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How I Spent My Summer Vacation
Students hear the story How I Spent My Summer Vacation by Wallace Bleef and share their own summer experiences. They write a tale about one event that happened during their summer using exaggeration.
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A Day During Colonial Times
Fifth graders participate in read aloud activities of three books about life in Colonial times. They compare their life to that of children of Colonial times using a Venn diagram. They draw a picture and write about what a day in the...
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Don't Throw Away That Junk Mail!
Fourth graders study junk mail to learn the techniques that advertisers use to attract and hold a person's attention.
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Hoops! There It Is!
Fifth graders view and discuss the use of voice in writing through the in-your-face, aggressive, powerful messages of the Nike advertisements and the book Hoops as examples of the intensity words can have and how voice is expressed. A...
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Stewardship Letter
Students write a persuasive letter. In this stewardship lesson, students discover the basic format for a formal letter and some effective persuasive techniques. Students write a letter to bring about change in the way...
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Determining Point of View
Students examine web sites to determine point of view and bias in information sources. They determine the usefulness of information based on these biases or limitations.
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Ads Are Everywhere
In this advertisements worksheet, learners read a list of 25 specific forms of advertising. Students then answer 2 essay questions. This worksheet directs learners to read an article not provided here.
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Which Car Will Mom Approve?
Eighth graders write a comparison/contrast essay to determine which of two cars should be purchased from the parents' perspective.
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Family Sues Over Discipline That Stinks
Students read a brief explanation of a situation in which a family is suing a school district because a teacher made a child spray himself with Lysol in front of the class, saying this would take care of his body odor. Students write a...
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Singing at the Vatican
Students read article by The Plain Dealer columnist Sam Fulwood III, told largely from one student's viewpoint, and write reaction paper on topic: "What will I remember the rest of my life?"
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Picture America's Sweetheart
High schoolers examine Seventeen Magazine's America's Sweetheart contest and one of their finalists by reading about Sunia Arif and what made Seventeen choose her. Students then write a 300-word essay about what would make them or...
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Finding the dress code balance
Pupils write a persuasive essay, expressing their opinions of how the school dress code should be changed. Students investigate their own school's dress code, developing their own opinions of whether the dress code should be more or less...
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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...
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Why Burn Books?
Students identify the role of free speech in the selection of library books. They choose one banned book to read and evaluate the reason for its censorship. They create an argument for or against the selection of the book.
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Boilermaker Geography
Fifth graders investigate the geography of central Indiana with an emphasis upon finding the location of Purdue. They make a connection to literature with the reading of a newspaper article to create the context for the lesson while...
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Black Bayou Lake Short Story
Tenth graders use Microsoft Word to create an original short story. The setting must be Black Bayou Lake National Wildlife Refuge. The characters must be animals found at Black Bayou Lake National Wildlife Refuge. The story must contain...
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Designing Visual Support For "The Greatest American" Speech
Students study several periods in American history, define the term "greatest American," and brainstorm possible criteria for selecting great Americans. They create a three to five minute persuasive speech along with visual aids to...
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Follow the Campaign Trail
Students choose a candidate of interest to them to follow throughout a campaign. Using the Internet, they identify the strengths and weaknesses of their candidate and compare them to the others. They share their findings with the class.
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Autobiography
Sixth graders read and write autobiographical sketches, determine the author's purpose in writing, and type paragraphs using WP utilities.
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You Can Do It, Mr. And Mrs. Mallard!
Students watch the video "Make Way for Ducklings" by Robert Mc Closkey. They write letters to Mr. and Mrs. Mallard and make a map for the mallards. They talk about the importance of animal habitats.
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Tongue Tied
Fourth graders select topics about Florida Indians to research and give an informative speech to the class about their topics. The main focus' of this lesson are the research, and the speech that each student gives to the class.
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Reflections About Diversity
Students discuss conflicts that arise from problems with diversity issues, and hypothesize what is needed to bring about successful resolutions to these problems. They write a newspaper editorial about how conflicts can be successfully...
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"The Father of Lavish Advertising": P.T. Barnum
Students examine the life and work of P.T. Barnum. They discover his advertising techniques and business practices. They examine his use of people with disabilities for amusement.
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Do a Ditty
Fourth graders work in cooperative groups to create a ditty to teach the characteristics that distinguish literary forms to younger students. The ditty is performed before the class.