ReadWriteThink
Biography Project: Research and Class Presentation
I Have A Dream ... that after the lesson, all individuals master the reading, writing, researching, listening, and speaking skills the biography project helps them develop. Martin Luther King, Jr. serves as a topic example for a model...
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Narrative Prompt
Second graders are introduced to the style of a narrative writing. After being read a story, they use a graphic organizer to plan their writing. With a partner, they share their ideas and decide on one topic to write about. To end the...
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Henry Wadsworth Longfellow's Christmas Bells
Students read and analyze the anti-slavery poem, "Christmas Bells" by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow. They discuss the content and form of the poem, write an essay, write an original poem, examine how this anti-slavery poem was converted...
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Characterization
Students draw pictures to generate ideas about a character. They use prewriting skills to plan written work. They then dictate or write detailed descriptions of familiar person, places, objects, or experiences.
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Aunt Isabel Tells a Good One...
Explore language arts by reading two similar stories in order to compare and contrast them in class. Young readers read two Aunt Isabel books, by Kate Duke, and discuss the main characters, plot, and setting. They complete a graphic...
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Meet the Instrument Families
Fourth graders listen to a recording of a string quartet and ask questions about what kinds of instrument they think they are listening to and describe what they think the instruments look like. Then they discuss musical ideas such as...
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Rural Life During the Great Depression: A Year Down Yonder
“Anyone who thinks small towns are friendlier than big cities lives in a big city.” Mary Alice, the fifteen-year-old narrator of A Year Down Yonder, is forced to leave Chicago and spend a year with her Grandma Dowdel in a small rural...
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Making the Old New Again
How does a new version of a Shakespearean play change in the adaptation process? Use this New York Times' Learning Network lesson to consider texts that have been produced in different media. Middle schoolers examine the latest...
Preswick House
Teaching Unit: Invisible Man
Invisible Man is a core text in high school literature classes and one of the most cited works on the AP Literature and Composition exam. Instructors new to using Ralph Ellison's novel and those who have long included it as part of...
Roald Dahl
Matilda - Arithmetic
Mr. Wormwood, one of the characters in Roald Dahl's Matilda, is not the most trustworthy of characters. Have student groups take on the roles of car salespeople and play a game to see who can make the most profit by selling...
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Censorship In Fahrenheit 451
Tenth graders explore the concept of censorship through a reading of Fahrenheit 451. They discuss the issue and its relation to contemporary society. Students work in groups to debate the pros and cons of censorship in our society.
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Video Boxes
Learners create a video box about a Central American country. In this world history lesson plan, student research Central America and pick a country they want to investigate. They work in groups to create a video box that shows images...
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Note Taking
Third graders get ready to take notes on a field trip. In this notetaking lesson plan, 3rd graders take notes to remember what they've seen on a field trip. Students draw and analyze diagrams of what they have seen. Students...
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Book It to Pizza Hut
Young scholars participate in reading a story and writing a book report on the computer. They engage in computer skills such as, saving and printing their reports. They read their reports to the teacher and class.
Science Matters
Island Fox Outreach
Off the coast of California lives a wild animal called the Island Fox. Experts discuss the importance of the Island Fox to the Channel Islands and the balance the fox creates within its ecosystem. The lesson concludes with a reading of...
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Robert Munsch: Author Study
Learners study Robert Munsch's style of writing. In this literature lesson plan, students read many of Robert Munsch's books, write a list of the characteristics found in his books, and write or orally tell a...
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Understanding What Makes a Good News Story
Students explore the news sources at their school in order to write stories that reflect what's going on in all communities and to identify what makes a good story. In this news writing lesson, students journal about what makes a...
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The Legend of the Blue Bonnet
Students complete pre reading, writing, during reading, and interdisciplinary activities for the book The Legend of the Blue Bonnet. For this reading lesson plan, students complete journal entries, go over vocabulary, answer short answer...
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Roles of the President
Middle schoolers read a document which explains the roles and responsibilities of the President of the United States. In groups, they tour the George Bush Presidential Museum and participate in a Presidential scavenger hunt. Once back...
CPALMS
Analyzing Vonnegut's View of the Future and His Commentary on the Present in Harrison Bergeron
Kurt Vonnegut's short story "Harrison Bergeron" engages adolescents with its theme about the dangers of complete societal equality. Learners complete a graphic organizer to track literary elements in the story, as well as an inference...
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Illustrated Dictionary
Young scholars make an illustrated dictionary of words they've used and learned in class. In this vocabulary lesson, students find words from their notes, discuss the words in a group, select the best words as a class, and complete an...
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Introduction to E-Discussion
Here's an interesting way to incorporate technology into your classroom. Have your young readers conduct an e-discussion of a story they are currently reading. Learners can post and/or respond to the comments of others reading the same...
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Sarah Plain and Tall
Young scholars read the story, dividing it into chapters per day until complete. They respond to the ad, just as Sarah, Plain and Tall did and use the correct parts of a letter used including a return address, greeting, body, closing and...
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Lyddie
Students investigate the character trait of perseverance and how it is used to help a girl gain independence in a fictional story. The story also has them think about the value of relationships and then write reflectively about...