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Grandfather's Journey
Third graders explore world cultures by reading a children's story in class. In this Japanese heritage lesson, 3rd graders read the book Grandfather's Journey and identify the characters, setting and plot that takes place. Students...
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Back to the Farm
Read up on farming and ranching and connect this information to your learners' lives. After reading, send class members home to fill out a family tree and trace their family history, focusing on farming and ranching backgrounds. Once...
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Happy Birthday!: Internet Research and Historic Events
Talk about intrinsic motivation! Begin where your students' natural interests lie -- with themselves -- and launch a variety of projects with this activity. Class members research important events that took place on their birthdays....
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Come Fly with Me . . . Open a Book: Travels through Literature
This detailed overview of a curriculum unit suggests using travel literature to engage and stimulate your third graders’ interest in reading. The suggested reading list includes fiction and non-fiction materials and offers urban children...
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Learning Through Autobiographical Situations
A special education classroom examines a variety of literature from Latin American authors. In groups, they read excerpts from many autobiographies and compare them with their own life. After writing their own autobiographies, they...
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Colonial Maps
Students discover the history of America by identifying the traditional colonies. In this U.S. history lesson, students examine a world map and identify where the voyagers left from Europe to arrive at the United States. Students...
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Around the World in 5 Days
Learners explore continents, draw map, discuss cultures, use research to learn geography, and investigate cultures.
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Plants and Animals: Partners in Pollination
Young scholars describe the complementary relationships between pollinators and the plants they pollinate, identify adaptations that flowers have developed to "encourage" pollination, and create and draw their own "designer" flowers.
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Read All About It! Events and People of the 1930s and 1940s That Shaped California and the Nation.
Students look carefully at four photographs by Dorothea Lange and discuss them in terms of what is depicted and what she may have wanted to communicate. They review what they learned about the Dust Bowl, the Depression, the war era, and...
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Jewish Heroes Congress
Young scholars explore Jewish heroes throughout history. In this character development and history instructional activity, students work in groups to research a Jewish hero. A life-size model of the hero is constructed. Young scholars...
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Famous African Americans Mini-book
Young scholars develop understanding of prejudice as they study famous African Americans. For this African American lesson, students become familiar with various African Americans and the obstacles they faced and overcame. Young...
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Create a Holiday
Students create their own holidays, describing them in booklet form. They develop the holiday's name, symbol, colors, food, and historical significance.
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Battering Through the Seasons
Learners define bartering and barter to investigate supply and demand. In this bartering instructional activity, students read A New Coat for Anna and recall how they exchanged merchandise in the story. Learners complete a sequential...
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Community Treasures (Rivers and Trees): An Integrated Curriculum Unit
Third graders demonstrate an understanding of geography and its effects on lifestyles and culture. Then they apply basic economic terms and principles
and identify the United States government and history. Students also identify and...
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The Fable of Franny And Her Fabulous Fainting Goat
Mix the art of reading comprehension with the skill of telling time. Children in grades two and three will discuss the importance of goats throughout history based on the provided background information. They'll create cute goat clocks...
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Life on Plymouth Plantation
Third graders research life of Plymouth Plantation and write letters about life there home. In this Plymouth life lesson, 3rd graders complete a webquest as they gather information about the journey to America on the Mayflower and the...
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Imagine This
Students practice visualizing as they read to aid comprehension. They then read a chapter in their history book and visualize what they read so that they can answer comprehension questions about the chapter.
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What Kind of Vessel Are You?
This is a strange question; but what kind of vessel would you be and why? After examining images of a large Inca jug, the class sets to writing a creative narrative that answers that very interesting question. They start by researching...
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Talking Rocks
Third graders consider the differences between pictographs and petroglyphs. They create symbols from a story about their worlds. They make pottery art.
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Conflicting Views
Students complete a Venn diagram comparing the United States and Afghanistan. They research the history of the Taliban and how they relate to the United States and its foreign policy. They write a paper on possible solutions.
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The Westward Movement
Students study the westward movement through examining stamps. In this westward movement lesson plan, students draw conclusions, determine cause and effect relationships and examine the westward movement of the United States by...
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Philately
Students examine the history of stamps, the working of the postal system, and how stamps are used in our lives. They create a collage using stamps. They create a new stamp honoring a special event, person, etc.
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Write Your Own "I Have a Dream" Speech
Students listen to King's famous "I Have a Dream" speech. They use a fill-in-the-blanks worksheet to express their dreams for the world in a format similar to King's speech.
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Gathering, Traditions, and Nutrition of Our Food
Students gain a better understanding of what it means to eat seasonally through learning about traditional hunting, gathering, and food preparation methods of Athabascan tribes. By interacting with Native American Elders and...