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Cultural Creation Myths
Students write original plays based on supernatural explanations of existence. In this cultural creation myths lesson, students listen to five different stories about supernatural creation. Students record similarities and differences in...
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Across The Centuries
Students analyze the American Bill of Rights, compare it to the English Bill of Rights and note the differences in an essay. They access websites imbedded in this plan to do their research, then present their findings to the class.
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Spirit Bear Speaks
Students read an online article about Canadian efforts to preserve Great Bear Rain Forest. They create ecotourism brochures on the forest and write and essay.
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Looking at Life through the Creation of Personal Metaphors
Students focus on the creation of personal metaphors, which are first illustrated in pictures and caricatures and then extended to descriptive/analytical paragraphs. They teach the lesson to others using their own personal metaphors as...
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Photography: Beyond the Snapshot
Students explore news photography skills. In this photojournalism instructional activity, students examine photographs from newspapers and magazines and discuss the attributes of quality photographs. Students complete a webquest at the...
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Photo Essay Semester Project
Students reinforce research and organizational skills with this project. They create a photo essay and conduct an interview with a person associated with their chosen topic. Pupils may choose to get their pictures from a digital camera,...
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Comparing Themes and Plots: "Young Goodman Brown" and "The Minister's Black Veil"
Learners read two stories by Nathaniel Hawthorne and write an essay comparing plots and themes. In this Nathaniel Hawthorne short stories lesson plan, students read "Young Goodman Brown" and "The Minister's Black Veil." After a class...
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Literary Analysis - Young Goodman Brown
Why is literary analysis so important? Readers explore writing a literary analysis by reviewing literary elements such as character, metaphor, plot, setting, simile, personification, and style. They read "Young Goodman Brown" by...
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Descriptive Paper - And Then There Were None
Learners explore And Then There Were None by Agatha Christie. In this characterization instructional activity, students locate passages that contain character descriptions and settings. Learners write a descriptive essay on the...
Thomas Jefferson Foundation
Personal Morals vs. Political Moves
Was Thomas Jefferson a hypocrite? That is the question facing class members as they examine excerpts from documents that relate to Jefferson's beliefs about slaves and slavery.
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Thesis Statements
Students explain the purpose of a thesis statement in an academic essay. They identify the two components of a basic thesis statement. Students identify, create and correct thesis statements.
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Mood and Tone
Students describe their current mood in several complete sentences. They compare their moods with moods set by authors through the tone of their writing. Students read a teacher prepared handout about mood/tone of writing. They write...
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How Tragic!
Learners study and interpret a classical tragedy and role play a character from the play. In this tragedy lesson, students discuss a specific work to discover the form, structure, and characteristics of the genre and interpret the...
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A Christmas Memory
Learners think about and remember a special Christmas they had with their family when they were younger. They write an essay using vivid descriptions that appeal to the senses.
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Pair-Share: Constructing Paragraph Order
Students write with controlled and/or subtle organization. They identify the main idea and explicit details. Students analyze paragraph and essay structure. They utilize context clues to identify organization.
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Defining Character Traits
Students read and analyze an extended definition in preparation for writing an extended definition of a CHARACTER TRAIT. They use analogy as a definition strategy to tailor writing to a particular audience. Finally, students SHARE...
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Language Arts: Who Am I?
Twelfth graders write self-identity essays of three to five paragraphs in length. They include topic sentences, transition words, and concluding paragraphs in their essays, They read their essays to classmates.
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Peer Pressure
Eleventh graders analyze the social impact media plays in relation to peer pressure. In this peer pressure lesson, 11th graders listen to Afroman's "Lets All Get Drunk" and read the lyrics. Students write about the song and view a party...
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Rubric Rating
Learners develop a rubric or scoring guide to assess newpaper articles. They rate the story and write the reasons for the rating. An Essay Scoring Guide is attached for reference.
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Organizing Paragraphs
Pupils brainstorm transition words, and utilize word list to order paragraphs and multi-paragraph essays.
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Who's Got Page 10?
Students participate in an activity that is aimed at increasing their organizational skills. They reorganize magazines that have been taken apart and scrambled.
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Philanthropy and You
Students define and discuss philanthropy. They research a philanthropist and write a three-paragraph essay summarizing what they have learned , including their own roles as philanthropists. They also plan and initiate personal acts of...
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The Mark Twain Project at the Principia School
Students read and write an analysis of The Adventure of Huckleberry Finn and write a paper on another Twain literary piece. In this Mark Twain lesson, students select a Mark Twain literary piece to write an analysis paper for the work....
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The Music and Message of Lauryn Hill
Students explore the music of artist Lauryn Hill and analyze the way she uses her music in a socially responsible manner. In this music artist lesson, students read the lyrics to Hill's songs and listen to some example songs. Students...