San Francisco Symphony
The 20% of Beethoven
Compare Beethoven's fifth symphony to latin music and disco. Learners will listen to and discuss the elements found in the first part of Beethoven's composition. They'll then look for the same elements in Tito Puente and Bee Gees songs....
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Author's Purpose
How do you determine an author’s purpose? You ask the author, of course. Invite a local journalist into the class to respond to scripted student questions about his/her writing process. A review of basic classroom etiquette is also...
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English/Language Arts Methods Project
Students design a webquest requiring higher order thinking and providing students with opportunities to reflect on their learning. They include an assessment tool to evaluate the process and product.
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Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs
Fourth graders participate in a play to work on seeing events from a different perspective. Some of them are reporters, some cameramen and women, and others are interviewed. They put themselves in the shoes of the people in the book...
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A Picture Says a Thousand Words
Students create a writing selection with a well-developed plot. They use a personal photograph in which they are visible to base their autobiographical writing. They write a description of the events surrounding the photograph in the...
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"Twilight" Music Provides Link Between Past And Present
Music appreciation lessons can use modern phenomena like "Twilight" to motivate students.
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Take Note2!
Learners practice the note-taking skills of Pocket Note Taking, Outlining, and 2 column note taking. They use pocket notes, outlining, and/or two-column notes to summarize information taken from web sites or other sources. Afterward,...
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The Other Tall Tales
Pupils research many different tall tales. They retell the tale in their own words and create an orginal tale of their own. They share their tall with the class along with illustrations.
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Using Southeast Asian Folktales to Teach Reading and Writing
Students use maps to locate the countries of Thailand, Vietnam and Cambodia. In groups, they compare and contrast the three countries in regard to their culture, morals and values. They read various examples of folktales and write their...
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Night by Elie Weisel
Pupils read "No News from Auschwitz" and answer the study questions as an introduction to the novel. They record reactions to the essay and compare with reactions after reading "Night".
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The Odyssey
Students write a dramatic scene based on The Odyssey and perform it for the class. In this living literature activity, students work in small groups to discuss the way the characters look, act, and sound. They then choose scenery and...
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Poetry
Fifth graders preview different poetry selections form different poets to narrow their criteria for a favorite poem. They use the web and written sources to find a favorite poem and then give an oral interpretation of their poem in class...
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Self Portraits Part 2
Sixth graders explore the concept of Cubist art. For this visual arts lesson, 6th graders examine examples of Pablo Picasso's work and they create self portraits in Cubist style.
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It's About the Author
Students develop print awareness. In this literature lesson plan, students memorize and recite nursery rhymes and listen to stories of Maurice Sendak and Ezra Jack Keats. Students draw pictures to illustrate read aloud books and dictate...
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Gandhi's Voice: Writing as Nonviolent Resistance
Ninth graders identify how Mahatma Gandhi used writing as a means of nonviolent communication. In this nonviolent resistance lesson, 9th graders watch a film about Gandhi as a writer and identify characteristics of nonviolent activism....
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Reading Lesson Plan
Tenth graders read the poem "Still I Rise" and discuss the different ways it can be told and read and brought to life. In this poetry lesson plan, 10th graders read aloud and silently, and compare different works of poetry.
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Make Way for Ducklings
First graders use skills to collect, organize, and interpret data. They compare and contrast two stories, Make Way for Ducklings and Chibi: A True Story From Japan. Students create a duckling.
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The Perfect Man: Benjamin Franklin's Autobiography
Eleventh graders study the characteristics of an autobiography. They read from the autobiography of Benjamin Franklin and discuss and write an essay regarding some of his quotes.