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Black American Musicans: Precursors of Jazz
Students trace the course of Black music from the 1900's to the beginning of the jazz age. They realize that when education is defined as enlightened training for a place in society and for individual personal development, it was highly...
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Writing for Different Purposes and Audiences
Third graders explore how to write for different purposes and for a specific audience or person. They read, Where the Wild Things Are by Maurice Sendak. Students create a class book after reading the story. They each create their own...
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A Worthy Knight- A Code of Conduct Lesson
Students analyze and define the qualities of chivalry by comparing and contrasting the character of knights presented in the selected resources. They define and defend their own personal code of conduct. Students also create a battle...
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Posters -- What's the Main Idea?
Pupils discuss the basics of poster productions. In groups, they follow written directions to make a poster about asthma, allergies, AIDS, or personal safety. They present their poster to the class and reflect on the process in a journal.
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Snow Day
Third graders examine the effects of a snow day on various people in the community. They listen to the book "Snow Day" by Betsy Maestro, complete a graphic organizer of people affected by the snow day, and write a story from the point of...
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Commemorations Across Cultures
Young scholars explore how different cultures commemorate people and events. They research how commemorations are created through music, painting, sculpture, photography, architecture, and poetry. In collaborative, students create a...
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Famous People of the Gold Rush
Fourth graders research a famous person from the Gold Rush era. Using the Internet, they take notes from creditable websites and write their rough drafts of their paper. They use peer editing to check for spelling and grammar errors. ...
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Narrative Prompt
Second graders are introduced to the style of a narrative writing. After being read a story, they use a graphic organizer to plan their writing. With a partner, they share their ideas and decide on one topic to write about. To end the...
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Shoes: Practical vs. Fashionable
Students compare and contrast the difference between practical applications of apparel and the use of fashion as a status symbol, with a focus on shoes. Working in groups, they complete a Venn diagram comparing practical fashion to...
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Diaries and Memoirs
Seventh graders analyze how personal diaries and memoirs record actual events. In this World History lesson, 7th graders compare and contrast diaries and memoirs from the Holocaust. Students write as a way to explore one's...
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What’s in a Name? Understanding Malcolm X
Students study the life of Malcolm X. In this autobiography lesson plan, students read The Autobiography of Malcolm X, investigate and evaluate the time period of his life, and write an essay based on their reflections pertaining to his...
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Lesson Plan for Waiting to Waltz: A Childhood by Cynthia Rylant
Sixth graders examine the elements of writing poetry. In this creative writing lesson, 6th graders discuss a book of poetry in the setting of Appalachia. Students incorporate childhood experiences into the development of visual and...
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Introducing the Essay: Twain, Douglass, and American Non-Fiction
Students analyze American essayists Mark Twain and Frederick Douglass in an introduction to American literary non-fiction writing. In this essay history lesson, students identify methods for writing essays. Students read and analyze...
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Mr. and Mrs. Cress Head
Students explore Earth science by completing a plant art project. For this botany lesson, students utilize tights and soil to create a furry, grassy puppet style animal from cress seeds. Students cut off the excess cress after several...
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Critic's Choice
Third graders read three to five genres and choose one as a favorite. They write an essay persuading the class to read the genre. This lesson serves as a nice introduction to different styles of literature.
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Hop To It!
Students explore the aspects of a frog's anatomy that allow it to be such a good jumper and jump and record the length of each jump to determine which style of jumping allows them to jump the farthest.
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Declaration of Independence
Students analyze a copy of the Declaration of Independence to discover how it was adopted, approved, and signed. The tone and style of the document are analyzed for intention through an exploration its the language and vocabulary.
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Passage to Freedom: The Sugihara Story
Sixth graders engage in the reading of a non-fiction text in order to acquire character traits as displayed in the text.The story builds reading fluency through the teacher modeling correct style and speed.
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Greetings!
Pupils investigate the ways in which people greet each other. They read a book about greetings, participate in a role-playing game about greetings, interview family members about greeting styles and report their observations to the class.
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Harriet The Spy
Fourth graders investigate the style of diary writing as its own genre of literature. They read Harriet The Spy in order to have a text for this literature study. Students use the skill of prediction to preview the story, and then...
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In the Eye of the Beholder
Students view, examine and analyze the artwork of Howard Finster along with other various visionary artists. They create and design an original piece of artwork and personalize creative spaces in the spirit of Finster's Paradise Gardens.
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Islam - Hajj and Eid-ul-Adha Book Review Planning Frame
For this Hajj and Eid-ul-Adha book review worksheet, students respond to the Islam text - Hajj and Eid-ul-Adha by completing an in-depth review. The review should be written to reveal personal opinions for or against the book in an...
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Anty-Bodies
Students compare and contrast likenesses and differences to others by creating a life-size picture of themselves. In this character building lesson, students dictate a sentence about comments on sharing and display them with their...
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Comparing or Contrasting Two Books
Students compare two pieces of literature. In this literary comparisons lesson, students read 2 books that they personally select and then compare and contrast the literary elements of each in a comparative essay.