websites' content. They discuss...
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The Movement of Ideas
Twelfth graders read and analyze the literary elements of Alphonse Daudet's "The Last Lesson" and Abraham Lincoln's Second Inaugural Address. They compare the two works and write an essay describing the reasons they feel the authors...
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Letters from Lincoln
Fourth graders explore the childhood of Lincoln and pioneer life in early Indiana. Students respond to literature and write a story using historical fiction. Students explore the writings of President Lincoln and the pioneer community...
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Tuck Everlasting and Economic Decision-Making
Sixth graders use a decision-making grid and list the alternatives and criteria for deciding to drink the Water of Immortality. They examine advertisements and list the product for sale, where it is sold, and why consumers should buy it,...
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Reading to Learn Design: Soaring Through Summarization
Students are introduced to and practice techniques and strategies to master the art of summarization. They read, discuss and summarize chapter 3 in "Catwings," by Ursula K. LeGuin. Steps to follow for summarizing is included within this...
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Compare and Contrast with Pink and Say
Sixth graders complete a shared reading of the book Pink and Say by Patricia Polacco and character analysis Venn diagram. In this character analysis lesson, 6th graders read the book and work in groups to compare and contrast the two...
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Flat Stanley Letter
Fourth graders write a letter requesting that the recipient assist the student in his/her Flat Stanley project.
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Tell Me a Whopper!
Sixth graders investigate tall tales as a literary genre. They listen to a number of tall tales to discover how exaggeration is used as a story element. They write and publish a tall tale using word processing software. They illustrate...
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Fictional Hereos
Learners are introduced to the definition of a hero. As a class, they compare and contrast the difference between non-fictional and fictional hereos they have read about. They read a story, create a story map of one of the heroes and...
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Dwellings Around the Globe
Young scholars explore dwellings around the globe and conduct collaborative research on cliff dwellings, igloos, longhouses, and yurts. They then explore how different dwellings reflect environmental and cultural conditions, and they...
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Most Wanted Villians
Young scholars review the characteristics of various characters in fairytales. As a class, they review the story details and create a concept map using a software program. They create their own wanted poster of the villians in the...
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Exploring the Sonnet
Students research English/Shakespearean and Italian/Petrarchan sonnet forms. They write an original sonnet on their preferred form (English or Italian), write the poem on the wordprocessor and publish and post it on the net at the Sonnet...
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Story Retellings
Second graders complete story maps in order to retell stories to the class.
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Whodunit? Creating Mysterious Plays
Students examine mystery plays by reading a number of five-minute mysteries. They write and perform their own plays.
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The Land and the Water
Third graders read "The Land and the Water," a fictional short story and an article about John F. Kennedy, Jr. and compare and contrast fictional tragedy to a non-fiction tragedy. They fill out a Venn diagram and write an essay using...
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Could You Repeat That?
Students participate in an oral story telling activity designed to show how story embellishments occur. They read "Beowulf" and identify incongruities that suggest additions and embellishments over the years.
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Identifying Science Fiction
Students discuss works of science fiction that they read, highlight aspects that made each a part of science fiction genre, identify formal literary elements, and discuss ways each can be developed through science fiction.