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The World Around Me
Combining visual and language arts, here is a resource that prompts middle schoolers to write stories based on pictures of their surroundings. They use digital cameras to take pictures of favorite areas in the school. Next, they choose...
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Native American Clay Pots
Learners explore world culture by conducting an art project in class. In this Native American culture lesson, students identify the types of materials American Indians utilized in their artistic endeavors, specifically clay. Learners...
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Thumbs Up For Movie Reviews
If your class loves movies, this instructional activity is sure to interest them. After discussing the purpose and structure of movie reviews, young writers compose a movie review and discuss why people may read a review before they go...
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Pretty Plants Point of View
Young poets use Kidspiration to draw a flower, personify the flower, and write a poem from the flower's point of view. Sharing these poems in small groups will reinforce learners' knowledge of personification.
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A Moment in Time
Fifth graders research a year in history. In this research lesson, 5th graders choose a year between 1801 and 1999 and write three research questions to answer about their year. Students must include three major events and investigate...
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Flags as Tools to Share Identity
Students compare flags, locate states on map with flag picture or miniature. Read a newspaper article outlining five vexillology standards for rating flags. They develop a personal flag with an essay interpreting their flag to the reader.
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The Flat WSD Students
Students engage in creative writing and performance using Flat Stanley. After reading Flat Stanley your class summarize their understanding and then create a flat image of themselves. Students then brainstorm ideas of how they would...
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Wiki Comment: The News and You
Kids explore the world of news media by creating a wiki page. They will create a wiki page on the Internet in order to comment on and question the stories that take place in the world. They will practice creative writing by summarizing...
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Mr. Lincoln's Whiskers
Learn about the events that helped shape the United States of America. Elementary schoolers explore the Civil War with six different activities. Each activity has a different focus: literature connections, primary sources, vocabulary,...
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Animation Pre-Production
Does your class love reading cartoons? Use their talents and interests to examine the process of writing a story they wish to tell through a cartoon. They develop the beginning, middle, and end of a story based on their original...
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Write a Story
Elementary writers will create short stories with their classmates' help, publishing the books using computer programs. The first learner writes a sentence to start the story, and each classmate adds a sentence to the story. The original...
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Who Am I?
Students complete an acrostic poem and use digital photo activities for the poem. For this acrostic poem and technology lesson, students use Word Art and digital cameras to create a technology integrated acrostic poem.
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Literacy as a Force in the World
Students research and compare economic factors and data mining in Nepal. Students look at data to determine how the Nepalese quality of life compares to other countries and predict whether the literacy rate indicates or influences the...
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Advertise a State Vacation
Students create a brochure advertising a state for vacation. In this internet research lesson, students do research on a state and create a brochure with the information. Students write a commercial and videotape them.
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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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Heading West
Students study the concept of the westward expansion. In this exploration of the western U.S. lesson, students participate in different activities that explain economic hardships, jobs, and land opportunities. Students describe...
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Different! Diverse! Dynamic! What Do Stories Share?
Students compare and contrast the stories, "Leo, the Late Bloomer," and "Thank You, Mr. Falker." They develop a Venn diagram, and write and illustrate the central theme of the stories.
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Postcards from Somewhere
Students correspond with e-pals about their community. In this cross curriculum geography, technology, and literacy lesson, students complete a postcard webquest about their home location including local photographs. Students e-mail...
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Underground Railroad
Students explore the Underground Railroad. In this U.S. history and technology lesson, students research an assigned topic related to the Underground Railroad, such as "abolitionist," "conductor," or "station houses." Students design a...
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Sim's Cities
Students investigate city management and government by creating a fictional city in groups. In this civics instructional activity, students create rules and a mascot for their fictitious city which they create from poster board cubes....
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Extra! Extra! Hear All About It!
Learners summarize their weekly class activities by writing a newsletter. In this journalism instructional activity, students create a multimedia presentation for their parents based on the classroom events that took place during the...
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Biography Report- Learning Microsoft Word
Learners learn how to use Microsoft Word. In this biography lesson, students participate in mini-lessons on key features of Microsoft Word and then use it to write a multi-part biography report.
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Critical Thinking & Writing: Brainstorming
Have your young writers organize their thoughts before writing. They generate ideas through various brainstorming activities prior to writing a mock feature news story for USA Today. A series of USA Today articles debating the level of...
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What About Us? Women in the Civil War
Learners research the role of women in the Civil War. In this Civil War unit, students research the role women played during the war. This unit includes eight different activities including vocabulary, writing prompts and a literature...