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Imagination Express
Students create an artistic response to the book, The Polar Express. In this creative writing lesson, students read the book and visualize an imaginary journey they would like to go on. Students create a train car from construction paper...
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Life Science Observations: Living vs. Non Living Things
Students investigate the difference between living and non-living things. For this life science lesson, students discover the different characteristics of living things and the natural or human created non-living things....
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Prairie Voices: Plum Grove
Students explore Plum Grove located in Iowa City. For this Iowa history lesson, students listen to their instructor present a lecture on the history of Plum Grove and the leadership of Robert Lucas. Students select assessment...
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Have a Ball with Poetry
Second graders brainstorm words pertaining to the senses about the beach. They write a free verse poem, using these words and adding a line about their feelings.
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Writing About a Christmas Day Celebration
Students write about a Christmas Day Celebration they have experienced. In this personal narrative lesson, students use descriptive words to tell a story about their own family's Christmas. Students organize plot and develop the story as...
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Is There Seaweed/Algae in Your Food?
Young scholars discover that seaweed/algae is a small part of the resources the oceans provide. By investigating common household products, students discover that human senses are not enough to detect the presence of seaweed/algae in food.
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Finding the Words
Seventh graders discuss how important words are in communicating experiences. They eat different kinds of fruit and notice, with their senses, different aspects about the fruit. They write a poem describing a visceral experience.
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Nudibranchs-Splendid Sea Slugs
Students brainstorm a list of colorful animals and research why they are colorful. In this biology lesson, students sketch what a nudibranchs look like before watching a video. They compare their sketch to the actual...
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Honey Bees and Communication
Did you know that honey bees dance to communicate information? Do you know why bees use hexagons to build their hives? The Honeybee Man, Brilliant Bees, and Show me the Honey provide background information on how honey bees communicate....
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Getting Oriented
Students explore the geography, culture, and philosophy of Asia using all five senses and information about China and Japan. This lesson plan is detailed and may take several days of in-class activities to complete.
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Unity In Diversity
Young scholars discuss the meaning of diversity in the world. They practice how to act around others and appreciate the different types of people that exist. The lesson includes a section of vocabulary and the reading of a story to...
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Comparing Chinese And Japanese Ceramics
Young scholars discuss the conception of beauty by considering and contrasting the
appearance and use of Chinese and Japanese ceramics in this lesson for the middle or high school classroom.
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Descriptive Writing
Students write a description of an animal. In this descriptive writing lesson, students discuss ways to write to appeal to all five senses. Students then describe an animal in a paragraph and pair up to guess the animal.
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The Holocaust: Valuing Creation
Students write a descriptive essay. In this Holocaust lesson, students discuss what it must have been like for Anne Frank to stay inside for two years. Students try to appeal to all five senses in their descriptions.
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Picnics-- Chinese Style
Third graders explore about the Chinese rituals of poetry competition. They compare and contrast Chinese picnics with American picnics. Students create short poems, celebrating their own spring poetry picnic. They discuss words or...
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Voices From Your Heart
Young scholars create individual representations of Chinese calligraphy symbols in this cross-curricular lesson for the elementary Language Arts or Art classroom. One enrichment activity is included.
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Is It Hot in the Light?
Third graders make observations about the temperature of items in direct sunlight. In groups, they discuss why asphalt, brick and cement are warmer than items surrounding them. To end the lesson, they examine how heat transfers energy...
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Pretend Memoirs
Elementary schoolers explore the concept of a memoir. The teacher tells a story from his/her childhood as an example of what a memoir is; a written account of one's past. The kids are asked to pretend that they are now adults, and are...
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Reading Examples
Young writers read excerpts from Gary Paulsen's memoir to identify figurative and literal language that contain sensory details. They determine which selections are examples of sensory language and fi the language is used literally or...
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Color Poems
Students listen as the teacher reads several poems from the book "Hailstones and Halibut Bones," "My Many Colored Days," and a teacher created poem. Students choose a color and share some brainstorming ideas with the class. They write a...
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U.S. History: Our Constitutional Amendments
Eighth graders conduct Internet research about Constitutional Amendments and present oral reports on their findings. Their reports also include visual representations depicting their chosen amendment's focal point. Students discuss the...
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Household Chemistry
Students use indicator paper to determine if substances are acidic, basic, or neutral. They test for Ph levels in them. They investigate the effect of oxygen on darkening fruit cut and exposed to the air. They observe vitamin C as an...
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Pond Water
Young scholars explore a creek environment. They make observations, identify the living and nonliving factors in the environment and collect a plankton sample to take back to the classroom. In addition, they look at plankton under a...
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From Ordinary To Extraordinary Writing
Students investigate the quality of writing while focusing on the use of sensory words to convey meaning and ideas. The power of similes and metaphors is emphasized while they create and edit works of writing. The skill of descriptive...