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Twitter Tweet Chapter Summary
Students use Twitter to complete a literature analysis. In this literature and technology lesson, students read chapters from a piece of literature and write summaries. Students use Twitter to communicate about the literature.
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Seashore Sweep
Learners gather information about sea animals. In this ocean lesson, students read a story about the ocean and seashore. They discuss the needs of seashore animals and create a Mystery Ocean Animal riddle book. Learners also discuss...
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Ted Hughes "Pike"
Students analyze how a poet uses language to capture creatures and draft a poem on a 'sinister' animal. In this poetry analysis lesson, students read Ted Hughes' poem 'Pike' and analyze pictures of pike fish. Students use their research...
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Peer writing evaluation (myth)
Students compose myths. In this creative writing activity students use their knowledge of the features of myths to compose their own, then share with a peer for feedback.
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Where I Am From
Young scholars study selected poetry to gain an understanding of influences on values and personal identity. They explore language terms such as personification, imagery metaphors and allusion. After reading a poem and discussing it,...
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Growing Pains of the Yearling
Fourth graders read The Yearling by Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings.
Dream of a Nation
Big6 Research Project
Do research projects at your school look like a class of eighth graders staring at a blank screen? Use the Big 6 research method to guide middle schoolers through the process of finding a topic, searching for and evaluating sources,...
MENSA Education & Research Foundation
Early American Novel: Exploring the Emergence of a Genre
Need an extra challenge for your best readers? Check out a unit that uses Hannah Webster Foster’s epistolary novel, The Coquette, published in 1797, as the anchor text. The resource is packed with project ideas; each with its own...
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Tango Stories
Young scholars listen to tango music and research the country it came from. In this music lesson plan, students find that tango music comes from Argentina. They listen and dance to the music and then write stories.
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Patterned Leaf Cloths
Students identify and reproduce simple patterns (e.g., red blocks alternating with blue blocks; clap-clap-stamp) and create and extend simple patterns using a variety of materials or actions (e.g., popsicle sticks, pebbles, stickers,...
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Dancing Pumpkin Man
Students listen carefully and put pieces together following the teacher's instructions. They point to the different shapes and sizes as they are being called out and count the number of items they have in front of them. They decorate...
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Brazilian Animals
Students research the animals of Brazil. For this animal science lesson, students locate Brazil on a map and discuss the types of animals that can live in its tropical climate. They research a Brazilian Carnaval and see the roll the...
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Escolas de Carnaval
Young scholars create a carnival display displaying the different themes they have studied. For this carnival lesson plan, students display the work they have studied through the samba schools in Brazil. Young scholars also incorporate...
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Mariachi Mania
Students play the beats of mariachi music. In this mariachi lesson plan, students listen to mariachi music and discuss why music is important.
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Mariachi:Intermediate Lesson
Students research the history of mariachi music. In this music lesson, students identify mariachi music and investigate it from its origins to the present. They compare it to country music.
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Puerto Rico: The 51st State?
Students explore Puerto Rico. In this Puerto Rico current events lesson, students conduct a Webquest to answer questions about Puerto Rico's culture. Students discuss whether Puerto Rico is a country or a state, and defend their...
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Latin American Film
Students critique, discuss, and identify characters in a film about Latin America. In this Latin America lesson plan, students watch the film and discuss the film and everyday life.
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Thematic Unit: Beginning Holocaust Studies
Fifth graders discuss concepts of diversity, culture, and prejudice, gain understanding of harm caused by prejudice, and demonstrate ability to think critically and a desire to act morally.
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"Taming the Bicycle"
Eighth graders discuss invention of bicycle and early obstacles to riding, listen to and discuss short story "Taming the Bicycle" by Mark Twain, define vocabulary words from story, and create and present humorous "how to" project to...
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Unknown Frost Poem Discovered
What? A long-lost poem from Robert Frost? Introduce your class to a poem recently found and published from Robert Frost's personal collection. The lesson includes background information on the author, the poem itself, and a list of...
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Trail of the Cougar
Young scholars examine cougar behavior, habitat, social organization, efforts to support their survival and the threats to it. They create posters to present information about cougars.
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"Journalism in Tennessee"
Learners listen to headline from National Enquirer or other tabloid, listen to story "Journalism in Tennessee," compare and contrast connections between Twain's idea of journalism with present day journalism, define vocabulary, and...
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Identifying the Theme in a Story
Students recognize Theme through the use of simple, short stories. Using Pro Quest, students begin by researching the literary element, theme, and how it can be identified. They then identify the themes in Aesop's Fables and other short...
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Made You Look
Young scholars spend some time in the world of marketing and advertising by analyzing and creating slogans and campaigns geared toward adolescents. Students work with a partner to create their design and share with the class