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Propaganda
How does word choice affect the reading of a text? Compare two headlines that were written about the same event. Is one biased? Discuss how word choice often reveals the author's feelings about a topic. Then look at different techniques...
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The Scarlet Letter Vocabulary Words--Set 1
Kids can practice using vocabulary from The Scarlet Letter as they play a vocabulary memory game based on words and definitions taken from the novel. They click to match words to definitions.
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Modals: Passive Voice
Encourage verb tense awareness by focusing on the passive voice. It could be used with a variety of learners, however, a few of the questions should be modified for younger children. By completing this twenty-six question activity,...
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Is Everyone Protected by the Bill of Rights?
Who is protected by the Bill of Rights? Learners examine the Bill of Rights and conduct research regarding gay people in the military. They use their research findings to prepare for and participate in a debate regarding the military ban...
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Stating Your Case: Writing Thesis Statements Effectively
As a writer, if you have a weak introductory paragraph or thesis statement, you might lose your audience! Have your middle and high schoolers practice writing introductory paragraphs that include clear thesis statements in response to...
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The 5 Paragraph Persuasive Essay
This PowerPoint highlights the steps one should follow to craft an organized essay. It addresses the purpose, audience, and format, and briefly touches on prewriting and organizing. This presentation is designed to review the very basic...
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Plagiarism: Avoiding Accidental Internet Plagiarism
Demonstrate how to cite information from Internet sources without plagiarizing. If your class is working on an Internet research paper, and you have observed learners cutting and pasting directly from the Internet, the activities and...
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The TASP 5 Paragraph "Persuasive" Essay
Though this presentation is designed for the Texas Academic Skills Program's (TASP) writing assessment, it could work for any class that is preparing to write a five-paragraph persuasive essay. Slides take intermediate writers through...
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Poetry Through Digital Storytelling
Bring digital storytelling to your language arts class! To begin, learners select their own topic, such as a poem that reflects a life experience they had or a historical figure who interests them. Then they work to create a storyboard...
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Night Compare Contrast
Using a constructivist approach and a graphic organizer, small groups work together to begin a paper, comparing and contrasting the novella Night and the movie Life is Beautiful. Assuming that your learners have studied both of these...
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Ban That Book!
Take advantage of Banned Book Week to pique students' interest and get them reading! Create a classroom display of previously banned books and allow each member of your class to choose one to read. After they have read their book, get...
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The Gift of Gatsby
A reading of “Gatsby’s Green Light Beckons a New Set of Strivers,” a New York Times article by Sara Rimer, triggers a discussion of the American Dream and what it means to strive for something. Following the discussion, class members...
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Applying Elements of the Graphic Novel to Traditional Literature
The Khaled Hosseini Foundation, dedicated to providing humanitarian assistance for the people of Afghanistan, provides a series of exercises designed to be used with a reading of the graphic novel version of Hosseini’s The Kite Runner....
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Constructing and Using Different Types of Sentences with Support from The Shurley Grammar Method
Students analyze parts of speech, sentence structure, and ver usage in this ten lesson unit on grammar. Through games, activities, assignments, and printed material, the concepts are supported and reinforced in a creative way.
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Word Wake
Put your common writing errors to rest with this resource, which prompts high schoolers to create eulogies and tombstones for overused and incorrect words. They work on correcting common errors in spelling and usage mistakes in their own...
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Latin Roots Grad, Mot, Cad: Interactive Puzzles
Three short puzzles emphasize Latin roots grad, mot, and cad in English spelling and vocabulary. Learners choose words from a list and complete spellings in boxes with definitions for clues. A reading passage using the words is included....
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Vocabulary in Context: Test Yourself with the New York Times
Drawn from the New York Times' superb Learning Network program, this multiple choice question checks readers' knowledge of two vocabulary words in a paragraph from a review of the 2011 film Take Shelter. An interactive answer key clearly...
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Applied Science - Science and Math Lab
Although it was written to use in a science class, this measurement lesson is adaptable to Common Core standards in math for measurement and data. Youngsters are introduced to two types of measurement systems. They use both the...
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Lesson Plan 18: Cleaning It Up
Careful proofreading is an important step in the writing process. After guided practice using a provided worksheet that details common grammar concepts, young writers refer to the worksheet as they proofread their own work....
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On the Beach: Disabled and Mother's Pride
What do an early 20th century poet and a 1980's rock star have in common with a novel from the 1960's? Using Wilfred Owen's poem "Disabled" and George Michael's song "Mother's Pride," learners answer questions about the lyrics and themes...
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Lesson Plan 2: So What's a Novel, Anyway?
What makes a novel a novel? Class members select a favorite novel, record their impressions on a worksheet, and then come together in groups to discuss the elements common to narrative writing. Next, they identify the characters, the...
Japan Society
Our Family and Other Families: Using Totoro to Teach Family Structure
What do families around the world have in common? Explore this theme through the popular animated film My Neighbor Totoro by Hayao Miyazaki. Over the course of two days, pupils view the film, pausing to discuss their own families and the...
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Career Planning and Research
What do you want to do when you finish school? Most high schoolers have an idea of what they'd want to do, but little idea of how to achieve this goal. After researching a career of their choosing, learners identify qualifications,...
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The Tale of Genji
Did you know that the world's first novel was written by a woman? Murasaki Shikibu's The Tale of Genji, was published in 1021. Class members research Eastern and Western cultures in the 10th and 11th centuries, view modern adaptations of...