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"Let's Write a Song"
Fourth graders brainstorm ideas that answer the question, "What is a song?" They determine the parts of a song, read lyrics, and listen to a song while identifying the chorus. They repeat the procedure with a new song before working in...
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Spring Harvest
Students engage in a lesson that is interested in the foods related to the season of Spring. They conduct research using a variety of resources while creating menus to match the regions of The United States. Students create food items...
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Beyond "Ranger Rick"
Students explore the information which can be obtained from periodicals. Groups of students formulate questions to research and determine the main idea to use to obtain the data for their specific topics.
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Read All About It! Events and People of the 1930s and 1940s That Shaped California and the Nation.
Learners look carefully at four photographs by Dorothea Lange and discuss them in terms of what is depicted and what she may have wanted to communicate. They review what they learned about the Dust Bowl, the Depression, the war era, and...
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Passion for Change
Students reflect upon traditional, cultural, or ritualized events. They research and document the evolution of a familiar tradition or ritualized event and creatively represent the changes to the tradition.
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Going, But Not Forgotten
Students examine the impact of President Clinton's presidency on the race for his successor.
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The Wind-Up and the Pitch
Students consider how sound affects one's experience at a ballpark and the ways that the acoustics at a baseball stadium might be improved. Students then recommend their own designs for a "soundly built" baseball stadium.
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Speaking of the Speaker
Students deconstruct an obituary and examine the elements and incidents of a person's life that were chosen to memorialize in an obituary. They research a notable American and write and obituary about their life.
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Integrating Critical Thinking Skills Into the Classroom
Pupils receive an overview of critical thinking techniques. They break into small groups and practice reasoning through questions, identifying, presenting and justifying their answers.
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History Today
Students use the newspaper to determine how history is being made in your community, region or country.They identify the different components that comprise a newspaper. This lesson contains adaptations from elementary to high school.
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The Making of a Leader
Students participate in a class discussion and conduct independent research about the life skills Ralph Bunche developed because of the influences of others, his life experiences, and the obstacles he had to overcome as a youth. They...
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Genetic Counseling
Young scholars apply the principles of ethical decision making to actual cases. They appreciate that there is usually no one "right" decision. Students compare their conclusions to those of individuals who are in the field.
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What Did You Say?
Twelfth graders identify main ideas in reading selections. They read newspaper letters to the editor, identify the main ideas, list the supporting details, and present each side of the issue to the class.
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Skepticism Toward Government
Students explain how the media portrays certain events and its effects on public opinion of government. They focus on Watergate, the Vietnam War, and the Clinton impeachment. They write essays about skepticism promoted by the media.
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Lippmann vs. The Testers: Can Intelligence Be Measured?
Students examine the ideas of Walter Lippman and standardized testing. They discover the ideas and beliefs behind using standarized tests. They examine a copy of an IQ test and discuss.
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Oh, California: Understanding Primary Sources: What Did John Muir See?
Students read a selection from the writings of John Muir. They discover his view on California and its natural resources. They create a display of images that show what California has to offer.
National First Ladies' Library
Pandemics: The Swine Flu of 1918
Students study pandemics through the investigational research of the 1918 swine flu. They apply the information by choosing a current virus and role-playing a member of the Centers of Disease Control (CDC).
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Conservation
Fifth graders examine how destructive fishing practices affect the health of coral reefs. They watch a Powerpoint Presentation, conduct an experiment, and in small groups create a Powerpoint Presentation.
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Creative Writing - I AM A FISH
Ninth graders write a letter to the editor about the impact of people on marine life from the point of view of a fish.
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Freckle Juice
Third graders read Freckle Juice as a shared literature experience. This lesson plan has many good ideas of extensions you can do as your students go through the story.
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Hydraulic Mining Offline Lesson
Students utilize a variety of source materials to explore reasons for supporting or opposing hydraulic mining. A mock court hearing is held where a decision to allow the continued use of hydraulic mining is made.
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Responding to Social Crisis
Students, through discussion, identify ways to cope with and process unexpected community or world crisis, such as terrorism or violent acts within a school or community.
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Slick Moves: Exploring the Controversial Plan to Drill in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge
Students recount their knowledge of natural resources and articulate their understanding of the multi- faceted debate that surrounds drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. They then examine the complexity of drilling in the...
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Statistics and Probility
Seventh graders collect data and make predictions. In this geometry lesson, 7th graders work in tiers collecting data and plotting it. They make inferences and predictions about their collected data.