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Expository Journal Prompts
Stuck for a journal topic? Download CAHSEE’s 21 “Expository Journal Prompts” as a pdf handout for yourself or class. A great resource for your writing program, print it up and add it your curriculum library.
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Wild and Wetlands
Upper graders identify the major characteristics of a wetland. They explore the human factors that change a wetland and write a descriptive paragraph about wetlands. This comprehensive lesson also has an interactive "Watershed Game"...
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"I Want a Wife" by Judy Brady
The classic short essay "I Want a Wife" will probably surprise your class. After all, the way Judy Brady presents it, who wouldn't want a wife? After your readers complete the text, present them with this two-page document. Eight...
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Haiku: The Power of Nature and Emotion
Introduce your students to the famous Japanese Haiku with these great ideas for the classroom.
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Eye On the Environment Essay
High schoolers analyze the impact of human activity (e.g., population density, pollution) to a country where the target language is spoken. They prepare a three paragraph essay and describe the impact of pollution on the environment...
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The Rest Cure: Gender in Medicine and Literature
Read and discuss "The Yellow Wall-Paper" and the gender issues that the story brings up. Use articles from the time period to analyze, complete with specific discussion questions. After two days, scholars write an essay based on topics...
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Character Traits: Yang the Youngest and His Terrible Ear
Lensey Namioka’s Yang the Youngest and His Terrible Ear provides an opportunity for young readers to observe how writers bring their characters to life. Each class member selects a character to trace through the novel, recording...
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War of 1812 in the Old Northwest Territory
Students write 1-4 sentence answers to the Time Travel worksheet (available online). They design period costumes, orally present their perspectives to the rest of the class, and explain why this war played an important role in the...
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Using the Carbon Cycle Interactive Game in the Classroom
An online reading and interactive game bring the path of a carbon molecule to life for your earth science explorers! As an assessment, learners can map out or write about their experience in the carbon cycle. Thoroughly written...
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"Remembering My Childhood on the Continent of Africa" by David Sedaris
David Sedaris is quite the story-teller. Read "Remembering My Childhood on the Continent of Africa" and follow it up with this two-page instructional activity. Readers will revisit the text to answer higher level thinking questions....
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Picture a Character
How would Jean-Etiénne Liotard paint the characters from "The Little Mermaid?" What would the main character from "The Little Match Girl" look like from Francisco José de Goya y Lucientes' point of view? After examining various paintings...
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Olympic Challenge
Have your class research a country related to the Olympics. They participate in physical education activities included in the Presidential Physical Fitness Test and write about their country. This is a very interactive plan.
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The Properties of Clay
Sixth graders determine the physical properties of clay by examining ceramic works of art. They evaluate local soil samples for suitability for sculpting and compare clay taken from soil to manufactured clay.
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Trailers Become Schools After Hurricane Katrina
Students share their thoughts about natural disasters, then read a news article about how life at an elementary school was changed after Hurricane Katrina. In this current events lesson, the teacher introduces the article with a...
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Baby Elephant Orphans Get New Home, Families
Students react to a series of statements about elephants, then read a news article about how workers at an elephant orphanage are working to return the animals to the wild. In the animal studies and current events lesson, the teacher...
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Close Reading of Thank You, Mr. Falker: Identifying the Superpowers of Reading
Third graders read excepts from the story, Thank You, Mr. Falker in order to gain practice in understanding an unfamiliar story by focusing on the details. They use a worksheet, embedded in the plan, which directs them to certain...
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The Race to Learn
Young scholars explore the history of education and race in the United States. By researching Supreme Court cases dealing with race and education, students examine the ways in which these cases have reflected changing social and cultural...
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Environmental Benefits of Recycling
Fourth graders understand the benefits of recycling. In this recycling literacy lesson, 4th graders read an article and identify the main idea. Students understand the process of transfer to the landfill and discuss how recycling helps...
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Millennium Santa!
Third graders decide what would make Santa look modern and in style. They write a descriptive paragraph that another student then reads. They try to draw the image conveyed in the writing. They read the paragraphs and match them with the...
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Cultural Effects of The Great Wall of China for the Chinese
Sixth graders write a three paragraph essay describing how three areas of their culture were affected by The Great Wall of China.
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Describing Your City and the Weather
Tenth graders explore how to describe the weather in their own town or city. They complete a paragraph that describes a city by filling in the correct words into the sentences in the paragraph. Students translate English weather...
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Short and Sweet
Students examine how to summarize information from expository text. They read an expository text and identify the important information from the reading. Students identify the topic sentence and write their own topic sentences.
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Essay Editing Lesson Plan
Students discuss reasons to edit their written work and observe how to correctly use proofreaders marks to correct a paragraph. In groups of four, students exchange previously written papers and write suggestions and comments for...
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Rachel's Life is in a Hole
Explore how lack of access to water impacts peoples' lives in poor countries. Through text reading and discussion, middle schoolers are presented with the story of a young girl who lives and functions with limited water resources. They...