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Writing a Narrative
Sixth graders read the short story "Eleven". They write a narrative composition focusing on the use of voice. Students use a computer to create a pre-writing graphic organizer and type their final draft.
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Comparing Characters Across Two Short Stories
Ninth graders listen to a read aloud of two short stories focusing on literary devices. The write about the settings and realism of the stories, and decide each main character handles the conflict he faces with nature.
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Memior: The Stuff of Our Lives
Fourth graders reflect upon the significance of remembered events and to keep a "notebook" of their thoughts and feelings. They read books that exemplify memior writing. They write their memiors, taking it through the writing process.
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Color My World
Students identify colors created by mixing primary colors and describe the process. They then design a book using the colors of a given season entitled "Colors of the Season".
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My Favorite Things
Learners identify "masterpieces" and mass-produced objects. They explain why they value a given object and determine what physical materials were used to create the objects. They create a class book featuring objects that they value.
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Persuade or Die!
Learners read Patrick Henry's speech. They review prior learning about persuasive writing, and the American revolutionary war. Students listen as the teacher reads Patrick Henry's speech aloud to the class using lots of emotion and...
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Guideline For Book Reports
Students are introduced to the guidelines regarding their upcoming book report. As a class, they brainstorm opening statements to grab the reader's attention and what type of information to present. They must include an evaluation of...
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Twenty-one Balloons
Fifth graders determine what the Newbery Award is and why it is importance. They examine a number of Newbery Award winning books and listen to a book talk about William Pene DuBois', Twenty-One Balloons while watching a PowerPoint...
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Blending Fiction and Nonfiction to Improve Comprehension and Writing Skills
Students explore a content area by reading both fiction and nonfiction texts on the topic. They do more research online about the topic. After comparing the texts, they create their own written original work, using both narrative and...
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Making Steel: An Awesome Process
Students identify the six basic stages used to create a steel component, and explain how each stage influences or interacts with another. They give examples of how technology has improved human lives.
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How We Have Changed!
First graders practice using their writing skills. They create memory books through the use of daily journal writing questions of the day. Students respond to story prompts and write autobiographies of themselves and another classmate.
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The Perfect Man: Benjamin Franklin's Autobiography
Eleventh graders study the characteristics of an autobiography. They read from the autobiography of Benjamin Franklin and discuss and write an essay regarding some of his quotes.
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Sequencing a Chinese Folktale
Students sequence the events of the popular Chinese folktale "The Terrible Nung Gwama" using a graphic organizer. This lesson takes 45-minutes and includes two possible enrichment activities.
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Lyddie
Seventh graders read the novel, Lyddie, while studying the reform movement. They complete assignments for each chapter and write essays about Lyddie's development through the novel.
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Make Way for Ducklings
First graders use skills to collect, organize, and interpret data. They compare and contrast two stories, Make Way for Ducklings and Chibi: A True Story From Japan. Students create a duckling.
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The Legend of the Indian Paintbrush: Native American Life
Students read," The Legend of the Indian Paintbrush" by Tomie dePaola and discuss the way legends are passed down orally. They then create their own legend and illustrate it on a simulated "Buffalo Skin" made from brown paper.
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Autobiographical Postage Stamp
Students design a postage stamp that communicates to the world who they are, what they hope to be, what they are good at, and factual information. They use, "My Great Aunt Arizona" by Gloria Houston as a model for a biography.
National First Ladies' Library
Pandemics: The Swine Flu of 1918
Young scholars study pandemics through the investigational research of the 1918 swine flu. They apply the information by choosing a current virus and role-playing a member of the Centers of Disease Control (CDC).
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Publishing: A Persuasive Essay
Third graders are given an opportunity to create a visual to accompany their presentations of their persuasive essays. They may use the computer or other media as resources.
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Electronic Journals about Latin American Folktales
Students exchange folktales with a key-pal using dialog journal writing. They write out a folktale from their own cultural background and exchange it with students of another. They record their impressions of each other's folktales.
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Standing Woman
Students explore a Japanese science fiction story that deals with the dangers of technology, failed attempts at utopia, mind control, and loss of loved ones through the reading of Yasutaka Tsutaka's "Standing Woman."
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"The Father of Lavish Advertising": P.T. Barnum
Students examine the life and work of P.T. Barnum. They discover his advertising techniques and business practices. They examine his use of people with disabilities for amusement.
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Looking Through Lenses
Students explore the various societal and cultural "lenses" which color their perspectives and life experiences by reading the short story "What Means Switch" by Gish Jen. They discuss how the cultural ideas and beliefs affect the...