Overcoming Obstacles
Writing Reports
Following a review of how to research and take notes, scholars define the term paraphrase and identify ways to organize information and finish reports. To put their newfound knowledge to the test, learners interview a peer, take notes,...
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Sample Lesson on Taking Notes
Have your middle schoolers define the terms outline, summary, paraphrase, plagiarism, citation, reference, and bibliography. They identify the main ideas, topic sentence, supporting ideas in technical writing and create note cards using...
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Making School a Better Place.
Students study the problems in their school and work on solutions for those problems. In this writing process lesson, students analyze a problem and work as a team to find a solution. Students present written and oral work to support...
Microsoft
Plagiarism Fair Use Copyright
Nothing makes junior high and high school teachers more frustrated than plagiarism. Instruct young writers about copyright laws and the correct ways to paragraph information without copying the exact words. A set of secondary-level...
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Understanding the Declaration of Independence
Middle schoolers identify and interpret the Declaration of Independence and the rights and privileges demanded in the document. They also identify how those rights and privileges have affected our history. Students then research about...
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Critiquing A Speech Contestant
What makes a speech effective? Middle schoolers critique a speech for content and presentation. They view a video of a middle school student presenting an informational speech, They outline the content of the speech and critique the...
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Basil Heatter, "The Long Night of the Little Boats"
“It was a miracle.” Basil Heatter’s “The Long Night of the Little Boats,” which details the miraculous rescue of the British army from the shores of Dunkirk in 1940, is featured in a series of exercises that ask class members to read,...
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Checking Sources For Accuracy
Middle schoolers will paraphrase a resource without plagiarizing. Then rewrite after reading text. They then evaluate the site or reference they are using for accuracy. In the end, they complete a note-taking organizer.
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Totally Awesome Answers to Wacky Wonders
Middle schoolers work with a partner to gather information on a question from two sources using a computer program and the Internet. They also write a report with visuals to air on closed-circuit TV for the school. Use this lesson to...
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Election Vocabulary Brainstorm
Learners participate in numerous activities pertaining to elections. They study election vocabulary and generate questions about campaigns and elections. They paraphrase articles and generate a class vocabulary list.
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How To Stay Creative
Students explore the concept of creativity and how an artist maintains it. The positive influences to maintain it is the focus with the awareness of the negative influences that can possibly stifle creative thinking is also presented.
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teaching Geography Using Literature in K-University Classrooms
Students read one of the following books: Minn of the Mississippi, Paddle-to-the-Sea, or Seabird, all by Holling C. Holling, and identify the five themes of geography as well as make a literature journal with chapter field notes. They...
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Candy Land
In this activity middle schoolers pretend that they have been hired by a candy manufacturer to design a box for a new product they are beginning to market. The manufacturer has pre-determined the volume of the candy box. It is the...
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Writing Through Reading
Pupils are introduced to a new method of writing developed by Robert Gay. In groups, they practice retelling or rewriting one of their fellow classmates stories. They are also introduced to the technique of transcribing and write in...
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Dirty Thirties: The Dust Bowl
Middle schoolers explore the events and reactions surrounding the Dust Bowl crisis during the 1930's. They discuss how the events of the Great Depression affected America's democracy and how it transformed America.
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Studies of the Eastern Worlds: Historical Summaries
Seventh graders interpret their own meaning of the painting, "Christ's Descent into Hell" by Hieronymus Bosch and the song "We Didn't Start the Fire" by Billy Joel. They focus on the chaos created in both the art and music and discuss...
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A Journey To Africa: Art And Artifacts
Students create a multimedia presentation based on a piece of African Art. They use the art piece to demonstrate the culture and ceremonies of the area in which it was produced. They research facts for a Power Point, write a poem...