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Teaching "Theme" with Children's Literature
In this exercise, learners examine the difference between a theme, topic, and moral. After a class discussion on the definition of literary themes, the instructor reads The Cello of Mr. O by Jane Cutler. Next, individuals analyze the...
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The Boy Who Cried Wolf
Second graders listen to the story, THE BOY WHO CRIED WOLF and in pairs, discuss the theme of the book and two things that they liked about it. They then read the book OOPS and discuss the theme of the book identifying the things they...
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Remembering Waiting
After a close study of the pastel drawing Waiting by Edgar Degas have the class imagine the story Degas may be telling through the body language and clothing of the people in the work of art. Your young writers then create a...
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MACBETH and the Themes of Ambition,
Young scholars describe and compare characters and situations in dramas from and about cultures and historical periods, illustrate in improvised or scripted scenes, and discuss how theater reflects a culture.
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Good Citizens
Young scholars consider what qualities and values make a good citizen. Students compare the requirements to become a U.S. citizen in 1896 to current requirements. Young scholars create a country and write out the qualities a good citizen...
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Organizing our Favorite Books
Students identify the title and author of stories. They create a database that supplies both graphic and written information to identify a book.
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An Author Study on Kevin Henkes
To better understand how the author Kevin Henkes uses the theme of friendship throughout his books, learners engage in several compare and contrast activities. The class reads several Henkes titles and discusses the similarities in...
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Splish-Splash: Daily Use of Water
Students explore the daily use of water in Kenya and Ghana. In this Peace Corps lesson, students compare similarities and differences between water use by people in Kenya and Ghana and their own communities as...
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Examining What Sharing Really Means
After reading "The Senegalese Miracle" about the degree of sharing the author encounters upon arrival in Africa, class members read Mike Tidwell’s “Sharing in Africa” and compare the two stories. This cultural diversity instructional...
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Alice Magic Cake
Using a famous children's story as the hook, learners explore the concept of changes in matter. First, they make a cake similar to the one made by Alice in the story Alice's Adventure in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll. Next, they let their...
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"I'm Thankful For..." Placemat
Students discover the story behind Thanksgiving through comparing and contrasting what pilgrims were thankful for, memorizing Thanksgiving poems, and creating a placemat that depicts the poem.
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Celebrate Hanukkah!
Students listen to a book about Hanukkah and compare it to other holidays such as Diwali and Ramadan. They create candles using construction paper and cellophane and decorate the room for Hanukkah.
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Dino-Facts!
Students use a database to gather facts about dinosaurs. They practice searching about specific dinosaurs that are of interest to them. To end the lesson, they write a story describing the behaviors, eating habits, and environments of...
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People are People
Explore human diversity in this human rights instructional activity. Middle schoolers compare novels, speeches, videos, and short stories that promote diversity and basic human rights. They complete daily coursework as they read the...
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Recognizing How Another Culture Differs From One's Own
Students determine what it means to be on time. In this cultural comparisons lesson plan, students compare the notion of punctuality between the United States and Guinea. Students read "Being on Time," by Kimberly Ross and discuss the...
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The Rigors of Learning a New Language
Learners read an autobiography of a peace corps volunteer studying Chinese. In this cultural acceptance lesson, students compare the dialects of Chinese with English dialects. Learners discuss the differences in learning and teaching a...
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My Senator and Me: A Dog's-Eye View of Washington, D.C.
Although this legislative process lesson plan is designed to accompany a specific text, it is valuable independently. Young learners participate in a picture walk (worksheet included) through My Senator and Me:...
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Immigration Connections: The Squamish Nation and Bainbridge Island Filipino Americans
High schoolers explore ancestry and immigration. In this Canadian immigration lesson, learners interview their family members to identify their cultural history. They compose an essay that compares Filipino immigration stories to those...
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Let's Celebrate Christmas!
Students explore the celebration of Christmas as part of an investigation into the multicultural experiences of celebrating holidays. The story written by Richard Paul Evans, "The Light of Christmas" provides the basis for the exploration.
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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...
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The Portrayal of the Witches
Eleventh graders discover the importance of the fortune teller in Shakespeare's Macbeth. After watching two interpretations of the play, they examine and compare the portrayal of the character. They create their own modern adaptation of...
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Comparison and Contrast: Neat People vs. Sloppy People and Batting Clean-up and Striking Out
After your class reads Neat People vs. Sloppy People and Batting Clean-up and Striking Out, provide them with this resource. Use it as a quiz or a homework assignment to assess your class's understanding of the author's...
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Organizing Writing to Convey a Central Idea
Fourth and fifth graders practice the skill of organizing their writing to convey a central idea by sorting 14 facts about the dogwood tree into four categories of facts. The categories, which are written on the board, are; Governmental...
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Cooperative Learning Groups Cooperate
Pupils apply Bloom's Taxonomy to reading selections. They prepare questions for each level of Bloom's Taxonomy and exchange them with other groups to answer. They answer another group's questions and report to one another.