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High Profiles
Students research and write newspaper articles about current world leaders, using a New York Times International article as a model. They research a current world leader's personal background and political history.
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Secret 'Lives'
Students read an online article in preparation for researching a period in history and interviewing someone who lived during that time. They investigate how they have participated in history.
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Picking Up the Pieces and Putting them Back Together
Students examine how a breaking news story is constructed, first by predicting what facts and details must appear in what order, and then by assembling the story from cut-up pieces. They practice writing their own 'breaking news' lead...
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Reporting in Letters
Young scholars investigate the cultures and politics of different countries and write radio letters to listeners in those countries modeled after Alistair Cooke's "Letter from America."
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Use The Polar Express to Develop Rich and Detailed Writing
Bring The Polar Express into your middle school classroom to spark the creativity of your emerging writers.
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Narrative Writing
Binoculars are used as a metaphor for good descriptive writing. Class members first view a small picture and then an enlarged view of the same image in which the details come into focus. Next, learners examine a paragraph lacking sensory...
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Diaries And Memoirs
Students analyze how personal diaries and memoirs record actual events. They compare and contrast diaries and memoirs from the Holocaust. They engage in journal or diary writing as a way to explore one's own feelings and self.
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"Me" Resource
Learners elucidate themselves by writing up to six entries in different formats. Some formatting choices include a dictionary, encyclopedia, or atlas entry, a magazine article, a newspaper article, and a table of contents. Some...
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Lesson 3: Writing a News Story
Start a writing lesson by examining a news video that explains writing clearly, concisely, and correctly. Learners consider the importance of writing news properly to avoid breaking the law, then write their own weekend news stories.
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Write a Short Story
Young scholars compare two paintings, depicting urban life in America in the 1940's, answering a series of questions, then create a short story about the paintings' characters. They compare 'Nighthawks' and 'Nightlife.'
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Spinning My Tale
Begin writing personal narratives in this writing instructional activity. Junior high writers start by writing a journal about their favorite holiday. They read a book at their skill level and use graphic organizers to record their ideas...
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The ABC's of the Three Little Pigs
Writers use varied sentence patterns. They listen to the story of Cinderella rewritten so that each sentence starts with the next letter of the alphabet. They create their own version of The Three Little Pigs using the same concept.
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The Legend of Sleepy Hollow
Explore Washington Irving's "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow" in this literature analysis lesson. Middle schoolers read and summarize the plot of the story. They then adapt passages for a contemporary audience and analyze the...
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Seed To Plant
Middle schoolers are introduced to alternative methods of growing techniques: specifically, hydroponics. They, in groups, "adopt" a seed. They take care of their seed and make observations as it begins to germinate.
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Choose Your Words Wisely
Improve word choice! Writers use dictionaries and thesauruses to aid them in choosing exciting words to incorporate in their writing. They rewrite sentences and practice identifying words that can be replaced using a better word. Flip...
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Begin the Writing Process
Get ready to write persuasive pieces! Emerging writers select topics, plan arguments, and gather evidence to write persuasive essays. Supportive handouts are provided. The argument chart is particularly helpful, as it includes a space to...
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The Story of an Old Piano
Students read excerpts from The Story of an Old Piano. They choose a personal object and write paragraphs from the object's point of view. Their stories can be bound for the class library.
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What Is Cool?
Students compare versions of the song, "So What," recorded by Miles Davis and Marcus Miller. They explore the Ken Burns Website to discover more about Davis and journal their thoughts about him and his music.
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Writing to Persuade
Middle schoolers discover effective writing techniques to create persuasive essays. In this writing instructional activity, students investigate ways to express facts and points of view through persuasive essays. Finally, the middle...
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Persuade Me
Students develop their writing skills. In this writing strategies lesson, students examine persuasive writing techniques on order to write persuasive mailers.
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Beyond the Printed Word
Students investigate the effects of television and radio on culture. In this journalism lesson, students consider how electronic media has shaped journalism as they create timelines that feature the changes and compare and contrast print...
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Introduction to the Writing Process: Character Description Essays
Students analyze and evaluate an essay and write a character description. In this character description lesson, students read and analyze an essay in a teacher-led lecture. Students brainstorm then write a well-developed essay...
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Family
Pupils use Microsoft Word to create the family newsletter which can be mailed out with the family Christmas cards.
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Planet Protectors
Students explore ways to protect the earth. In this environmental issues and technology instructional activity, students investigate the water quality in their community and compare their findings to the water quality in other...