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Treasure Hunt - Geography and Cultural Diversity along the Journey to the West

For Teachers 6th - 8th
Students work in groups and use treasure cards and maps to go on a treasure hunt to several regions in China. They prepare a presentation on the geography and culture of the area that they are assigned to.
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Immigration For Grades K-2

For Teachers K - 2nd
Pupils engage in a lesson about the concept of immigration. They conduct research using a variety of resources. The information is used in order to create context for class discussion or a class presentation topic. They also read stories...
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Strawberry Girl: Outdoors in Florida

For Teachers 4th - 7th
Young scholars explore nature by researching the state of Florida. In this animal identification lesson, students read a children' story and research the Internet to discover the difference in animal life between the early 1900's and...
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Three Young Pilgrims

For Teachers 5th
Fifth graders study the story of the voyage of the Mayflower told from the view point of the three Allerton siblings who were on board the ship. The book tells of their voyage across the Atlantic and their first year here on the North...
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Coordinate Plane Treasure Hunt

For Teachers 6th - 8th
Students create a treasure map by plotting points on a coordinate plane using a computer drawing program. Students name and identify different landmasses and structures on their map. They create instructions to find the treasure that...
Lesson Plan
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Family Stories

For Teachers 4th - 6th
Students use dance to better understand the writing process. For this interdisciplinary lesson, students use their critical thinking skills to connect dance with writing. Students use thinking maps to follow the writing process, write a...
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New American Diplomacy

For Teachers 8th - 12th
Pupils explore the presidential era of Teddy Roosevelt. They read about American diplomacy in Asia, the Caribbean, and discuss the Panama Canal and the Roosevelt Corollary. As a class, students take notes and create a bubble map for...
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Storytelling

For Teachers 7th - 9th
Students compose a story and tell it to the class.  In this storytelling activity, students work in small groups to create an illustrated story.  Students are given a checklist of elements to include in the...
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Lesson 24: The Great Chicago Fire Survivors

For Teachers 3rd - 5th
Students, in groups, explore the Great Chicago Fire. They decide which moment from the fire is significant and create a story corner.
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The Immigrant Experience

For Teachers 7th - 9th
Young scholars utilize oral histories to discover, analyze, and interpret immigration and migration in the history of the United States. A goal of the unit is fostering a discussion and encouraging students to make meaning of the bigger...
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Learning About Our World

For Teachers 1st - 6th
Students explore their world using the book "This is the Way We Go to School." They predict information about the story based on the title and pictures. Students label a world map with the names of continents and oceans. They write a set...
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Prairie Voices: Community Development, Investigating Local History

For Teachers 3rd - 12th
Students investigate local history. In this research skills lesson, students examine historic landmarks, tax records, fire maps, town plans, historic photographs, newspapers, and other primary sources to learn about local communities in...
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Animal Invasion

For Teachers 6th - 8th
Students research and illustrate the natural habitats and evolution of giraffes and other animals imported into ancient Rome. They draw a map of Europe, North Africa, and West Asia and draw the animals from each region in their proper...
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Break the Pentomino Code!

For Teachers 3rd - 6th
Students read and analyze the book, Chasing Vermeer. They discuss the main story elements, analyze how pentominoes are important to the story, use a pentomino code to decipher a message, and create a secret code of their own.
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It's All in the Making: Our Local Organizations

For Teachers 4th - 6th
Young scholars study African American nonprofit organizations. In this nonprofit organizations lesson, students discuss African American organizations. Young scholars research the NAACP and NUL website. Students design posters for both...
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Where Oh Where

For Teachers 4th - 12th
Learners read a current event article orally and make connections regarding the geographic themes of the newspaper location. In this current event article lesson, students use a map to locate where the event from their...
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Folktale Unit Ideas

For Teachers K - 2nd
Students read a variety of folktales and participate in writing, drawing, measurement, and time activities that relate to the stories. They graph the number of different versions of one folktale that the class finds and reads.
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Writing a Children's Book -- Young Authors

For Teachers 9th - 12th
High schoolers practice their writing skills by creating a children's book. They integrate five elements of short stories into the narrative. They share their stories with their book buddies.
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The Eighty Yard Run

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Learners read and explore the themes of the book The Eighty Yard Run. In this literature lesson, students discuss their observations and predictions. Learners develop their own story which is similar to that of The Eighty Yard Run.
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A Moroccan Fairy Tale vs. European Folk/Fairy Tale

For Teachers 2nd
Second graders explore world geography by reading two different fairy tales. In this cultural storytelling lesson, 2nd graders read Snow White and the Seven Dwarves and the Moroccan story The Girl Who Lived with the Gazelles. Students...
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Understanding the Effects of Water Pollution

For Teachers 3rd
Third graders examine the effects of water pollution by participating in a story. After reading the story, they determine the best way to get rid of the pollution in a river using different objects. In groups, they complete a worksheet...
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Subtraction

For Teachers 1st
First graders write and illustrate a story for a subtraction problem subtracting from the number ten. Students explore subtraction situations by using counters to represent a familiar number- based literature selection. Students role...
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Rosa Parks

For Teachers 3rd - 5th
Young scholars identify the heroic actions of Rosa Parks. In this African-American instructional activity, students read the book, Rosa Parks: My Storyand create a timeline of the events from the biography.
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Order My Steps

For Teachers 4th - 7th
Students organize and sequence their writing ideas using different graphic organizers. They use the ideas to write a story that takes place over two days.