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Red, White, and Blue Notes
Students explore the history of major American music genres. Then, through mock radio shows, students examine the distinguishing features of each genre and how each has changed throughout the years.
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Duking It Out
Students read and discuss 'Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra: Mixing Treasures by Duke Ellington and Edvard Grieg,' exploring how jazz transformed European music and the influence jazz has had on modern music. They write musical reviews.
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Right About Now… and Then
Students discuss significant figures in music history and read an article about the Smithsonian's Hip-Hop exhibit. In groups, they develop and curate an exhibition of hip-hop music and history using artifacts that represent relevant...
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Look, Listen and Learn
Students brainstorm what they know about the performing arts and research an artist or song and its related genre. Students work in groups to create an online banner to attract peers to their performing arts genre.
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Globe Trotting Cinderella
Students explore the fairy tale genre of literature. In this Cinderella lesson, students read fairy tales and discuss their attributes and cultural background. Students examine and write their own fractured fairy tales.
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Adolescent Obesity and Susceptibility to Disease
Students understand the importance of maintaining a healthy weight and good health. In this health instructional activity students read text then create their own pamphlet on the cardiovascular system, weight gain, treatments and...
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To the Beat of a Different Drum
Students describe the sounds, moods and styles of two different types of music. After reading an article, they discover how a journalist uses language to describe and give feelings to the music. They review a type of music of interest...
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Humans and the Natural World Poetically
Students read poetry for gist and find images to create a visual narrative. For this poetry lesson, students read Green Lane and Flies and Nettles to examine the relationship between humanity and the nature. Students reflect...
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Masks and Aesop's Fables
Young scholars study and perform Aesop's fables. In this Aesop's fables lesson, students read and/or listen to a number of the famous fables. They make masks based on the characters and perform a fable using the masks. They write about...
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Corridos About the Mexican Revolution
High schoolers explore the meaning behind Mexican corridos. In this Mexican Revolution instructional activity, students discover details about the war and its leaders as they read, analyze, and write their own corridos.
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One Story, Many Tales
High schoolers compare and contrast Cinderella stories. In this folktale activity, students discuss the attributes of the genre and then read and research different cultural versions of the tale. High schoolers present their findings to...
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Tall Tales Today
Young scholars explore the attributes of American tall tales. In this folklore lesson, students read several tall tales, describe the elements of tall tales, and then use hyperbole to write their own tall tales.
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Lesson Plan for Korea: P'ansori
Twelfth graders read different versions of P'ansori in an attempt to gain exposure to this form of literature. They gain information in order to help understand the context of how they are part of the Korean culture.
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Abigail Adams: Integrating Social Studies and Language Arts
Third graders increase reading strategies while learning about Abigail Adams and her role in history. In this Abigail Adams lesson, 3rd graders read about the American Revolution and Abigail Adams using all the balanced literacy...
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A Rose Is a Rose
Flowering learners explore the concept of figurative language as it relates to poems, songs, or creative written expression. In this creative writing lesson plan, they complete several phrases using similes, metaphors, and...
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Celebrate A People!
Learners explore African-American students literature as an integral building block in empowering all learners to a better awareness when reading and writing. They use as a productive Social Studies tool for overall understanding of the...
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The Short Story: A Slice of Life
Students are introduced to the characteristics of the short story. Individually, they use their own personal experiences to write a poem about their families to get them used to writing. Next, they practice reading various short...
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Is Anybody Out There?
Students focus on the tremendous public interest in the potential of extraterrestrial life. They read and discuss an article about the search for alien life. They divide into small groups and discuss the issues and implications of this...
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Show Me the Story
Learners examine the elements of a story, read a review of Chris Rock's new sitcom, "Everybody Hates Chris" and create original sitcom episodes based on their own lives.
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State of the Art
Learners watch and discuss a scene from 'Cool Hand Luke,' then read the actor Kevin Costner's commentary on it. Then, each identifies one work of art that he or she loves and prepares a similar commentary on the details of that work's...
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And You Were (Almost) There
Students explore the genre of biography in both its traditional and nontraditional forms. They examine Edmund Morris's unorthodox biography of Ronald Reagan. They conduct research on an historic American and write their own biographies.
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The Book of Life
Students discuss the factors that make a good children's book. After reading an article, they explore the prevalence of science in children's literature. In groups, they research a topic and translate it into easy language for a child...
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iRock
Students explore, listen to and analyze songs that helped define rock and roll music. They read and discuss the article, "They're All Oldies, Dad Included." Research on contemporary artists is conducted and then the students choose who...
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Diary of a Wombat
Learners create a diary entry from an animal's point of view. In this creative writing lesson, students read the book Diary of a Wombat and conduct brief research on an animal of their choice. Learners create a diary entry based upon...