Manchester University
The History of the First Thanksgiving
First graders complete a project about the first Thanksgiving. In this history lesson plan, 1st graders read The Pilgrim's First Thanksgiving, answer comprehension questions, and complete a booklet about the first Thanksgiving.
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Cell Project
Learners investigate cells. They discover what cells are, where they are found, what they do and what they are made of. They construct a giant cell that is posted on the bulletin board.
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Value of Education: Education and Earning Power
Students explore the concept a higher education yields higher earnings. Throughout the class, students visit six workstations and examine occupations, education, salaries, spending, banking, and taxes. As students rotate through the...
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Cloze Instruction And Herringbone Technique
Students sort out important information and create a visual framework for reviewing in the future. They organize a large quantity of information thus helping with learning and remembering details, cause and effect, comparison and...
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Somewhere in the Middle
Students investigate the cease-fire between Israel and Lebanon in August of 2006. The geographic region known as the Middle East is examined and maps created with information on border and territory disputes.
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Fighting the War in Your Head
Students analyze the experiences of a fictional soldier in a war and create a mental health profile for that individual. They emulate psychiatrists and propose treatment strategies for their particular soldier's post-traumatic stress...
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Performance Poppers
Students examine the controversies surrounding the use of performance-enhancing supplements in sports by interviewing athletes and writing feature articles that compare the skills required to compete in different sports.
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Place Values and Patterns, What is the Value?
First graders discover the significance of a number's place value by interactively engaging patterns and two-digit place values. In this mathematics lesson, 1st graders complete a 10 by 10 grid to create a number puzzle.
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Muppets as Mediators
Students explore current social issues in the Middle East to create their own student television programs for Palestinian and Israeli Students.
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Must Be Something in the Water
Students research water pollution and create a class guide to raise the public's awareness about this issue. They write papers analyzing the effectiveness of the guide after it is read by members of the community.
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Too Hot to Handle
Students read an online article and research the ten most active volcanoes in the world. They devise an independent public service announcement for evacuating people living near a volcano.
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Fantastic Fossil
Students discuss the discovery of a transitional animal, Tiktaalik, and its impact on the theory of evolution. They research theories of evolution and creationism.
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Enhancing Students' Problem-Solving Abilities
Students analyze the results of a hypothetical cloning experiment using a restriction endonuclease map obtained from an on-line data source. They answer the question, "How can I tell if the DNA I have obtained from this hypothetical...
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An Activity to Introduce Critical Thinking
Students discover how easy it is to accept oulandish claims by witnessing a fellow student show that they have a form of ESP but is secretly working with the teacher. This demonstrations uses skepticism as a starting point for...
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Seasons
Students investigate the reason for seasons on Earth during three activities. They construct a model of the Earth and Sun to identify patterns in the changes of the angle of light on the Earth's surface. Then they conduct a heat...
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What's Your Favorite Planet?
Fourth graders, after listing the nine planets and their differences, choose one planet as their favorite. From the information acquired on each students favorite planet, they make a graph illustrating their favorites and then transform...
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Our Population and Its Impact on the Planet
Students explore environmental problems due to the growing worldwide human population and examine the growth rate. They also discuss possible ways to stabilize population growth and increase sustainable development.
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The Games Robots Play
Students learn about how robots are programmed to play games. They then construct robot applications (basic computer codes) for playing tic-tac-toe comprised of if-then logic sequences. Students then compete in teams using their...
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Exploring Film Genres for Telling Hero Stories: Narrative Shorts
Young scholars research that a narrative film tells a story using camera movement, sound, lighting, editing and other film making techniques. The audience must be taken into consideration when making a film. They explore what makes their...
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Sheep in the Field
Second graders create a three-dimensional picture of a sheep after observing a variety of templates of sheep. They then verbally identify the texture and color of the sheep. Students also read a book about sheep such as, "Sheep in a...
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Farm Mobile
Second graders are given a variety of materials to communicate the symbols of farm life. They create a mobile utilizing the given materials depicting farm life and following step-by-step instructions correctly. Students also read the...
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Government Mobile
Fourth graders, after studying the three branches of state government and gathering together a variety of art materials, create a mobile explaining all three branches of the government. They display their mobiles inside the classroom for...
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Integrated Social Studies and Cooking Lesson
Fourth graders study the Civil War and discuss what soldiers ate during that time period. In groups, representing Union and Confederate soldiers, they follow recipes, prepare, eat, and share Union hardtack and Confederate Johnnie Cakes.
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Stranger Than Fiction
Students reflect on the importance of science literacy. They review the year's science curriculum by reading, discussing and writing questions on teacher-selected New York Times articles and the related science content.