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The Union is Perpetual: Lincoln is Elected
Students view primary documents about the race for President in the time of Abraham Lincoln. In this election lesson, students prepare arguments for and against Lincoln using an analysis sheet. Students create a poster or cartoon to...
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Writing and Publishing Skills
Seventh graders experience the satisfaction of writing for a purpose; their self-selected piece be published for an audience. They write using techniques appropriate to the selected genre.
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Media Literacy Unit - Part 4
Seventh graders study how advertisers use techniques to sell their products. In this persuasive media lesson, 7th graders analyze media messages to find the advertiser's purpose. They examine different advertising techniques and their...
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Writing Letters for Human Rights
Students draft and edit a letter regarding human rights. They work in groups to select a cause, follow basic letter writing guidelines and draft a persuasive letter expressing their concerns. Students can also send the letters to a...
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Thomas Jefferson's Library: Making the Case for a National Library
Young scholars examine a letter written by Thomas Jefferson. In this lesson on the Thomas Jefferson Library, students discover a methodology for creative writing by examining Jefferson's letter to congress explaining why they should...
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Why is Sacagawea on the Golden Dollar?
Students research the decision to place the image of Sacagawea on the Golden Dollar, then write persuasive essays either defending or opposing this decision.
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A History of Conflict Resolution and the Jury System
Young scholars study the history of the jury system in the United States. They enact a number of different types of trials including trial by jury. They complete a worksheet that compares the trials systems before writing a persuasive...
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Down in the Dumps
After an introduction to municipal sludge, middle school ecologists consider the pros and cons of dumping in the Hudson River Canyon. The class is split into two groups: one to debate in favor or dumping and one to debate against the...
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Author's Day
Have your learners choose an author to study. One resource link gives a list of approved authors. Scholars read at least three works produced by that author and produce three separate book reports as well as a two-page author report....
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Global Warming and Climate Change
Students explore the environment by writing a persuasive letter. In this global warming lesson plan, students identify the key problems with our energy consumption in the United States. Students complete worksheets and write a letter...
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Making School a Better Place.
Students study the problems in their school and work on solutions for those problems. For this writing process lesson, students analyze a problem and work as a team to find a solution. Students present written and oral work to support...
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Dispute Over Slavery in Kansas Territory
Students analyze primary sources on slavery from Kansas Territory. In this Civil War lesson, students evaluate the antislavery and pro-slavery arguments and summarize key points. Students write a persuasive paper from the antislavery...
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Jim Thorpe: The Greatest Athlete of the Century
Students discuss what makes a sports legend. In this Jim Thorpe activity students analyze both the triumphs and tragedies of Jim Thorpe's sports career. Students then write a letter persuading their representative to name Jim Thorpe the...
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"The Westing Game" Activities and Lesson Plans
You can use a novel, such as "The Westing Game", to teach reading concepts and skills in a way that keeps students interested.