Advocates for Human Rights
Nativism and Myths about Immigrants
Where do anti-immigrants myths come from, and how can they be refuted? Learners critically analyze media reports and how to identify reliable sources. After studying a timeline that details the history of US nativism, groups research the...
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Expressing Your Views to the Letter
Analyze the motivation, purpose, and value of letters to the editor by examining letters written in response to the violence at Columbine High School. For homework, middle and high schoolers write their own letters to the editor about an...
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What a Relief!
How are disasters addressed by the Federal Government? This New York Times lesson, based on the article "Disaster Aid: The Mix of Mercy and Politics," prompts middle schoolers to discuss the idea of using a disaster declaration as a...
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The Bill of Rights
In groups, learners review one of four selected Supreme Court cases. The whole class watches a video introducing the four cases, and then small groups dive into Internet research in an attempt to write a two-paragraph summary of the...
Federal Reserve Bank
The Story of the Federal Reserve: Middle School Lesson Plan
After reading the charming cartoon about the United States Federal Reserve, pupils often need to complete activities to retain their learning. The resource does a wonderful job of using class discussion and various written exercises to...
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Diving into Iceland's Genetic Pool
Investigate ethical issues surrounding the Decode project in Iceland. Middle and high schoolers take the positions of the Icelandic government, scientific researchers, and citizens and defend or refute the Decode project in a Reykjavik...
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Whose Rite Is It?
The class explores and debates, from multiple perspectives, a petition to allow Hopi Indians to take golden eagle hatchlings from a federal wildlife sanctuary for use in a religious ceremony. Pupils defend their personal views on the...
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Minding the Media
Students reflect on the fairness of rating movies, television, radio, books, magazines, Web sites and other media. They submit their own entries for a media rating guide.
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Reading Aloud
Students practice their reading aloud skills. They examine different careers that focus on public speaking. They also gather new tips to practice when speaking aloud.
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Class in the Media: Writing a Television Show
Students look at popular media presentations to determine what type of messages they convey about class and class-linked behavior. They listen to contemporary music to explore how the songs touch upon social class issues. They read...
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Wordles, Wordles, Wordles: Pre-Reading for Hamlet Using Key Words
Students analyze a Wordle of the top 150 words in Hamlet and complete a study of the language in the play. In this Hamlet literacy lesson, students work in groups to complete the given handouts to categorize the words of the play and...
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Abuela's Weave Teacher's Guide
Learners read and response to the book, Abuela's Weave. In this African-American literature lesson, students discuss pre-reading questions, that focus on family traditions and make predictions about the text. Learners read the text and...
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Art About Me- The Skin You Live In
Students read the text The Skin You Live In by Michael Tyler. In this literacy lesson, students discuss the characters in the text and the various shades of skin they observed on each page. Students read the beautiful descriptions of the...
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Word Wall Words
Pupils practice recognizing sights words. In this literacy instructional activity, students recognize and read 200 sight words, use combinations of words to make sentences, use words to fill in basic sentences, successfully pass spelling...
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Elmer by David McKee
Students explore individual differences. In this literacy and self-esteem lesson, students listen to the story Elmo by David McKee, then describe what characteristics make Elmo special. Students complete a T chart showing how Elmo looked...
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Media Literacy Skills
Third graders watch a news story from three different networks in order to determine how the same story can be presented in three different ways. Next, working in small groups they create a newscast of a current event to share with the...
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Charlotte's Web
Fourth graders focus on fluency by reading the book Charlotte's Web. In this reading strategies lesson, 4th graders partner read, do guided reading, and independent reading to increase fluency. Students use Venn Diagrams, discuss...
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Media Literacy
Learners evaluate the effectiveness of Internet book clubs, present their findings to the class, and design their own on-line book club (under the umbrella of a fictional television program) to encourage non-readers to read more.
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Conversation Lesson: Multinationals - Help or Hindrance?
Students engage in a debate regarding the status of nationals versus multinationals as a way of improving their conversation skills. The format for the debate is imbedded in this plan.
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Words We Know
Students explore environmental print. In this emergent literacy concepts of print lesson, students bring examples of environmental print from home which are put on display in the classroom. Students view websites to locate and...
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"The Royal Raven" Activities
Students complete two activities related to their reading of The Royal Raven by Hans Wilhelm. In this interdisciplinary literacy lesson, students explore their own talents, interests and the external differences found in others based...
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Hamlet on the Ramparts: A Pre-reading Activity
Students explore the first act of Hamlet. In this Shakespeare instructional activity, students pantomime important events from Hamlet in a pre-reading activity. Classmates observe the performances and write reviews.
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Phonemic Awareness Mats
In this literacy worksheet, 1st graders use the mats in order to have a game board to construct words for the two spaces with the CVC format.
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Skin and Sports
The topic is protecting our own protective covering: the skin. In particular, the information deals with sweating as a means of temperature regulation and the need to wear clothing appropriate for allowing the process to occur. Learners...