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Explorers Stopped in Russia
Students read an article about an explorer attempting to walk around the world. They complete vocabulary exercises and take a quiz. They identify several examples of homographs in English and complete a worksheet.
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Biography Crossword Puzzle
Second graders examine the Age of Exploration. They complete a crossword puzzle and review their answers. They discuss the explorers impact on the new world.
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How Would You Feel?
Sixth graders put themselves in the shoes of aborigines who were displaced from their homes in the 1800s by Europeans who came in and took their land from them. They discuss the social injustices suffered by these people, and write...
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Why Transition?
Help your class transition into better writers with this lesson, which guides them through the process of adding transitions to increase sentence fluency and organization. The activity is designed for a classroom with a SMART board, but...
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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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Celebrating Women: Toni Morrison
How authors address issues of their societies is addressed in this very detailed lesson. After researching Toni Morrison and her work, groups create a dramatization based on a scene from one of Morrison’s novels and act it out. Class...
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Stonewall and Beyond: Gay and Lesbian Issues
Help learners understand their own biases and how their perspectives may have been influenced by biased media sources. They keep a journal while viewing videos, exploring websites, and engaging in class discussions related to gay and...
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Storytelling In America
Learners discuss how Washington Irving is considered an important 19th century-American storyteller. They create their own version of a passage from 'The Legend' after listening to the story.
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Biography
Transform a written biography into a video biography! Introduce your learners to the biography format by reading them a few examples (some suggestions are included). Then discuss the factors that make a good biography. What information...
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On the Road with Marco Polo: Homecoming
Students role play as Marco Polo to detail his travels. They include the terrains, foods, religions, people and cultures that were encountered. They write a journal entry as if they were Marco Polo detailing one aspect of his travels.
Microsoft
Plagiarism Fair Use Copyright
Nothing makes junior high and high school teachers more frustrated than plagiarism. Instruct young writers about copyright laws and the correct ways to paragraph information without copying the exact words. A set of secondary-level...
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Developing Dialogue
Why do people argue? Use the article "A Holiday Medley, Off Key" to discuss the struggles that interfaith couples face when choosing to celebrate certain holidays. Then, in small groups, encourage learners to write dialogues that...
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Language Arts: Plot Summary
Eighth graders implement plot summary organizers to identify essential elements such as conflict and resolution in literature. In pairs, they retell fairy tales to each other and complete plot summaries about them. As students read new...
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Journal of a Virtual Expedition
Students journey with Lewis and Clark. For this literature lesson, students read The Journal of Augustus Pellitier-The Lewis and Clark Expedition 1804. Students keep a journal in the persona of a member of the expedition crew.
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The Search for the Northwest Passage
Third graders listen to lectures and research the motivations and history of the Spanish, French and English explorers searching for the Northwest Passage to India. They trace routes on maps and consider how these explorers helped shaped...
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Ponce de Leon
Fifth graders explain that the discoveries of Ponce de Leon were important, both in and of themselves and to the destinies of Europeans and Native Americans. They write an essay highlighting two of his important discoveries.
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Voyage to the New World
Third graders investigate the history of North America by creating a map. In this world geography lesson plan, 3rd graders analyze the voyage Christopher Columbus took to arrive at the new world by creating a map of his...
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Words in the News Solar Sail
Bring current events into your classroom! Middle schoolers complete word work activities before reading and discussing an online article. They complete worksheets and an online quiz. They discuss the Solar Sail as radical new idea and...
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Writing about Internal & External Conflicts in Lois Lowry's The Giver
Seventh graders examine the internal and external conflicts that Jonas faces in "The Giver" in an essay. Students use SMART Board and Inspiration to organize their ideas graphically before combining them into their paper.
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Native Americans - Searching for Knowledge and Understanding
What do you know about American Indians? Upper graders compose an informational essay based on the research they conduct. They choose a Native American group to study and, using the provided list of web links, gather information and...
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Understanding Poetry
Students search the Internet to find a poem to research, analyze and present their interpretation of the poem to the class. They develop their interpretation in Microsoft Word and PowerPoint.
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Picture Your Future Self
Students research careers using the internet and newspapers. As a group, they create a newsletter about careers of the future.
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Lewis and Clark's Journey West: A Timeline Activity
Students complete a scavenger hunt which highlights events on the journey by Lewis and Clark. Using the internet and journals, they identify events on the journey and places them on a timeline. They complete a worksheet as well to end...
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All About Me
Kids almost always want to share the things that make them special. They create and deliver an autobiographical multimedia presentation using step-by-step outlines to plan their content. This is a great "All About Me" lesson, perfect for...