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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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Scrapbook
Students, using photos as their inspiration, develop six personal narratives, then edit and revise them.
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The Living Museum: George Washington, the Slave Owner
Eighth graders bring early America to life. In this George Washington lesson, 8th graders listen to a lecture about the first president, explore the relationships he had with his slaves, and research the backgrounds of some of his...
Winterhill School
Poetry Analysis
Gain greater insight into poems using a poetry analysis worksheet. Here, scholars follow steps and answer questions to dissect any poem. Topics include the poem's meaning, theme, technique, and structure, as well as personal thoughts and...
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Personalized Postcards
Middle schoolers create and send postcards to friends and family members. Using actual photographs, they write a rough draft and final draft of a paragraph and print it out to glue onto a postcard template to mail to their friend or...
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A Little Mystery and Intrigue in Writing Short Detective Stories
Students read and analyze the twelve short stories in the novel "The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes." They create their own detective that has to solve a new kind of crime, and write and edit a short story with their original detective as...
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Exploring Islamic Lands
Students explore the culture of the Middle East. In this Islamic culture lesson, students conduct research to create personal narratives that reveal what life is like in the Middle East for Islamic teens today.
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Journal Writing: Daily Activities
Students use present tense verb endings by describing his/her routine daily activities, demonstrating verb endings. They listen to teacher's description, taking notes. They write their own journal entries about their own daily routines.
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Autobiographical Talking Sticks
Students begin the lesson by developing a map of their lives. Individually, they take this information and write a personal narrative. They create symbols to represent the various times in their lives and introduce them into their...
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The Road to Success
Young scholars chronicle the main events in their lives so far. They draft, revise, and publish an anecdote. Students get to know their fellow classmates and they build a nurturing learning community. Young scholars take an interest...
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The Newspaper Article
Have your class participate in an interview activity using an informational text about the Amazon. After reading a Cultural Connections story about a person from the Amazon, middle schoolers write interview questions based on the text....
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Photo Essay
Students examine the process of writing a photo essay. They examine and select a personal photo or photo from a magazine, and brainstorm a story that can go with the photo. They identify an emotion to go with their picture, then write...
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Briar Rose: Anticipation Guide
Prepare your readers for Briar Rose with an Anticipation Guide that asks them to agree or disagree with a series of statements that reflect issues raised by Jane Yolen’s narrative about a young girl’s research into her grandmother’s...
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Voices of Our People: A Patchwork of Cultures
Students view a gallery of photographs online and list objective and subject observations of the photos. They develop questions about the photos and write first person narratives about them.
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Holidays: Ramadan and Eid
Students study ways some holidays are celebrated in this country, and share their experiences, the lesson focuses on Bangla students' celebration of Eid, an important holiday in Bangladesh for the Muslim People. Students make a class...
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Cause And Effect
Fourth graders read the book Stellaluna and cite sentences that show cause and effect in the story. In this cause and effect lesson plan, 4th graders also write sentences that show cause and effect in their own lives.
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YANG AND THE YOUNGEST AND HIS TERRIBLE EAR
Young scholars perform a web scavenger hunt to find information about the author of the book, YANG THE YOUNGEST AND HIS TERRIBLE EAR. They develop an understanding of how writers use personal experience to add voice to their writing.
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Interview! Magazine
Middle schoolers interview a subject and write a biographical sketch for a fictional magazine. In this interview lesson, students choose a person to interview and create two sets of questions. Middle schoolers conduct the interview....
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The Star of My Show
Students recognize how they are stars in their own rights. In this language arts lesson, students consider their personal achievements as they make a star mobile that includes written life event highlights.
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True Settlers of the Pacific Northwest: Who was there with Dr. John Mcloughlin?
Young scholars discover who was present when the city of Vancouver was founded. Using the internet, they research the various cultures of the area and which were present at the Hudson Bay Company. They discuss each person's role in how...
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Creating a Life Map
Students create their own life map in which they introduce themselves to each other by sharing what they are most proud of. They use a life map to expressive themselves creatively.
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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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Generating Power
Students construct a working model of a turbine and explain how water generates power. By the end of the lesson, they list the effects of Kingsley Dam on people, plans, and animals -- both positive and negative.
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Water Words
Students define words relating to water and its use in Nebraska. They listen to the story, Snail Girl Brings Water, list the water words from the story, and create a class dictionary.