Great Books Foundation
Rattlesnakes
John Muir may be a friend to the natural world, but as a short reading passage confirms, he is no friend to rattlesnakes. As young readers learn about Muir's encounters with the dangerous creatures, they answer four comprehension...
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Instruments From Around the World
How much does the environment affect how and what man creates? Children explore the effect of the environment on primitive man as they research raw materials from a specific location. They use their findings to write a short essay about...
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A Photo Essay
Students create a photo essay and present it to the class. The students bring photos to use for their essay and develop a story using the photos. The students write captions including characters, setting, and plot for each photo. They...
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Learning About Evaluation
Students evaluate the essays of their classmates. In this evaluation lesson, students write two non-fiction essays on two different topics that they may choose. After a lecture on the aspects of the paper that will be evaluated,...
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Should We Allow New Mining in the Upper Peninsula?
Students compose an essay taking a position on whether or not a proposed
mine near Marquette, MI should be opened. Students defend their position addressing relevant issues through factual supporting details. Their essay includes an...
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Using Artwork to Develop Personal Narratives
Pupils use a work or art as a springboard to a personal narrative or descriptive writing. They represent an idea in an artistic product which connects to composition.
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Ode to the Ordinary
Ninth graders identify an ordinary object and write an ode for the subject. In this poetry writing instructional activity, 9th graders select an ordinary object and define its uses. Students then write an ode for the poem.
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Could You Elaborate on That?
Fourth graders engage in a lesson which teaches the parts of an expository essay and how to organize and write an expository piece from a given topic. After a lecture/demo, 4th graders utilize a worksheet imbedded in this plan which...
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Sensory Descriptors
Pupils feel items in a bucket and describe them using descriptive words. In this sensory descriptive lesson plan, students use words such as smoothe, rough, and bumpy.
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Survivor Vs. Canterbury Tales
Eleventh graders participate in activities that compare and contrast The Canterbury Tales with the television show, Survivor. They write a compare and contrast essay, and create a festival table and PowerPoint presentation.
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Character Traits and People in Black History
Third graders, after reading a one-page biographical essay, write in paragraph form how an African American has demonstrated a certain character trait.
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The Cause & Effect Model
Students analyze the plot of the story, "The Little Engine That Could" to provide a model for writing creatively, developing critical essays, producing themes, and making predictions.
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Buddhism-Nirvana Day: Meditation Article Planning Frame
In this Buddhism belief worksheet, students plan a strategy for writing a descriptive essay about meditation. After filling in an idea for an opening sentence, 4 key points, and interesting ending, students will have created a plan for...
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Me: A Visual Essay
Students familiarize themselves with photo editing and montage techniques. They create a montage that tells the viewer about themselves.
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Our Geometic World
Young scholars walk around the neighborhood and identify various polygons and lines in buildings, nature and other objects. They design a building using various geometric patterns, shapes and lines. Students complete a descriptive...
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Through Many Lenses: How are Countries Depicted by the Media?
If you plan to utilize the ABC miniseries, "The Path to 9/11" in your classroom, consider incorporating media literacy and research skills. After (or while) learners view the series, they discuss ways information can differ from source...
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Nahuatl Culture
Students read stories, look at maps, and write journal entries to learn about the language and artwork of Nahuatl culture. In this Nahuatl culture lesson plan, students research the Nahuatl culture and present their findings.
Novelinks
The Lightning Thief: Problematic Situation Strategy
In the novel, Percy Jackson and the Olympians: The Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan, Percy is faced with a major decision. After reading, chapter 19, discuss the decision-making process Percy took, what he decided to...
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The Class Garden Essay
Fifth graders use a class garden as inspiration for a specific writing assignment. They conduct research into different types of flowers in photo images taken with a digital camera. Students write a creative essay and draw a picture to...
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Writing a Fantasy Story - Time Travel
Students write a fantasy story about travelling back in time to the period of the Oregon Trail. They conduct research and take notes about the Oregon Trail, and write a first and a final draft of their short story about their visit to...
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Change Over Time
Students write a personal narrative that is designed to help them reflect on the nature and meaning of change in their lives.
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All About Me - A Poem
Second graders brainstorm unique qualities they possess in a All About Me worksheet. They write free verse poems about things that most people don't know about them. They brainstorm descriptive words to enhance their poems and rewrite them.
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Short Story Framework
The class gets creative after listening to a short story containing a definitive structure. They are required to think about character, relationship, and setting, while attempting to show rather than tell, in their writing. Dialogue,...