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Street Art Project
Illuminate your playground with chaulk images. Young aratists use the web to research the work of Keith Haring. Groups then design their own piece of visual art and recreate their images on the school sidewalks of blacktop.
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What's in a Name?
Build conversation skills for your English language learners in this spoken language development lesson. In it, learners listen to descriptions written by the teacher prior to the first day of class which include predictions about the...
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Creating a Classroom Constitution
Youngsters identify and interpret the importance of having rules in order to maintain order at home, at school, in their community, and in the United States. They create a working Classroom Constitution that governs the classroom and...
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Philanthropic Behavior
Youngsters create class rules by determining the environment they would like to have in their classroom. They come to a consensus about how to have a safe, fair, fun learning environment by discussing the rules in the Karla Kustin poem,...
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Shadows & Light, Science & Puppetry
Lights, shadows, action, and inquiry await your artistic scientists. They explore the way light travels, absorbs, reflects, and transmits through shadow play. They create folktale-inspired shadow puppets, explore the science of light,...
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Mo Willems Author Study
Who is Mo Willems? Explore the author with your class. Learners read books written by Willems, compare and contrast the characters therein, and make predictions about what will happen. Finish off this author study by having small groups...
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"Who am I?"
Pupils of all ages work in pairs to find information about themselves and record a digital "Who am I?" They observe and measure each other, write clues, and illustrate before having others guess who is described.
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Think It, Write It, Create It
Help your scholars create a class story. They will write a page of the story and illustrate that page. Then they use a variety of digital technologies to make the story come alive. A variety of digital resources are recommended for the...
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Actions
Learners focus on plot and sequence as they read the story Sheila Rae, The Brave by Kevin Henkes. The entire class will follow along with the teacher as she reads and models her thinking about the plot of the story. When instruction has...
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Palace Adventure
Young language arts learners write and illustrate a short fantasy story based on the book Corduroy. First, learners need to develop a character. Then, through their writing and illustrations, they take their characters on adventures...
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Express Yourself
Reading with expression excites listeners of any age. They will discuss different ways to change their reading expression as they listen to the teacher read Froggy Goes to the Doctor. Then in small groups, they'll practice reading with...
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Ain't Gonna Rain No More
For this creative writing lesson, pupils listen to the song "It Ain't Gonna Rain No More", read the book adaptation titled I Ain't Gonna Paint No More!, and pay close attention to the rhyming scheme, punctuation and illustrations. They...
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Sequencing The Mitten
Practice sequencing as a comprehension strategy. Have your class listen to The Mitten by Jan Brett and participate in guided practice with sequencing events. Then divide everyone into three groups based on understanding for independent...
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The Daily Scoop
Pupils report classroom news. First, they write complete sentences using adjectives and adverbs to describe events. Next, they take turns presenting interesting news to the class using appropriate volume and clarity. As an extension,...
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American Flag History
Young historians explore US culture by investigating the US flag. They will use their textbooks, prior knowledge, and sources provided by the teacher to research the history of the American flag. They will design and create a trading...
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Music Conducting: Classroom Activities
Turn the class into a percussive orchestra and let the kids take over as conductor. You'll explain a few ins and outs of what a conductor does. Then you hand over the baton and let your budding Beethovens conduct each other as they play...
Creative Educator
Dream Room Design
Junior designers brainstorm the elements that a bedroom might have, such as a bed, television, and dresser. They identify which items are needs and which are desires. They practice measurement skills in the classroom by determining its...
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The Beginning, The Middle, & The End
Cut magazine pictures into three sections, having your youngsters piece the pictures back together. With this fun activity, they discover the importance of sequencing a story. Then they use a fun template (shaped like a burger) to write...
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Swing Your Partner!
This was written for ESOL learners, but could work for any elementary class. Learners read about the American dance style known as Square Dancing. They explore its use in literature, write a friendly letter about it, and then use their...
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One Grain of Rice
Upper graders read the story One Grain of Rice, and use a Venn diagram to compare and contrast topics found in the story to current event topics today. Groups of three learners work together to create their diagram. The topics they must...
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Snack Tectonics
Yum! Using graham crackers, dried fruit sheets, and frosting, tectonics technicians demonstrate the different types of plate boundaries. If you want to encourage youngsters with an activity that is both educational and edible, then this...
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Playin' the Blues
Students explore history and sounds of blues music, construct instruments from scrap materials, and compose music to accompany lyrics of songs for kids.
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Wildlife Along the Mississippi River
Students create a class book about the wildlife that lives in and near the Mississippi River.
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Celebrate With Silhouettes
Students explore history of silhouettes, and help create keepsake silhouettes, frame them, or use them to make a special Mother's Day card.