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Making Connections to Text
Making connections to text is an important skill that students can practice in fun and motivating ways.
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Venn Diagram for Compare/Contrast
Use this lesson to focus on a compare and contrast writing structure in your middle school language arts class. Here, young writers compare and contrast two texts using graphic organizers. They use a double bubble format for their...
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Classification of Animals
Sixth graders examine two-way classification systems using four mutually exclusive groups and two dimensions simultaneously. They then are given a set of plastic animals, asked to create a two-way classification system, then asked to...
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Finding the Good Stuff in What We Read
Students work to develop comprehension strategies. They focus on three rules for summarizing: getting rid of extra information, organizing, and finding the main idea. Through modeling and then guided practice, they apply these rules ...
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Finding Comfort in an Unfamiliar Landscape
High schoolers recognize the writings of a prominent American writer. They analyze written text making connections to personal prior experience. Students discuss in small and large groups their findings. They organize ideas in writing...
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The Hare and the Water: A Tanzanian Folk Tale
"The Hare and the Water," a Tanzanian folk tale, lends a global perspective to literary analysis. Learners spend the first two days reading and storyboarding. On day three, they examine folk tale elements (worksheet included), and design...
Mary Pope Osborne, Classroom Adventures Program
Dinosaurs Before Dark
Young readers travel back to the time of the dinosaurs in this literature unit based on the story Dinosaurs Before Dark. Intended for use with upper-elementary special education young scholars, this resource provides reading...
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Formal versus Informal Language
Engage in an activity that focuses on the concepts of formal and informal language use. Middle and high schoolers compare and contrast each style by using a Venn diagram that includes some examples. They read and hear a passage of lyrics...
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Picturing America: Images and Words of Hope from Romare Bearden and Langston Hughes
A carefully crafted three-day instructional activity integrates poetry and visual art. By analyzing and comparing Langston Hughes' poem "Mother and Son" and Romare Bearden's collage "The Dove," readers explore the theme of hope. The...
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Hoot: Concept/Vocabulary Analysis
Augment your unit on Carl Hiaasen's Hoot with a series of activities about the environment, civil disobedience, making an impact in the world, and growing up. A list of literary concepts and themes helps you to write your lessons to...
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Alphabet Study
Fifth graders predict what they believe the five most common letters are in the English language. After sharing their predictions in a group, they develop a new list of the most common letters used. Using a book, they count the number...
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Time Capsule Survey
Here's a fun way to incorporate technology into your curriculum. E-mail each of your class members a picture and 10 questions about the photo. Individuals then imagine the story behind the image and e-mail back their responses. Although...
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Oceans: Reading Comprehension
Practice reading comprehension by approaching oceanography through 2 pages of informational text. The text give introductory coverage of oceanography in practice, ocean zones, names of the 5 oceans, ocean features, and marine life. Three...
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Storytelling: Writers' Workshop Learning Center
Evaluating a variety of narrative texts can help build strong writers. Pupils identify plot elements and their relation to personal experience, then apply what they gleaned from the class discussion to create their own narratives.
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We the People Level 2
Students explore U.S. history by participating in a government activity. In this Constitution lesson, students identify the role government plays in our society and the differences the British colonies had in the early 18th century....
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Narrative Writing
A basic lesson on personal narrative writing is here for you. In it, learners are asked to imagine they're going to share an experience of their own with someone who did not participate in that experience. They verbally tell the story to...
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Analyzing Poetry with TPCASTT
Middle schoolers read a poem and complete a TPCASTT chart. They make a prediction about the title (T) , paraphrase each line (P), identify poetic devices and nuances (C-connotation), explore mood and tone (A-attitude), point out shifts...
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Paragraphs
Pupils observe paragraphs in newspaper articles and the chapters in their reading books writing down reasons for each new paragraph. They then discuss why writers organize their work into paragraphs.
WeTransfer BV
Paper by FiftyThree
There is no such thing as someone who is not artistic when using this app. In fact, this is the type of app that makes you want to go out and buy a tablet computer. Whether you have a creative lesson planned, or just need a place to take...
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Protective Design
Over 3 or 4 class periods your young designers will create a wearable garment that provides some sort of protection from a danger in everyday life. In this fashion design lesson plan, high schoolers investigate fear in our society and...
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Comparing and Contrasting
Analyze historical biographies. Young scholars compare and contrast the biographies of Susan B. Anthony and Pat Nixon. They construct graphic organizers, answer critical thinking questions, complete a formative assessment.
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Representing Text Story Web: Post Test
In this story web worksheet, students complete a set of 10 multiple choice questions, clicking on an answer link to view correct answers.
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Comparing Weather Conditions
Learners conduct research on temperature, wind speed and weather conditions from a variety of areas. They organize their findings on worksheets and spreadsheets and discuss various examples of databases.
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Writing Directions for Mathematical Activities
Fifth graders reorganize comic strips to have them make sense, complete outline and organize their thoughts into outline form to explain directions,
and use that outline to complete their own directions for geometry activities.