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Does Rick Warren Represent Diversity?
The topic of this lesson focuses on whether or not Obama was able to convincingly defend his choice of choosing Rick Warren to deliver the invocation at his inauguration. This is considered a controversial or hot topic because it...
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Discrimination and Media: Focus on Mental Health
Students explore discrimination by the media. In this media awareness lesson, students examine stigmas concerning mental illnesses as they are portrayed in the media.
San Francisco Symphony
Music and Early Man
Creative projects are great ways to increase interest in topical research. Middle schoolers learning about primitive life styles in the Americas explore the importance of music to hunter gatherers. They research and create musical...
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Latino Literature: Poetry
Under construction, this lesson focuses on Canto Familia, a collection of poetry about Gary Soto's experiences growing up in California's Imperial Valley. Representative of the experiences of many Latinos, the poems also address themes...
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A Lesson in Biodiversity: Making Comparisons Between Defensive Mechanisms Utilized by Marine Organisms
If your upper elementary or middle school marine biology learners are going to visit an aquarium, then here is a field trip activity guide for you. It is written specifically for The Maritime Aquarium, but the idea can be adapted to...
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Family Tree Community Project
Fifth graders answer questions such as: Where does my family come from? What was it like for my ancestors to grow up as America developed? What differences in society were present then? What was similar to today? students conduct...
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Shaping the View: Composition Basics
Students are introduced to the concept of composition in visual art. They examine various compositional structures and practice identifying the focus of various pieces of art.
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Civic Engagement for Us?
Students identify the different forms of civic engagement. They identify their responsibilities at the different levels of government. They also analyze young leaders running for office.
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Review Parts of a Book
Begin the year with a review of the parts of a book. Exercises in the unit plan ask emergent readers to identify the information on the cover of a book and on the title page, to explain the purpose of a table of contents, and to describe...
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Building Vocabulary
Decode and acquire new vocabulary! Readers use new vocabulary in their writing and use synonyms to determine meanings. Visual learners label pictures and group words together to increase understanding.
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And the Survey Says...
Create a survey and graph! For this graphing lesson, students listen to a story about pets, create a survey for family and friends about what pets they own, and use the information to create a bar and line graph.
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Contributions
Students research a website to find people who made significant contributions to people with disabilities. In this disabilities lesson plan, students then rank the most important contributions.
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Educators
After viewing selections from a website and discussing the role of the teacher in educating the disabled, students work in pairs. They analyze the work of an educator and relate the work to a given quote, then decide if that quote fits...
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Children Just Like Me
Students study the issues and plight of the developing country of Bangladesh. In this developing country lesson, students study a fictionalized case with actual statistics to learn about issues facing children in the country of...
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Looking at Human Struggle Through The Language Arts Curriculum: The Faces of Slavery
Sixth graders examine the use of slavery in the United States. Using a map, they draw the route of the Tecora and Amistad voyages. Individually, they write an essay describing their opinions on whether the Africans on the ships should be...
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Imaginary Trip to South Korea
Students  "visit" South Korea through the use of technology, in a  fun, and stimulating, detailed project.   They arrange travel, make choices, work through a budget, learn history, have exposure to language,  and get a sense of what a...
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Developing the Concept Division
Learners use manipulatives to explain the concept of dividing multi-digit numbers.
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The Village and the Stars
Eighth graders discuss  early school memories.  They assess hopes and aspirations in greater detail and discover the importance of education as one of the shapes of our 'selves'.  They observe  parents' reactions to children growing up...
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Early Explorers
Fifth graders give a presentation about one of the explorers. In this explorers instructional activity, 5th graders research an explorer and give a presentation to the class. While students are presenting the others are taking notes on a...
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Return Of The Living Dead
Students research endangered animal species that have 'beaten the odds' as they continue to survive longer than scientists had expected. They write individual pages for a class book about endangered species.
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Imperialism
Young scholars explore the concept of Imperialism. In this foreign policy lesson, students examine the policies of the US and other countries through time. Young scholars then create a political cartoon of their own and create a...
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Myths and Legends on Natural Disasters: Making Sense of Our World
Students explore different natural and manmade disasters through a webquest. In this earth science lesson, students explain their causes. They also discuss how disasters affect society. 
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On the Air
Young scholars explore the issue of race in television since the 1950's, focusing specifically on African-American entertainers. After researching important issues, events, and television personalities of specific decades, students...
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A Whale of a Problem
Students evaluate the possible causes contributing to the decline of the killer whale population from a number of differing perspectives. They present their findings in a talk show format and in letters of advocacy regarding