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Bringing Illinois into the Curriculum
Students of all ages are introduced to the geography of Illinois. Depending on the grade level, they participate in different activities which allow them to discover Illinois in the past and present. They examine the animals and...
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Jingle Bells
Second graders identify people of different ages, cultural backgrounds, traditions, and careers. They explain how they contribute to the community. Students sing a song to display the different Christmas traditions that are celebrated in...
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Environment: Understanding Change
Students predict changes that will occur in the environemt after trees are cut down around a house. They focus on changes in the hydrosphere, geosphere, biosphere, and atmosphere. By examining the rings in a tree's trunk, they...
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Rice Wreaths
Students create rice and glue holiday wreaths in this Art lesson plan ideal for the 1st or 2nd grade. The lesson plan can be adapted for older or younger students and includes an ingredient list and step-by-step directions for...
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Authoring Stories for Guided Reading
Students in a teacher education program write their own children's book. Using books already written, they review age appropriate for their grade level placement. They write their own story and illustrate it using various software...
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Youth Engagement
Students examine and then discuss opposite sides of controversial issues such as neighborhood curfews, lowering voter age, etc. They learn civic responsibility and cultivate tolerance for others' opinions.
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Amphipod Ecology
Students count amphipods under kelp wracks of varying ages to explain how long it takes for them to find their food source. They collect and represent the data.
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The Art of Making Paper
Middle schoolers discover the materials used to make paper in the late Middle Ages and coompare that to papermaking today. In groups, they analyze and compare the effectiveness, cost and value of the various materials available. They...
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Search, Discover, Discuss
Sixth graders use the internet to answer questions about Gutenberg's invention. As a class, they discuss their findings about society and technology in the late Middle Ages. They discover the influence of a certain group of people in...
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Media Collage
Students create "media Collages" out of labels from boxes, bottles, and cans, and other found objects in this Art lesson for all ages. Adaptations are included for younger and older students. Lesson also includes a writing option for...
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Creation and Interpretation of Voter Participation Graph
Ninth graders research information about voter participation in the United States based on age. They develop generalizations about voting patterns in the U.S and use Microsoft Excel to analyze the information.
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Toy Inventors Workshop
Eleventh graders investigate the technology of designing toys by conducting interviews with preschool age children. Ideas are obtained for making new types of toys. They design the toys and then use computer technology to share the...
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Express Yourself!
First graders work as a group to generate and play a game that displays an understanding of developmental level reading vocabulary based on a grade level checklist. This lesson really engages the creative side of your students!
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Kincaid Creatures
Students brainstorm a list of nocturnal and diurnal wild animals they see in their community and discuss how the animals would be different if they were living during the Ice Age. Using a handout, they discover how archeologists record...
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Live Paintings
Students research various works of art, write essays, and create live performance art pieces in this 2-day Art, History, and/or Language Arts instructional activity for 7th and 8th grade. The use of a digital camera to capture the...
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Student Led Staff Development: A Teen's Definition of Crisis
Students research an area that is relavent to their age level that concerns them. They work together to create a presentation to give to the faculty. They must use technology in their presentations.
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Problem-Based Learning With Chinese Art
Students form small, cooperative learning groups, research a major Chinese dynasty and present their findings to the classroom in this multi-day lesson adaptable to many different age levels.
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Social Studies: Micronesian Independence Day
Students pretend that they are visiting a relative in Micronesia and compare its Independence Day with the U.S. holiday. They compare the two countries' flags while older students in grades three through five create travelogues. Younger...
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Sixth Graders Express Themselves
Sixth graders create examples of expressionistic paintings using pastels, black paper, and chalk in this 6th grade Art instructional activity. Emphasis is on creating an emotion for the painting using simple lines and large shapes and...
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Georges Rouault Portraits
Students create portraits using brown construction paper, paints, and brushes in this 4th through 6th grade Art lesson. Emphasis is placed upon the artwork of Georges Rouault and the lesson includes resource links for background...
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Sweet Stuff
Eighth graders examine the artwork of artist Wayne Thiebaud and create paintings based upon techniques learned in this lesson for the eighth grade art classroom. Emphasis is placed upon the use of various textures, visual balance, and...
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Light Bulb Santa
Students create light bulb Santa's using old light bulbs, acrylic paints, ribbon, and cords in this art instructional activity for the second through eighth grade classroom. This is a great activity to do before winter break. A picture...
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I Give You My Heart
Second graders create hearts using stencils, pastels, construction paper, and tracing and cutting techniques in this Art lesson for the 2nd grade classroom. Emphasis is placed on the concept of repeating patterns. An ideal lesson for...
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Identity Box
Young scholars examine how the work (paid or voluntary) they do in the past, present, and future affects and is affected by the communities to which they belong. They realize that human beings' perceptions of one another based on age,...