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Harnessing the Olympic Spirit
Use the energy and excitement of the 2014 Winter Olympics to motivate your class to research and write.
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The Environment In The News
Middle schoolers explore environmental issues. Using a newspaper, students scan headlines for articles related to environmental or sustainability issues. From the article title, middle schoolers predict the article's intent and then read...
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Camp Newspaper
Fifth graders write newspaper articles about Camp Campbell. They discuss the vocabulary of news stories, read examples, brainstorm ideas, and choose a topic before writing the article. After editing the articles, they word process them...
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Summing the Disaster
Young scholars assume the role of a newspaper editor during the time of the Titanic disaster. They must search out the accurate answers to the questions: What? When? Where? Who? and Why? students then write their own newspaper article...
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Slanted Sentences
Students examine biased words in news articles, suggest synonyms, then rewrite the sentences to demonstrate how word choice can alter meaning.
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Pets are Popular with U.S. Presidents
Students discuss their pets and read about pets that have lived in the White House. In this current events instructional activity, the teacher introduces the article with a vocabulary activity and pet survey, then the students read the...
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What's the Story?
Students explore how the same news story can be presented differently through various journalistic styles. They discuss the unique characteristics of each style and find articles on the same event in each of the different styles.
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The Aftermath of War
Learners share their opinions on the war in Iraq. After reading an article, they identify the thoughts of President Bush on the conflict. In groups, they share their opinions for and against current United States policy in Iraq and the...
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Tour de Force on the Tour de France
Students explore the incredible obstacles that Lance Armstrong overcame to become the second American winner of the Tour de France. They choose a person whom they admire as the subject of a 'Man in the News' or 'Woman in the News' article.
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Finding Political Answers
Students discuss the 2006 midterm elections. They read an article about exit polls. They create a scavenger hunt using articles of the New York Times. They write a paper about the importance of midterm elections.
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Woody Guthrie: Ain't Got No Home
Students examine the music of Woody Guthrie and how the political and economic climate influenced his work. They read and discuss online articles, define key vocabulary words, take a Political Orientation Survey, and write a position...
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Where Were You?
Students examine various New York Times readers' reflections on the life and death of President John F. Kennedy, by reading and discussing "Readers Reflect on President John F. Kennedy." Students then write their own personal...
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High winds hit Oman
Students read a text on a severe storm in Oman. They review vocabulary, practice reading strategies and complete a vocabulary matching exercise. Afterward, they design and write a poster to tell people what to do before, during and after...
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TURNING POINT IN HISTORY:The War of 1812
Young scholars act as investigative reporters and research battles or events of the War of 1812. They write an original article, which may include a map, drawing, or illustration.
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Short Story Lesson Plan
Students read and discuss the short story, "The McWilliamses and the Burglar Alarm," by Mark Twain. They assume the role of the main characters in the story and write a humorous letter of complaint using a business letter format. They...
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Home Sick
Students discuss where everyday aliments could be treated. After reading an article, they discuss the life of a traveling nurse and how it differs from a hospital nurse. Using the internet, they research the requirements for taking...
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Too Free, Or Not Too Free?
Students create a survey that examines what level of electronic surveillance might be acceptable to members of the school and community. They poll the community, and analyze the results in the form of graphs and a written news article.
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Making History Relevant
Students maintain a weekly news journal in which they summarize current news articles and then relate them to topics previously studied in history class.
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Reporter's Notebook
Students research the geography and history of a major city in Iraq. They write a journal from the perspective of a war correspondent stationed in that city.
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Sgt. Humiston, Where are You?
Learners become familiar with the events of the Civil War. For this identification lesson, students use deductive reasoning to understand how the deceased soldier was identified. Learners view primary documents for...
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Photographs of the 1906 San Francisco Earthquake
Fourth graders study the details of the 1906 San Francisco earthquake including the fires that lasted for three days. They participate in discussion describing what they feel the city looked like after the earthquake and fires. They...
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The Weather Page-Comparing Data
Students examine weather patterns in the United States. In this weather lesson, students use a United States map to identify high and low temperatures in two states. Students compare the data and record their findings onto a chart.
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The Civil War
Students, examine The Civil War, from a variety of perspectives and assignments. After taking notes, they can choose from creating a front page newspaper article describing the fall of Fort Sumter, discuss the pros and cons of fighting,...
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Proofreading and Revising Articles for a Class Newsletter
Students submit their newsletter articles and a newsletter team proofreads them. Revisions are suggested. Writers revise their articles. Using a template from a word processing program, articles are typed in final form.