James Madison Memorial Fellowship Foundation
A Deliberate, Palpable and Dangerous Exercise of Other Powers: James Madison & Homeland Security
This resource uses primary source documents to explore the First Amendment. After reviewing key events of the 1790s, government or US history classes explore Madison's letter to Jefferson regarding the Alien and Sedition Acts. They then...
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Lean Mean Coping Machine!
Seventh graders apply coping skills to manage life-changing events. They plan and make written, oral and visual presentations for a variety of purposes and audiences, and then exchange information, questions and ideas while recognizing...
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Storytime
By reading two books aloud, Ben and Becky in the Haunted House and The Ghost in the Classroom, youngsters learn new words and understand story events. They workin small groups to review the vocabulary in a game-like setting.
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Rainbow Writing
Practice spelling words by experimenting with colors with young pupils. They will practice spelling different words by writing with 3-5 colors per word. Then they analyze the colors of a rainbow and utilize colored pencils or crayons to...
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Where's the Boss? -- A Scripted Play About the Iditarod
Pupils utilize a Reader's Theater script and accompanying lesson plan to learn about the Iditarod race that takes place in Alaska. During the process, they also learn about teamwork and working together.
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Race, Education, and Income: Comparing Carter & Reagan
High school learners compare economic outcomes for 3 racial groups under the presidencies of Jimmy Carter and Ronald Reagan by analyzing a series of graphs, answering questions from a worksheet, and participating in a discussion.
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Genealogy Research
Personalize history through genealogy. Get your scholars examining their family's past by utilizing resources at your local genealogical society. Learners complete family pedigree charts and choose to do one of the following: research...
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World can't wait, students say
Learners create a lesson to present to the rest of the class about current laws, including expressing killing the president as a joke. Students research past events and current laws. Learners present to the class using mult-media, oral...
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Growing Poems
Students write garden inspired poetry. In this poetry lesson plan, students go out into the garden and write poems about how they feel, what they see, and what is going on in the garden.
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The Evolution of Transcendentalism
Key concepts, major writers, and historical events related to Transcendentalism are explored in a student-produced PowerPoint about this movement. The presentation could be used as an introduction to a unit or as a model that class...
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Penguin Writing
After discussing the main events in Mr. Popper’s Penguins, young writers describe in sequence what they would do if they had 12 penguins living in their house. The narratives are then glued onto a penguin cut-out, mounted on construction...
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Poetry Coffeehouse
This resource contains a vague plan for a poetry unit conducted at an elementary school during the month of February. Although this plan does not included detailed instructional strategies, this does outline a basic unit, some creative...
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The Diary of Anne Frank: Review/Discussion
Explore the hopeful and tragic world of Anne Frank and her family in this presentation. A background to Hitler's rise to power and the writing of The Diary of Anne Frank is given. Additionally, the slides include discussion questions...
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Crisis in Darfur
High school social studies teachers addressing the crisis in Darfur could use elements of this plan to increase social studies vocabulary and research skills. It includes a page of lecture/discussion notes, instructions for creating...
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Write a Story
Here is a great way to explore narrative writing! Learners review a previously constructed story map and identify the characters, setting, and main events in the book Anansi and the Moss-Covered Rock retold by Eric A. Kimmel. They...
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Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck: Chapter 5 Reading Check
A soft dress, a mouse, a puppy and now Curley's wife. Lennie's desire to pet soft things leads to tragedy in Chapter Five of Steinbeck's novel. Readers are asked to respond to what, where, why and how questions to indicated their...
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Exploring the History of the I&M Canal
Students examine the building of the I & M canal in Chicago. Using the internet, they research the lives of the individuals who worked on the construction and develop a timeline of events. They explore the impact of the canal on...
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What is Your Issue?
Students discuss and debate critical political and social issues facing the United States today.
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There Was an Old Lady Who Swallowed a Fly
Fourth graders examine the new vocabulary associated with the book, There Was an Old Lady Who Swallowed a Fly before listening to a teacher read aloud of the book. They complete a choral reading of the story, sequence it, and write...
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After Blair
Students examine Tony Blair's exit from the Office of Prime Minister. In this British government instructional activity, students visit selected Web sites to learn how the transition in the office will work. Students also research the...
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Write to Read
Middle schoolers discover how to write to improve their reading skills. In groups, they take pictures of a variety of school events and compile them into a PowerPoint presentation. To end the lesson plan, they add a narration to the...
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Trekking to Timbuktu: Timbuktu's Golden Age of Scholarship
Students access online information regarding education in Timbuktu and the mighty Songhai Empire. They write an essay comparing and contrasting the curriculum of the university at Sankore with that of their own school.
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Independent - To Be or Not Top Be - Day 2, Lesson 3: In the Course of Human Events
Fifth graders practice scanning skills to answer questions on the French and Indian War.
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How Does A Person Cope With Life Changing Events?
Fourth graders explore the concept of conflict mediation. In this coping skills lesson, 4th graders discover conflict mediation skills that may be used to resolve conflict. Students also learn techniques to reduce stress.