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A Family History
Students investigate their family history through pictures and writing. For this family history lesson, students research family, culture, food, music, religion, and clothing. Students gather pictures of their family and events. Students...
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Unit Plan for Mark Twain and American Humor
Students create brochures about the humor of Mark Twain. In this literature-analysis lesson plan, students read "The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County" and other short stories by Twain. Students write analytical paragraphs and...
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Carousel Brainstorm Book Report
Students participate in a group review activity to analyze and discuss a book they have all read. They write a paragraph summarizing the findings related to one of the topics. Older students might summarize three topics or all the topics.
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Gummy Bear Math
First graders predict, collect data, and create a graph based on gummy bear colors they are given. For this graphing lesson plan, 1st graders first predict how many colors of gummy bears there are. They then count the colors, graph them,...
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Camouflage: A Study of Stealth and Survival
Students study insect camouflage. In this organisms lesson, students design and create their own 3D insect models to blend into a habitat. Students write a paragraph about the camouflage their insect has and explain how their insect is...
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Visual Arts: Art in Public Places
Students create 3 dimensional art. In this sculpture lesson, students collect objects that represent their community's values to include in a 3 dimensional sculpture. Students write a paragraph explaining the chosen theme of their...
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Diversity of Trees
Fourth graders explore the uses of trees, In this trees lesson, 4th graders discover the uses of trees and how we use them everyday. Students collect items and decide if they are made from trees, have a scavenger hunt for wood products...
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Louisiana and Canada: Understanding Acadian Cultural connections
Ninth graders investigate why Acadians moved to Lousiana. In this geography activity, 9th graders research the migration of Acadian to Louisiana and how that influenced the culture. Students analyze a list of cultural...
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Descriptive Writing
Students write a description of an animal. In this descriptive writing lesson, students discuss ways to write to appeal to all five senses. Students then describe an animal in a paragraph and pair up to guess the animal.
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All Around the Neighborhood - Part 3
Second graders illustrate the roles, responsibilities, and skills of community members and write a paragraph that summarizes the importance of those roles, responsibilities, and skills. They are asked: "What is a role?" Students are...
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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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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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When A Story Met A Sandwich
How is a story like a peanut butter and jelly sandwich? Use making a sandwich as a metaphor to remind your writers that a good, solid beginning, a rich and rewarding middle, and an ending that brings everything together spices up a...
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Middle School Writing: Semester Goals
Seventh graders practice their writing skills by identifying their goals for the semester. They write an essay of four paragraphs and then combine all the information into one. As a class, they create a contract for each of them to use...
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Narrative Writing Outline
Students explore the elements of a narrative for its purpose, type of audience, mood, main character, minor characters, setting, and conflicts in the story. A story outline is developed and a five paragraph essay composed in this...
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Turning Historical Descriptions into Causal Claims
Eleventh graders study different political processes. In this American Government activity, 11th graders read narratives about different political processes. Students write a sentence in their own words describing the concepts.
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Multi-sensory Writing
Students use their senses to help describe special place they have been. They write short sensory-image essay that incorporate all five of their senses, and identify sensory language while reading different pieces of literature.
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WRITING AN ARTICLE FOR A CHILDREN'S MAGAZINE
Students engage in the writing of a magazine article. They focus upon the reading of a children's fiction book and create an informative narrative. They create main ideas and supporting details for the article. The supporting of main...
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From Ordinary To Extraordinary Writing
High schoolers investigate the quality of writing while focusing on the use of sensory words to convey meaning and ideas. The power of similes and metaphors is emphasized while they create and edit works of writing. The skill of...
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Writing with Colorful Adjectives
Students use colorful adjectives when using their response journals responding to the book The Sign of the Beaver. In this adjectives lesson plan, students also correct a paragraph that has 10 incorrect adjective forms.
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Writing A Thanksgiving Day Story
Students write a Thanksgiving Day Story using some or all of the words included in the worksheet. These stories can be fiction or non-fiction (Personal Essays). They are graded on sentence structure, paragraph structure, grammar,...
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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.
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Writing a Fable
Middle schoolers are introduced to the definition of a fable in that it is a story that has a moral for people to apply in their lives. They then read a fable together so they have a better understanding. Next, students write their own...
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Writing a Biography - Helen Keller
Students write a biography of Helen Keller. This lesson plan takes more than one class period. They may have to do the research during a class period, and then them write their paper at home or during class the following day.