Residential College in the Arts and Humanities
Poetry Lesson Plans
Need some ideas for poetry lessons? Check out this packet loaded with suggestions for elementary, middle, and high school writers.
Virginia Department of Education
Current Applications in Science
High schoolers may claim to have no interest in scientific revelations and discoveries, but watch how quickly they download a new app onto their state-of-the-art smartphones. Scholars discuss the scientific or technological...
Curated OER
Forming Open-Ended Questions
Help readers learn to create their own open-ended questions for any text you are working with. Using Bloom's Taxonomy, learners begin on the lower levels and work their way up to form questions that focus on synthesis instead of simple...
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Venn Diagram-Paleolithic and Neolithic
Review the paleolithic and neolithic time periods using this creative lesson. After a unit on Mesopotamia and the Stone Age, learners fill out a Venn diagram comparing the paleolithic and neolithic period, and write a paragraph...
PBS
Before We Travel, We Research
Context is key when it comes to historical research. Prior to field research, class members learn as much as they can about the site they are going to visit. Groups investigate and prepare presentations about the history of the site, the...
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Past School Practices
Students research the history of a school system. In this school system lesson, students list the grade levels and subjects taught in their school and interview their teachers and administrators. Students collect past photographs of...
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Fair Judgment
Learners consider the demands of the judicial process and work in small groups to write editorials in response to the one that is read in class. For homework, they grade a television judge and write reflective essays.
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A Court Case with Real Appeal
Students analyze the United States' current appellate process, with a critical eye focused on possible inequities within the system. They then write letters to a Manhattan district attorney giving their recommendations on how he should...
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Pardon Me
Students examine the pardon process and the controversy surrounding the Clinton pardons through reading and discussing "Lobbying for Forgiveness." They write a forgiveness letter and create pardon guidelines for President Bush.
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The Civil War: Learning from Our Peers
Fifth graders discover the Civil War as taught by their peers. For this Civil War lesson, 5th graders create their own lesson plans to teach the class about the Civil War. The students are monitored by the teacher but are given lectures...
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Citing Sources
Fifth graders demonstrate how to cite sources when writing a research paper. In this research writing lesson, 5th graders view a demonstration on how to cite sources using an included graphic organizer. Students practice citing sources...
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"Hoot" by Carl Hiaasen
Students complete a variety of activities that revolve around the book "Hoot" by Carl Hiaasen. They view and discuss stills from the move "Hoot" and compose original storylines, conduct Internet research about the life of Carl Hiaasen,...
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What's the Difference?
High schoolers investigate volcanic processes at convergent and divergent
tectonic plate boundaries. They read and analyze diagrams, complete a worksheet, and write an essay.
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Justices for All
Students examine role of Supreme Court justices in the American political process, research the qualities of the current Supreme Court justices, and write opinion papers evaluating the current justices and recommending future nominations.
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Rain Forest Research
Second graders explore the Rain Forest. In this research lesson, 2nd graders go online to gather information about Rain Forest animals. Students print and use the information to write about the many parts of the Rain Forest. Students are...
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Oceans-A Fact Haiku
Students create haiku poems. In this poetry lesson plan, students listen to the sound of the ocean from an audio file and write a haiku poem about oceans.
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Where Were You?
Students examine various New York Times readers' reflections on the life and death of President John F. Kennedy, by reading and discussing "Readers Reflect on President John F. Kennedy." Students then write their own personal...
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Children's Book
A great way to publish students' stories is by having them create a picture book using Pages. This simple lesson plan has them take a short story they have written and create a book with a title page and dedication. After they have...
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Self Portraits
Third graders complete a unit on the writing process that focusses on the self-portraits of Rembrandt and Norman Rockwell. They create their own self-portraits and write autobiographical sketches. They also research the lives of the...
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Me and My Logo
Learners design their own emblem. In this introduction lesson, students get to know one another by designing an emblem that combines symbols that represent themselves. They express themselves to their classmates.
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Proofreading with Peer Editing
A standard peer editing activity, young writers get into groups and pass their papers to each of their peers in turn; each person checking their peer's paper for spelling, punctuation, and grammar mistakes. In a fun twist, your class...
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"Desk Top Teaching" - Word Interrogation
Don't let your class get tripped up on the tricky words in Truman Capote's In Cold Blood! Instead, assign each member of the class one or two words and each can be an expert. Explicit directions are included, as well as a list of...
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Money - Using R & R to Teach Mathematics
Second graders count up coins of money that add up to one dollar. In this money lesson plan, 2nd graders also spend money and keep track of how much they have spent.
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Persuasive Writing
Seventh graders, in pairs, decide on a product they would like to advertise and design an advertising plan for said product. Using ClarisWorks, 7th graders create an advertisement using pictures, vote on their favorite and discuss what...