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Cowboys
Students analyze cowboy literature. For this United States history and literacy lesson, students listen to a variety of cowboy songs and poetry, view the video "Rediscovering America: The Real American Cowboy," and view related websites....
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Samuel's Choice - Social Studies Using Children's Literature
Fifth graders read a book about independence, freedom, and slavery. Students create a story map of the book. They research the causes of the Civil War. Students write a newspaper article from the point of view of an American colonist.
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Hispanic and English Literature
Eleventh graders listen to a brief history lesson about the 40's and 50's mid-West America and the Migrant workers that worked the fields. Next, learners will read a short story written by Tomas Rivera (both in Spanish and English)....
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Introduction to American Literature
Eleventh graders define freedom, write about what the Star Spangled Banner means to them, and in cooperative groups write a new verse to the national anthem.
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Goldilocks Revisited
Second graders investigate the story of "The Three Bears" while focusing on the character of Goldilocks. They answer key questions that are focused upon the development of positive feelings and reactions. Students discuss the possible...
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Famous People of Japan: Literature, Politics, Film, Television, Sports, and the Imperial Family
Students research biographical information about a famous Japanese, investigating how this person has impacted Japanese and American culture. Students then create an oral report and technological presentation based on the research.
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Ten Characters from American Folklore
Students read short stories about ten characters from American folklore. They match a statement about each character with the correct character. They then rewrite one of the ten stories in their own words (optional).
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Literature and Telecommunications
Pupils read a novel and write short journal entries about the characters, setting and interesting facts. Using email, they share their responses to the novel with other students at a different school. Student also create slide shows and...
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The Westward Movement
Learners study the westward movement through examining stamps. In this westward movement lesson plan, students draw conclusions, determine cause and effect relationships and examine the westward movement of the United States by...
National Endowment for the Humanities
Nathaniel Hawthorne and Literary Humor
Young scholars examine Nathaniel Hawthorne's style of humor and compare it to other humorists. They discuss the purpose of literary humor and determine how it develops characters and plots in stories. They analyze the use of different...
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"The Lottery"
Designed to open a unit on the suspense/horror genre, this plan hooks readers with an activity that mirrors the action of Shirley Jackson's short story "The Lottery" (without the grisly ending). Use either the twenty-minute 1969 film or...
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My Secret War: Lesson 5
Fifth graders determine how freedom comes with rights and responsibilities through literature and poetry about World War II. In this World War II lesson, 5th graders use the letters in the word "infamy" to write an acrostic poem. They...
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The Prince and the Pauper
Mark Twain, the famous American author, is often studied in the school system. Use "The Prince and the Pauper" to analyze the differences between the text and its video version. This lesson includes several culminating project ideas for...
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What Are the Advantages and Disadvantages of Conforming?
Dive into Arthur Miller’s The Crucible and determine what it means to conform in society, and discuss as a group with the thoughts and plans available in these documents. Included are multiple activities and brain targets that form the...
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Class Memorial
What is a memorial and what should it look like? Learners will choose what they believe is important to remember about September 11 and how it should be displayed. They work in groups and brainstorm details about the memorial and present...
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Japanese Folktales
Students read both Japanese and American folktales and respond to teacher generated questions. They compare the folktales and determine if there is a lesson plan to be learned. They draw story card to retell the story to the class.
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Culminating Activities for Sharon Draper’s Novel Copper Sun
Student examine the elements of literature. In this literature lesson, students follow the provided procedures to review the novel Copper Sun by Sharon Draper.
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Celebrating Asian and Pacific-Island Heritage
Students complete a variety of activities surrounding Asian Pacific American Heritage Month in May.
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The Witch of Goingsnake
Students identify figurative language in a proverb and write an interpretation of the proverb prior to reading The Witch of Goingsnake. In this The Witch of Goingsnake lesson, students read a native American proverb and determine whether...
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Take Me Out to the Ballgame
Students study the American sport and history of baseball. In this baseball lesson, students complete three levels of units to learn about baseball.
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Longfellow Amongst His Contemporaries: the Ship of State Dbq
Students evaluate the ship of state metaphor in relation to the historical events in America from the Revolutionary War to the Civil War. They synthesize ideas presented in ten different primary source documents and compose an essay...
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Grappling with Identity in Latino Poetry
Learners identify some common themes involving the Latino immigrant experience as conveyed through a variety of media, explore issues of identity in some examples of poetry written by Latinos and learn some basic poetry reading strategies.
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The Search for Identity: "Their Eyes Were Watching God"
Students read the novel "Their Eyes Were Watching God". While reading the novel, they identify and discuss the figurative language used and use a passage of interest to them and analyze it in a written paper. They also discuss events...
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Indians of the Plains
Second graders, in groups, explore the Plains Indians and explore how the physical climate of the Plains region affected their lives.