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Step into the Painting: Social Studies, Literature, and Art
Travel back in American history to the era of slavery and abolition. After reading about the Underground Railroad, young historians examine a painting depicting the event, and write a narrative from the point of view of a person in the...
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Changing Seasons
Explore expository writing and using precise language in this descriptive paragraph writing lesson. Learners brainstorm prior knowledge about the changing seasons in Ohio. They describe seasonal items, view seasonal pictures from...
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The Popular Bully
Fifth graders investigate bullying and nonviolent ways to deal with bullies. In this conflict management lesson, 5th graders discover the definition for the word ahimsa and examine ways to incorporate that philosophy into their social...
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Journal Writing
Students examine the published diaries of Anne Frank, or Zlata Filipovic, to gain an appreciation for journal writing, a form of autobiographical writing in which the writer records personal thoughts, feelings, and experiences. They...
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My Secret War: Lesson 5
Fifth graders determine how freedom comes with rights and responsibilities through literature and poetry about World War II. In this World War II lesson, 5th graders use the letters in the word "infamy" to write an acrostic poem. They...
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Called to be just
Students write journal entries reflecting on how to impact the common good of the world. In this common good lesson plan, students learn about Mother Theresa, good character, and how to make the world better.
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Hyper for Expository Writing!
Fifth graders use the internet to research a plant or animal they read about in "The Talking Earth". Using notes, they develop a graphic organizer and use the main topics to create a HyperStudio stack. Using all of this information,...
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Life Along the Trail
Students explore the significance of the Louisiana Purchase and the journey of Lewis and Clark's Corps of Discovery. They read to explain a new topic and write to inform readers of the historic events they explored.
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We Are History: Family Stories
Young scholars examine their own family heritage and share family stories with the class. They differentiate between primary and secondary sources, and bring in and write about three artifacts from their family. They conduct an...
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Math Really Does Connect to the Real World
Students listen to parent speakers who discuss how they use math in their professional or personal lives. They take notes and write business form thank you letters.
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What's Behind that Mask?
Students use a "spider web" graphic organizer to record information about different types of masks they are familiar with. They write a paragraph about masks. Students read about Native American cultures and compare/contrast the...
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People in History- Anne Frank
Students examine discrimination and what it was like during WWII and today. In this writing and analyzing lesson plan, students read pasages from Anne Frank's diary and find connections between Anne's life and the life of people in our...
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I See The Rhythm : The Study of Blues and Jazz
Learners gain an appreciation for various types of music. Using the music of the past, they compare it with the music of today. In groups, they research periods in which blues and jazz were most popular and write their own piece of music...
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Treasure of the Silk Roads
Students generate world maps that act as creative writing prompts. The prompts reflect on the cultures and history of the past through their own experiences. Students create an original writing sample.
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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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Linking the Past with the Present
Fifth graders explore how Africans built South Carolina into an economic giant. They write an expository paper explaining how Africans and their descendants built the rice empire along the Carolina coastline. They write a persuasive...
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Greek Mythology in Art
Fifth graders recognize the specific mythological characters and their significance to Greek citizens, create representations of some gods and goddesses, and explore mythology as an attempt by earlier civilizations to explain natural...
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What is Brazil's Government Like?
Students compare and contrast the American system of government with that of Brazil. They research how the Brazilian govenment functions.
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Sense of Place: No River Too Wide-Bridges
Fifth graders discover the history of their hometown Des Moines River. In this U.S. Geography lesson students speak with Iowans that tell stories of the settlers and early villages near the Des Moines River. Students document their...
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Explore the Ocean
Learners explore the oceans from their origin. In this oceans lesson, students read and discuss excerpts from the Book of Genesis regarding the creation of the ocean. Learners then clean up a mock oil spill, measure the volume and area...
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A Vacation Expedition: Universal Design and Differentiated Instruction Lesson
Students plan a vacation to either a mountain, deep-sea location, rainforest or to the moon. In this vacation planning lesson, students research information about the location of their choice. They watch video clips on the SMARTBoard,...
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Matthew Henson: Heroic Explore Who Conquered Racism
Young scholars explore the concept of racism. In this character building lesson plan, students read a biography about a hero Matthew Henson. Young scholars discover the challenges he, and others, faced during a time of unfairness.
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Country Cookbook
Students, in groups, create menus for five traditional meals from a country of their choice. They create a cookbook that includes all the recipes and describes when the traditional dish would be served.
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History and Geography: Making a New Nation
Fifth graders examine the contributions of the different groups that built the American Nation. They identify the successive waves of new immigration, explain their attraction to America, and study the importance of Ellis Island.