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The 1980's Series - Music
Students examine artwork by Keith Haring, and listen to music popular in the 1980s that influenced him. They develop storyboards, and film music videos for their favorite song.
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Tell Me a Whopper!
Sixth graders investigate tall tales as a literary genre. They listen to a number of tall tales to discover how exaggeration is used as a story element. They write and publish a tall tale using word processing software. They illustrate...
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If a Picture is Worth a Thousand Words...
Fourth graders take three different photographs representing the beginning, middle and end of their story. They use the Tool Factor program Fresco to add elements to enhance their creativity and make their writing come alive. They then...
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Bark, Meow, Purr, Snort - Oh, What a Voice!
Students brainstorm differences between dogs and cats. They discuss the elements that make a story effective and write a story with a beginning, middle and end in the voice of a cat or dog.
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Found Poetry with Primary Sources: The Great Depression
Students read a sample found poem and create one together as a class. In this Great Depression lesson plan, students select a topic, such as miners, and read primary source documents related to the topic. Students select one narrative as...
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Dear Wife & Children Every One
Students explore the struggle that Kansans had over the slavery issue. They read a letter from John Brown to his family, and write a newspaper article about the Battle of Osawatomie from John Brown's perspective.
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People, Not Numbers: Bringing 12 Million into Personal Ter
Students forge a compassionate link to the large numbers of people who were the victims of slavery as opposed to thinking of them simply in terms of numbers. They perform a math exercise to put the number of people in slavery into...
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Dear Wife and Children Everyone
Students study the issue of slave vs. free states. They explore the actions and personal commitment of John Brown and write a newspaper article about the Battle of Osawatomie from John Brown's perspective.
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Pictorial Portfolio
Students develop a pictorial portfolio of important assignments, projects and activities through their high school years. They use a camera and decide what makes a good photograph. Students organize their photographs into a portfolio...
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Which Car Will Mom Approve?
Eighth graders write a comparison/contrast essay to determine which of two cars should be purchased from the parents' perspective.
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Indi/Visual
Eighth graders take photographs for a photo essay contest. Using primary source documents, they review various types of artwork and discuss how some of the images have become commonplace. They use the internet to view examples of...
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Language Arts: Predicting and Clarifying Techniques
First graders discover predicting and clarifying skills while reading "The Old Woman and Her Pig." During the reading, they check their predictions while evaluating the characters, setting, problems, and solution. On the second day,...
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Navigating Your Community
Students draw a map from memory describing the route between their classroom and the gym including a legend, a compass rose, a map scale, symbols, and a landmark at every change of direction. They then retrace their steps in their maps...
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Midterm Project
Students create a multimedia presentation. They create a storyboard using Inspiration. Students write a narrative that reflects the process he/she went through to create the presentation. They include obstacles encountered and solutions...
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Student Book Reviews/ The Outsiders
Eighth graders participate in a lesson that focuses on the devleopment of reading skills looking for critical elements. They compose a book review for "The Outsiders" after reading previous reviews. Students also access the web in order...
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Native American Folklore
Learners create a paper that differentiates between written and oral history. They also create a visual narrative that is interpretative.
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Elk Rapids- Its Past and Future
Students participate in activities that help them appreciate the history of their local community as it celebrates its sesquicentennial year. They construct timelines, maps, interview, and writing. They use technology in a number of...
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Colors Crackle, Colors Roar
First graders engage in a reading of poems in colorful language. They become with the interrelation of using Spanish and English words interchangeably in a text. The lesson also builds multicultural appreciation for young students.
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Dancing Feathers
Fifth graders read and analyze the novel, 'Dancing Feathers.' They identify the main story elements, develop personal and fictional narratives, retell the story from a different point of view, create a mask, and design a postcard.
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Character Traits: Yang the Youngest and His Terrible Ear
Lensey Namioka’s Yang the Youngest and His Terrible Ear provides an opportunity for young readers to observe how writers bring their characters to life. Each class member selects a character to trace through the novel, recording...
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Musical Moments
Middle schoolers listen to a song in popular culture. Using the lyrics, they identify the theme and share their conclusions with the class. While listening to the song again, they complete a worksheet along with defining new vocabulary...
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Cheerful Hearts and Willing Feet
Young scholars explore characterization in Little Women. In this literature lesson, students participate in written analysis and research in order to explore Alcott's characterization in the novel.
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Enchanting Egypt
After reading the Magic Tree House book Mummies in the Morning, learners talk about Ancient Egypt. They identify the plot, characters, setting, etc., explore vocabulary terms, and construct a pyramid. This will motivate your class...
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I Served in the American Civil War
Students research soldier's lives in the American Civil War. They create a video about a soldier's life