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WORDS FRANKLY SPOKEN
Learners visit appropriate websites to discover quotes from Franklin's Poor Richard's Almanac. Working in pairs, they choose three quotes on which to elaborate and then write two original quotes.
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The Story of My Life
Students complete autobiographical writing assignments throughout the school year that they save and rewrite to put into a published book during the last month of class. They include photographs, drawings and mementos of their lives in...
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The Problem with Prejudice
Third graders read and discuss "The Hangman" by Maurice Ogden and answer questions about the poem. They list things they can do to combat prejudice using each of the letters in the word and create a small poster with a slogan against...
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Relating to Franklin's Age of Reason
Fourth graders read a selection describing 13 virtues from "The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin." They keep track of their behavior and whether or not they can keep up with 5 chosen virtues. They write a 5 paragraph essay on their...
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I Am a Book
Third graders discuss books that have been banned and the things that they have in common. They explore the concept of freedom of speech and write poems based on their discussion.
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Details and Observations IQ or the Eyes Have it
Fourth graders study Chaucer as a master of details. Then, they create a short story linking unrelated details into a logical plot with a clear setting and established characters. This activity has some excellent worksheets attached!
Beacon Learning Center
Challenging the Human Spirit
High schoolers select a theme-related essay topic from Night, by Elie Wiesel, or The Metamorphosis, by Franz Kafka, and develop an essay that relates the theme to modern-day personal experiences. The essay follows a preset rubric...
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Clean Air
High schoolers read sales promotion reports and create a sales promotion summary using information from the report. They develop a graphic organizer to outline their information for a presentation. There is an assessment checklist...
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Language for Sale
Sixth graders think about writing terminology as they rewrite a catalogue descriptioin of an item for sale.
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Hey Mom, Are We There Yet?
Sixth graders create a travel brochure for a selected destination of their choice using information gathered from the Internet.
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Creating Storyboards for Younger Students
Students create electronic storyboards for younger children about a nearby refuge and lake. After interviewing the younger students about their impressions of the lake, they use Powerpoint to make the storyboard, including the interview,...
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Good E-mail Manners
Students discuss online e-mail safety and etiquette rules and how they should apply the same rules in cyberspace as they use when encountering strangers in the face-to-face world. They participate in mock situations and tell what the...
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Jazz-Age Intrigue
Eleventh graders read The Great Gatsby and explain the jazz age. They use jazz age terms to create their own short story, scene, or letter.
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Islam or Christianity?
Students design a mosaic depicting the city of Constantinople during determined periods of history. They include historical evidence that shows whether the city was under Muslim or Christian rule.
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The South Wins Gettysburg!
Learners explore American Civil War, hypothesize that the Union Army was defeated at Gettysburg by Lee's army, and write an essay describing how different North America would be today if the South had won the Civil War.
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Analyzing a Science Fiction Movie
Fourth graders watch the movie "Contact" and write a review. They discuss in their review how scientists deal with technological problems, the movie's connections to the nature of science and how technology affects science. They share...
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There's a World of Science to Read Today!
Students read a current science article. They write a summary of the article, take notes, write and edit a summary, and print their work.
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Where No Student Has Gone Before
Middle schoolers create a story about an unknown planet invaded by humans as a pre-reading activity for the novel, A Wrinkle In Time. They discuss good versus evil, and identify examples of the theme good vs. evil in books, film, and...
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What's the Scoop on Casey
Third graders read "Casey at the Bat" by Ernest L. Thayer and create a newspaper article about Casey's infamous at-bat.
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The Land and the Water
Third graders read "The Land and the Water," a fictional short story and an article about John F. Kennedy, Jr. and compare and contrast fictional tragedy to a non-fiction tragedy. They fill out a Venn diagram and write an essay using...
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Sidewalks to Success in Middle School
Students write a brochure that educates incoming middle school students on how to succeed.
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Preposition Pizazz
Students examine examples of poems and identify the prepositions in them. They write original poems using prepositional phrases and create illustrations to go with them.
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Persuasion and Use of Language
Students discuss connotative language, hyperbole, allusion, and rhetorical question. In small groups, they read one section of the "Speech to the Virginia Convention" and analyze these devices. Groups present their results to the class.
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Persuasion and Figurative Language
High schoolers study and discuss definitions of metaphor, simile, and personification. In small groups, they read a section of "Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God" and identify those devices. The group presents their examples with the...