Whitewater Valley Railroad
Teaching and Learning with The Polar Express
Use a series of extension activities to enhance your class reading of Chris Van Allsburg's holiday classic, The Polar Express. From a biography of the author to filmed book reviews and research about the railroad, kids can take...
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The South, the North and the Great Migration: Blues and Literature
Here is a complex lesson plan that interweaves the history of the Jim Crow South and the Great Migration with the study of poetry, art, and blues music from the Harlem Renaissance. The plan helps young historians develop a deep...
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Let's Plan a Trip!
Take a virtual trip to see other countries and cultures! After learning about different cultures and populations, English learners think about a place they'd like to visit. Small groups or individuals plan a trip to a country...
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A Colony is Born : Lesson 11 - Group Presentations and Summatives
Fifth graders give presentations on colonial research. The others take notes on the presentations. They play a card game which helps them review content. They take a summative assessment and present their research notebooks.
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A Christmas Carol Exploration
Seventh graders explore the history of Christmas by researching classic literature. For this holiday lesson, 7th graders read the story A Christmas Carol and discuss the tone of Charles Dickens' classic literary work. Students answer...
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Beyond Media Messages: Media Portrayal of Global Development
Students discuss global development and create a graphic representation of the discussion. In this media analysis lesson, students deconstruct disaster coverage by reading articles and identifying missing information. Students research...
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Bringing Justice Home ~First Steps toward Community Action
Students explore activities that might some day bring "justice for all" to their communities. They assess how justice is a day-to-day, life or death matter that faces their communities. Interviews are conducted to explain how justice is...
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Propaganda Flyer
Fourth graders create a persuasive flyer to sway the opinion of the class on a controversial issue. They read assigned editorials representing the viewpoint that they must defend.
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Origami
Students investigate Japanese culture by creating origami. In this Asian heritage lesson, students utilize the Internet to view origami tutorials which they use to create birds and other animals. Students discuss what...
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Power and Authority
Fourth graders study authority and power as its used in government. In this government lesson plan, 4th graders define power and authority. Students then read different scenarios of authority and power examples in people as well as...
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Russia and Eastern Europe
Students study Russia and Eastern Europe. They select from a menu of option activities to demonstrate their knowledge of both countries including preparing meals, reading Russian works of literature, analyzing political cartoons and...
Judicial Branch of California
A New Constitution….Your Turn!
It's the 1700s, and while returning home from the Constitutional Convention, pupils are propelled to 2777. The United States— emerging from a period of unrest and war—needs help developing a new constitution! Using the material from the...
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Evaluating an Olympic Sport
Students research the political context of the Winter Olympics in general and within certain countries in particular. They read authentic, published articles on the topic from the Internet and add this information to the spreadsheet as...
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World War I: People, Places, and Events
Students research the people, places, and events of World War I. They select a topic, conduct research, read and discuss a bibliography handout, and create a biography, newspaper, diorama, or comparative maps to present their research...
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An Immigrant's Journey
Students collect photos of immigrants coming to the United States. They write fictional journal entries for one of the photographs.
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What is Your Story?
Students listen to Picnic In October and Memory Coat to explore the concept of memoirs. They interview a family member and write a personal memoir that reflects their own family history.
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Enhancing Poetry with American Memories
Learners explore poetry using American Life Histories: Manuscripts from the Federal Writers' Project. They compose their own unque "found poetry" based on the stories found in the collection.
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Olympic Values
Students learn what it is to be an athlete in the Olympics. They focus on the motto of the Olympics and make their own classroom oath to complete the lesson.
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Business Strategy with Asia: Outsourcing or Not?
Students examine the advantages and disadvantages of outsourcing personnel resources to Asia. They investigate through internet research as well as community business leaders why businesses outsource to other countries. In the end,...
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Social Studies: Exploring Boston's Big Dig
Students, in a high school class for autistic children, take a virtual tour of Boston's "Big Dig" and the artifacts discovered there. During weekly lab sessions, they discover the processes involved in artifact preservation. Using...
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My Family Tree
Young scholars create a family tree. In this ancestry lesson, students research a country that one of their ancestors is from. Young scholars interview a grandparent and map out a family tree.
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Compass Rose Directions
Second graders use cardinal and intermediate directions to locate places on maps and places in the classroom, school, and community. They draw a setting map of "Little Red Riding Hood." Students give five steps of cardinal or...
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An Immigrant's Journey
Young scholars use books, resource CDs, and the Internet to research and collect images of the experiences of immigrants in 1907. They are divided into groups of four to write journal entries for a fictional, yet historically accurate,...
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How Does Ancestry Affect Folklore?
Students break into groups of 4 or 5 and choose an option to demonstrate a different cultural perspective in a fairy tale or other folklore that they are familiar. Possible choices are: PowerPoint presentation, video, digital...