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Five Elements of a Story
Here’s a graphic organizer that permits learners to chart the introduction, rising action, climax, falling action and resolution of a story. The PDF file can be customized to work with any narrataive.
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Examining Persuasive Literature
Examine persuasive literature and writing. In this persuasive literature lesson, pupils work through a variety of activities over the course of three weeks (each week is planned by day). The unit's purpose is to examine examples of...
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Use Literature to Teach Tolerance
Students listen as teachers read a different book or a different passage that focuses on the theme of tolerance. Students then write a paragraph each day to tell how that day's book/passage taught them the importance of tolerance.
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Picture a Business
Students create helpful books about local businesses to show what resources are available to their community.
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Introduction to the Poetry Unit
Students explore, analyze and interpret one form of poetry writing called Poetry Slam. They hear several examples of unexpected poetry and view a video of "Slam Nation." The books, "Hey You! C'mere: A Poetry Slam," by Elizabeth Swados...
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Historical Episodes
Young scholars choose a historical book set in the Civil War. They create a flow chart of the steps involved in producing a film. They select one scene and prepare props, costumes and setting for the scene.
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Myths of the Wild West
Students examine the Wild West as it was depicted in films and books. In groups, they compare this information to what it was really like as they find out in books. They also discover the role of the Native Americans in the Wild West...
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Across Five Aprils
Eighth graders are introduced to the novel "Across Five Aprils" written by Irene Hunt. They become familiar with the people, places, and events referenced in the story and comprehend the story of the Civil War. Students are given a...
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Exploring the Eras of the Emancipation Proclamation and the Civil Rights Movement
Eighth graders utilize many sources (books, computer, magazines, etc...) to research the eras of the Emancipation Proclamation and Civil Rights Movement and create a T-Chart comparison.
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Learning to Communicate with Dogs: The Importance of Training
Learners learn the importance of communication especially when it comes to animals. Students are shown video clips of a dog displaying unwanted behavior. Learners participate in a class brainstorm where they list ideas of how people...
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WRITING AN ARTICLE FOR A CHILDREN'S MAGAZINE
Students engage in the writing of a magazine article. They focus upon the reading of a children's fiction book and create an informative narrative. They create main ideas and supporting details for the article. The supporting of main...
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Anne Frank Diorama
Students create a diorama of the Secret Annex in which Anne Frank and her family hid during the Holocaust. In this Anne Frank diorama lesson, students brainstorm a list of ideas about the Secret Annex. Students create the...
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Courage of the Heart
Students research discrimination and how people fought against for the common good. In this discrimination lesson, students watch a movie about Alfred Blalock and Vivien Thomas. Students generate a list of words about discrimination....
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Dewey Decimal System -- Cataloging Collections
Students put their cataloging skills into practice. In this research lesson students examine the listed websites that feature Dewey Decimal classification. Students then collaborate to use the Dewey Decimal classification system to...
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Understanding Greek Mythology
Middle schoolers explore the role of Greek mythology in ancient Greek life. They discuss the origins of the Greek gods and goddesses, conduct Internet research, and present a project in the form of a dialogue between a Greek god and a...
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Character Sketch
In this language arts worksheet, pupils use the chart of words as a tutorial for writing a formal character sketch. The words are meant to make the description more vivid.
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A Creative Presentation
Students read chapter books by Gary Paulsen. In groups, they identify imagery presented in the book. Students locate 10 quotes, categorize each quote into one of the five senses, and then organize it and create a display of their three...
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Teaching Imagery with Gary Paulsen
Students read excerpts from memoirs written by Gary Paulsen as examples of how to write a narrative piece. They identify figurative language used and then they write a memoir of their own that contains imagery and figurative language.
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Something About Me
Students write a list poem based on a word that describes them. The teacher uses the poems to compile a book about students in the class.
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Putting the Truth in Writing
Students define "nonfiction" and describe what they view as the best pieces of nonfiction writing. They determine criteria to evaluate whether or not a piece of nonfiction writing is good, and list categories of nonfiction writing.
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Up Close With The Author
Students listen to the teacher read a book entitled, Hoot by Carl Hiaasen. In groups, students create KWL charts concerning the book, the author, and the author's writing style. In groups, students research topics about the book and its...
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Author Study
Students focus their attention on the study of one author's works - not just one book, but a variety of works written by the same author - to discover what themes and/or other commonalities might run throughout the body of one person's...
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THE POLITICAL DR. SEUSS
Students identify literature that conveys themes and lessons as they apply to various life situations and experiences. They discover some of the themes of Dr. Seuss's major books by viewing excerpts from and examining a selected film's...
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Meet the Press
Students give their book reports as oral "Meet the Press" type interviews. They team up with another student "reporter" and answer questions about main idea, details, and the point of view.