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Houdini
Young scholars examine Houdini, and his legacy in the world of magice. Also, they explore documentary techniques that help tell a story. In addition, they perform a magic trick and discuss what goes into a magic act.
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Japanese Folktales: Animals and Demons
Students compare and contrast the stories from different cultures by studying the folktales of Japan and their use of animals and antagonist characters. Any activity in this lesson can be used as a separate lesson.
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Music to My Ears - Figures of Speech and Stylistic Devices
Students know the meaning of a given list of figures of speech and stylistic devices. They identify examples of these terms in the music and songs with which they are familiar. They examine how to apply the knowledge of these terms to...
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Take One
Students review strategies used to read unkown words. They listen as the teacher reads sentences using a variety of reading fluencies and expressions. They read assigned parts of the play, "Peddler Polly and the Story Stealer" by Aaron...
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Political and Social Impact of World War II
Sixth graders study the life in Jewish ghettos during World War II and learn about tolerance and compassion. In this WWII activity, 6th graders discuss Jewish ghettos but with a mistreatment of the kids with stickers to signify the...
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Autobiography
Sixth graders read and write autobiographical sketches, determine the author's purpose in writing, and type paragraphs using WP utilities.
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Studying the Great Depression Through Novels
Eighth graders view pictures of life in a small town during the Great Depression in Illinois to gain an understanding of living conditions during the era. They read novels based on life of this era.
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Things Are Looking Up
Learners write a description of a person in their community. They brainstorm a list of role models and what qualities make a role model. They interview a panel of role models.
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Folktales Reflect Daoist and Buddhist Traditions
Tenth graders compare three Chinese folktales for their "messages" and literary techniques to see how they reflect Chinese Confucian and Taoist values. They discuss how folktales share certain subjects, characters, plots and themes.
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Slide-Tape Dramatization as a Way of Teaching Literature
Students select one song and write the lyrics on the blackboard. They segment the lyrics into meaningful phrases or sentences and visualize each unit of meaning to convey the message of the song. They select a different song and act out...
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Researching and Writing About Another Country's Holiday: Documenting and Communicating Information
This lesson is a culminating lesson which follows students researching, collecting citations, evaluating and selecting text, graphic materials and visual aids. In this concluding lesson, 5th graders discuss the assessment task and how to...
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Designing Visual Support For "The Greatest American" Speech
Pupils study several periods in American history, define the term "greatest American," and brainstorm possible criteria for selecting great Americans. They create a three to five minute persuasive speech along with visual aids to enhance...
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Encounter with an Interviewer
Pupils read the Mark Twain short story, Encounter with an Interviewer. They study "the interview" and discuss the role of the interviewer and the person being interviewed. They conduct mock interviews, constructing questions and...
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Shakespeare Character Analysis Using "Twelfth Night"
Eighth graders complete a six-week unit on character analysis for the play "Twelfth Night" by William Shakespeare. They conduct research and write a report, participate in a book talk, and create a character analysis assignment to...
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Tell Me a Whopper!
Sixth graders investigate tall tales as a literary genre. They listen to a number of tall tales to discover how exaggeration is used as a story element. They write and publish a tall tale using word processing software. They illustrate...
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The Class Garden Essay
Fifth graders use a class garden as inspiration for a specific writing assignment. They conduct research into different types of flowers in photo images taken with a digital camera. Students write a creative essay and draw a picture to...
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Most Wonderful Gift
Students discover that folktales reveal a great deal about the place in which they originate. They identify physical and human characteristics of a place and explain how culture influences the way people think. They illustrate cultural...
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Communication In U.S. Society; Radio In America
Young scholars see how radio began the modern consumer society, shaped societal views on peoples and cultures and changed family home life forever. Radio shrank the world by bringing far-away places, events, and individuals into peoples...
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The Talking Earth: a Research Lesson
Fifth graders read the book, "The Talking Earth" and research an animal that is found in the Everglades.
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Japanese Folktales
Students listen to examples of Japanese folktales and identify universal themes. Students construct a 'kamishibai' - a traditional Japanese storytelling prop - and dramatize a folktale through puppetry.
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Do a Ditty
Fourth graders work in cooperative groups to create a ditty to teach the characteristics that distinguish literary forms to younger students. The ditty is performed before the class.
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I Heard It on the Radio
Students develop a portfolio of information of contemporary musicians or individuals from the music industry.
