Novelinks
Tuck Everlasting: Bio-Poem
Learn about the characters of Natalie Babbitt's Tuck Everlasting with a character biopoem. Readers fill in a poem format to detail the character traits of Winnie, Jesse, Miles, and Mae, and share their finished poems with their peers.
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Moby Dick Puppetry
Such an ambitious lesson! Third graders with special needs listen to an audio recording of the novel, Moby Dick. They stop often to discuss each of the main characters and analyze their actions in the story. They then make puppets of one...
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Through the Eyes of the Big Bad Wolf
Imagine how the wolf would tell the tale of Little Red Riding Hood or The Three Little Pigs. Young writers re-imagine classic tales by adopting the point of view of another character in the story. After reading models like The True Story...
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Clustering
Fifth graders are introduced to the concept of clustering. In groups, they use their new science vocabulary words to put into a web or cluster. To end the lesson, they read a book related to electricity and write the definitions of any...
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Pair-Share: Constructing Paragraph Order
Students write with controlled and/or subtle organization. They identify the main idea and explicit details. Students analyze paragraph and essay structure. They utilize context clues to identify organization.
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Whodunit? Creating Mysterious Plays
Students examine mystery plays by reading a number of five-minute mysteries. They write and perform their own plays.
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Memory of a Kiss
Third graders read, discuss, and memorize the poem "Jenny Kissed Me." as an example of lyrical poetry. They write a letter to Jenny reliving the memory of her kiss from an elderly person's point of view. They illustrate their poems.
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Our Book Club
Students review a book considered to be their favorite for inclusion in a recommended books list. As a part of a book club, each student selected book will be included in a list of recommended books for a young adult's personal reading....
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Dwellings Around the Globe
Students explore dwellings around the globe and conduct collaborative research on cliff dwellings, igloos, longhouses, and yurts. They then explore how different dwellings reflect environmental and cultural conditions, and they create a...
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A Taste of Blackberries
Fourth graders participate in a shared reading of Doris Buchanan's, A Taste of Blackberries. They read about grief in the loss of a best friend and examine the skills of a responsible family member.
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Could You Repeat That?
Students participate in an oral story telling activity designed to show how story embellishments occur. They read "Beowulf" and identify incongruities that suggest additions and embellishments over the years.
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Build Your Own Adventure
Sixth graders write a narrative. They choose options for plot and climax within the context of an outdoor survival story.
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The Land and the Water
Third graders read "The Land and the Water," a fictional short story and an article about John F. Kennedy, Jr. and compare and contrast fictional tragedy to a non-fiction tragedy. They fill out a Venn diagram and write an essay using...
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Gearing up for Grammar
Students input autobiographical information to apply in a Diamante' poem that utilizes the different parts of speech. Students interact with each other sharing their autobiographical information completed on the database created....
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It's Your Opinion
Students view "Inkheart: Speak Your Mind" by Cornelia Funke. They read several letters to the editor of a local newspaper and underline the 'opinion' portions of the letters. They discover how a literary selection can expand personal...
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Benjamin Franklin and Electricity
Second graders study Benjamin Franklin and participate in simple experiments in electricity.
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Why Celebrate Black History Month
Second graders study about the culture, heritage, family, church, and politics of the African-American and why we honor their accomplishments. Then they make class presentations. This is a very meaningful lesson on an important part of...
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Sentence Sequence
Second graders write a paragraph with detail sentences in chronological sequence.
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Out of the Dust (High School)
Fourth graders read Hesse's "Out of the Dust". They respond to questions about the novel and write a free-verse poem modeled after the author's.
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News View
Students read and analyze three different news sources that describe the same event. They compare/contrast the similarities and differences of the news sources, and write an essay describing the main event.
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Illustrated Quotes of Julius Caesar
Third graders read and study William Shakespeare's Julius Caesar and make a booklet of twenty illustrated quotations from William Shakespeare's play Julius Caesar.
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Connecting Characters and Themes in Julius Caesar
Fourth graders prepare for the literary analysis. They locate, interpret, evaluate and analyze the relationship between a character and the theme. After a lecture/demo, 4th graders write topic and detail sentences, then correctly put...
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Can You Follow Me? Writing Instructions
Pupils write directions for completing everyday activities. In this writing instructions lesson students exchange their set of written directions with a partner and follow their partners directions. If the directions are unclear, they...
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Jelly Bean's Galore
Students investigate the origins of the Jelly Bean. They complete a Scavenger Hunt using the jellybean website. Pupils create a bar graph using information collected about jelly beans. Students discuss the time of year that Jelly Beans...