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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Mandalas

For Teachers 5th - 8th
Young scholars explore meditation. In this relaxation and religious studies lesson, students identify reasons for meditation and practice relaxation. Young scholars color a mandala, a richly colored design used as a focal point during...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

A River Runs Through It

For Teachers 9th - Higher Ed
Students study the novel A River Runs Through It. In this language arts lesson, students apply a pre-reading strategy to help them better comprehend the text. Students use guided imagery and write down what they saw. Students apply this...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

The New Deal

For Teachers 3rd - 5th
Learners practice their reading comprehension skills by reading about Franklin Roosevelt and the New Deal programs. They answer questions related to the reading to test for comprehension.
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

The Leaves of Autumn

For Teachers 1st
First graders express the words of Autumn through creative dance movements.
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Teaching Imagery with Gary Paulsen

For Teachers 6th - 8th
Students read excerpts from memoirs written by Gary Paulsen as examples of how to write a narrative piece. They identify figurative language used and then they write a memoir of their own that contains imagery and figurative language.
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Interactive
Curated OER

English Exercises: The Ozone Layer

For Students 4th - 8th
In this online interactive English worksheet, students watch an embedded video about global warming, read a selection about the ozone layer, and then respond to 18 fill in the blank and short answer questions.  Students may submit their...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Journeys

For Teachers 5th - 6th
Students write a story using their journey to school as the setting. In groups, they discuss their experiences and browse through books to get ideas for their story. They practice using a thesaurus to find new verbs or adjectives they...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Understanding Self and Others

For Teachers 3rd - 5th
Students investigate other people's perceptions and interpretations of the world. They write a letter, taking into account another's historical point of view. The students also compare and contrast differing points of view through...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

What Is Smart Growth?

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Students practice planning for the development of an area using the goals of Smart Growth as a guide. They analyze how regions can affect government policies. They role-play citizens who recommend how an area should be developed.
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Activity
Texas Education Agency

Texas Gateway: Literary Text: Close Reading of Prose: Practice 2

For Students 9th - 10th Standards
This activity focuses on close reading, the careful, sustained reading of a text. One strategy to help you read closely is to ask yourself questions such as What is your overall impression of the passage? What mood does the passage...
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Unit Plan
Polk Brothers Foundation Center for Urban Education at DePaul University

De Paul University: Center for Urban Education: Community Progress [Pdf]

For Teachers 2nd - 5th
"Community Progress" is a one page, realistic fiction passage about how students created a mural for their school, which generated lots of attention from the press, parents, and other schools. It is followed by constructed-response...
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Unit Plan
Polk Brothers Foundation Center for Urban Education at DePaul University

De Paul University: Center for Urban Education: Grant Park [Pdf]

For Teachers 2nd - 4th
"Grant Park" is a one page, nonfiction passage about Chicago creating a landfill by putting the trash from the Chicago fire in 1971 into the lake, on which they built Grant Park. It is followed by an open-ended question which requires...
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Unit Plan
Polk Brothers Foundation Center for Urban Education at DePaul University

De Paul University: Center for Urban Education: Community Progress [Pdf]

For Teachers 4th - 7th
"Community Progress" is a one page, realistic fiction passage about how students created a mural for their school, which generated lots of attention from the press, parents, and other schools. It is followed by constructed-response...
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Unit Plan
Polk Brothers Foundation Center for Urban Education at DePaul University

De Paul University: Center for Urban Education: Mama's Happy Christmas [Pdf]

For Teachers 2nd - 3rd
"Mama's Happy Christmas" is a one page, fictional, reading passage about children creating a play for their sick mother on Christmas day. It is followed by constructed-response questions which require students to provide evidence from...
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Unit Plan
Polk Brothers Foundation Center for Urban Education at DePaul University

De Paul University: Center for Urban Education: Early Chicago Environment & People [Pdf]

For Teachers 4th
"Early Chicago Environment & People" is a one page, nonfiction passage about the Native Americans who lived in what is now Chicago. It explains how they lived and how Chicago got its name. It is followed by constructed-response...
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Unit Plan
Polk Brothers Foundation Center for Urban Education at DePaul University

De Paul University: Center for Urban Education: Early Chicago Environment and People [Pdf]

For Teachers 6th
"Early Chicago Environment and People" is a one page, nonfiction passage about the early Native Americans who settled in what is now Chicago. It is followed by questions which require students to provide evidence from the story; it...
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Unknown Type
Polk Brothers Foundation Center for Urban Education at DePaul University

De Paul University: Center for Urban Education: Mama's Happy Christmas [Pdf]

For Students 4th - 5th Standards
"Mama's Happy Christmas" is a one page, fictional, reading passage about children creating a play for their sick mother on Christmas day. It is followed by constructed-response questions which require students to provide evidence from...
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Lesson Plan
National Endowment for the Humanities

Neh: Edsit Ement: Their Eyes Were Watching God: Folk Speech, Figurative Language

For Teachers 9th - 10th Standards
In this lesson plan, students will consider Their Eyes Were Watching God: Folk Speech and Figurative Language. Worksheets and other supporting materials can be found under the Resources tab. This lesson provides students with an...