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Lesson Plan
Penguin Books

An Educators' Guide to Between Shades of Gray by Ruta Sepetys

For Teachers 7th - 10th Standards
Books can help teens understand complex global issues. A helpful educator's guide introduces readers to what it's like to be a refugee. Lesson components for the novel Shades of Gray include an anticipation guide and writing and research...
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Lesson Plan
Penguin Books

An Educator's Guide to Matched by Ally Condie

For Teachers 7th - 10th Standards
Even supposed Utopian societies have their flaws. Using an educator's guide, individuals explore the society Ally Condie creates in Matched. Reflective writing prompts double as discussion questions and cover key themes in the novel, as...
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Lesson Plan
Penguin Books

The Omnivore’s Dilemma, Young Readers Edition

For Teachers 6th - 8th Standards
As the saying goes, you are what you eat. A useful set of lesson plans encourage young readers to take a second look at their eating habits. Pre- and post-reading questions bring in reflective writing and discussion while extension...
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Lesson Plan
Penguin Books

One for the Murphys by Lynda Mullaly Hunt - Teacher's Guide

For Teachers 5th - 8th Standards
Children in foster care face a lot of uncertainty in their lives. A guide for the novel One for the Murphys introduces a main character, Carley, who is thrust into the foster care system. Chapter-by-chapter questions cover key details in...
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Unit Plan
Penguin Books

The Curriculum Guide for The Secret Hum of a Daisy by Tracy Holczer

For Teachers 5th - 10th Standards
The death of a parent can turn a child's world upside down. A curriculum guide for The Secret Hum of a Daisy explores defining moments in the main character's life, including the loss of her mother. Chapter-by-chapter discussion...
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Lesson Plan
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Benjamin Franklin Tercentenary

Choosing a Trade in Colonial America

For Teachers 6th - 8th Standards
How did workers pick a trade in colonial America? Using a WebQuest approach, scholars explore life in the colonial era by looking at professions available to men like Benjamin Franklin. Individuals then apply their knowledge to create...
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Lesson Plan
Scholastic

Lesson 3: Essay Organizer

For Teachers 4th - 8th Standards
A three-minute exercise warms-up scholars' writing abilities in order to follow a writing process that ends in an essay. The essay's topic is a barrier and the values used to break it. Four steps include choosing a topic, jotting-down a...
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Lesson Plan
Scholastic

Lesson 2: Values and Barriers

For Teachers 4th - 8th Standards
Scholars investigate and discuss the importance of values and how they can be used to break barriers. Small groups work collaboratively to examine the text and draw inferences to answer questions. A writing assignment challenges pupils...
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Lesson Plan
Scholastic

Lesson 1: What Are Barriers?

For Teachers 4th - 8th Standards
Scholars discuss the concept of a barrier with a short passage on Jackie Robinson. The writing process begins with a paragraph and several other sentences about Robinson's unique traits that made breaking a barrier possible.  
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Lesson Plan
Adult Fiction by Jewell Parker Rhodes

Ghost Boys: Educator Guide

For Teachers 6th - 12th Standards
The spirit of the Civil Rights Movement lives on in a more literal than figurative way in Ghost Boys. A focused lesson plan features Jewell Parker Rhodes' novel about ghosts of slain black teenagers, including the main character, Jerome,...
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Unit Plan
Penguin Books

An Educator's Guide to the Works of Lynda Mullaly Hunt

For Teachers 5th - 8th Standards
Middle school years can be tough. An educator's guide for the works of Lynda Mullaly Hunt introduces readers to two texts that discuss the struggles pre-teens face during middle school. Chapter-by-chapter questions and activities for two...
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Lesson Plan
PBS

Hidden Messages in Spirituals

For Students 6th - 8th Standards
Slaves laboring in the cotton fields of the old South singing joyously may have convinced overseers that their workforce was happy and content, but in truth, these spirituals contained secret codes. After viewing a short video about...
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Activity
National Park Service

The Young Naturalist

For Teachers 4th - 8th Standards
Beginning with a brief history of our 26th president, Theodore Roosevelt, then followed by a discussion of his interest in nature, young scientists take to the outdoors to locate and observe local plants and insects. Scholars return to...
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Study Guide
Reed Novel Studies

Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH: Novel Study

For Teachers 5th - 8th Standards
The field mouse, also known as the meadow vole, is most active at night, so hide the cheese! Scholars research these interesting rodents and record three fascinating facts using the novel study for Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH. They...
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Study Guide
Reed Novel Studies

Moon Over Manifest: Novel Study

For Teachers 5th - 8th Standards
Manifest, Kansas is a town where anything is possible. Scholars explore the fictional setting using an engaging novel study on Clare Vanderpool's Moon Over Manifest. After answering questions about the text and complete a vocabulary...
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Organizer
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Newspaper in Education

Celebrating Black History Month

For Students 4th - 8th Standards
After examining the accomplishments of George Crum, Ella Fitzgerald, James Baldwin, and Ernie Davis, class members conduct research, compare their lives and accomplishments, and then select from a menu of projects to share their...
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Unit Plan
Annenberg Foundation

Colonial Designs

For Teachers 6th - 12th Standards
The adventures of the New World came at a cost for Native Americans. Scholars investigate the economic side of settling the European colonies. Using video clips, statistical evidence, and primary sources, they create hypotheses and...
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Study Guide
Reed Novel Studies

Ophelia and the Marvelous Boy: Novel Study

For Teachers 6th - 8th Standards
What do wizards smell like? A novel study for Ophelia and the Marvelous Boy walks readers through chapter one to help them answer the question. Scholars also practice vocabulary from the chapter and invent original similes.
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Study Guide
Reed Novel Studies

One-Eyed Cat: Novel Study

For Teachers 5th - 8th Standards
The Great Depression was a devastating period in American history that lasted for an entire decade. Using an enlightening novel study, scholars uncover additional facts about the era. They also write quatrain poems focusing on themes...
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Study Guide
Reed Novel Studies

Old Wolf: Novel Study

For Teachers 5th - 8th Standards
Do wolves ever attack humans? An informative novel study for Old Wolf helps pupils conduct research to answer the question. They also decode anagrams, learn about onomatopoeia, and write quatrain poems about themes from the novel. 
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Study Guide
Reed Novel Studies

Of Mice and Men: Novel Study

For Teachers 8th - 10th Standards
Why is personification such a popular literary device for many authors? Learners answer the question as they engage in activities from the novel study for the classic Of Mice and Men. They also scan the novel to find examples of the...
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Study Guide
Reed Novel Studies

My Side of The Mountain: Novel Study

For Teachers 5th - 8th Standards
Some money, a pocketknife, a ball of cord, and some flint and steel ... is that enough for a 14-year-old to survive alone in the wilderness? Scholars explore the topic of survival with the novel study for My Side of the Mountain....
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Study Guide
Penguin Books

A Teacher's Guide to the Signet Classics Edition of Jack London's The Call of the Wild

For Teachers 6th - 12th Standards
The Yukon provides plenty of opportunity for adventure. A study guide for The Call of the Wild by Jack London, also the author of White Fang, helps readers navigate the novel which is set in Yukon, Canada. Chapter summaries give a quick...
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Lesson Plan
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Digital Forsyth

Civil Rights and Active Citizenship

For Teachers 8th Standards
As part of a study of the American Civil Rights movement, class members search the Internet to find important facts, people, events, and pictures that they use to create a timeline of events between 1955 and 1970.