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Travel Buddies
A travel buddy is some sort of animal or stuffed character that is transported from one school to another and another. A journal accompanies the buddies and the young scholars make journal entries as if they were written by the buddy at...
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Spooky Story
Second graders write a Halloween story. In this combined technology and writing lesson plan, 2nd graders create a Halloween picture using KidPix, insert it into Microsoft Word, and then write a story to correspond with the picture.
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Twisted Tales
Experience how a story can drastically change when the point of view is altered. Young scholars first read a review of Disney's film Tarzan, focusing on how the point of view in the classic story is important. They then select...
Take the challenge
Connecting with Natural/Open Spaces
Get your class outside, away from the television, and maybe even learning something about nature while they're at it. Individuals will chose an open, natural space to spend time in for several days. Each day they will complete a page in...
National History Day
Leland Linman’s War: A Look at Soldiers’ Daily Lives in World War I
Hunkering down in the trenches of World War I, Leland Linman decided to write a journal about his experiences. By reading Linman's entries in the fourth installment of an eight-part lesson series, scholars get a firsthand look at life in...
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Mr. Mascot's Magical Musical Tour
Students explore particular places in the world. Students decipher clues that a class mascot leaves behind as it travels the world. Through researching the clues, students discover geographical locations, elements of world culture,...
Virginia Department of Education
Balancing Act
How many different interpretations of the mean are there? Scholars place numbers on a number line and determine the mean. They interpret the mean as the average value and as the balance point.
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a Journal for Corduroy: Responding To Literature
Students listen to the book, Corduroy, and discuss the characters and the sequence of events. They take turns taking Corduroy home overnight, and write their own adventure stories using the Corduroy character.
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E.T. Write Home
Students read the book, The Magic School Bus Lost in the Solar System, and discuss the planets visited by the characters in the book. They write journal entries from the viewpoint of E.T., writing letters home describing his travels in...
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The Bird Can Blog: Online Writing With A Twist
Students role play the role of a clasroom pet. They write a daily blog describing the activities in the classroom. They use peer editing as well.
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Civil War Letter
Middle schoolers put themselves in the shoes of American Civil War soldiers. In this Civil War instructional activity, students compose letters to their families from the the perspective of soldiers in the war.
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"Write" Answers
Learners examine the Q.& A. articles found each week in Science Times, focusing on how the answers are presented in a clear and logical way, as well as the relevance of understanding science's roles in our daily lives.
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Opening Eyes, Changing Minds. Talking About Personal Transformation And the Development of World Views
Young scholars read one teen's story of personal growth through learning about racism and the criminal justice system to explore how individuals' world views are shaped and changed through experiences and education.
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The Five Values
Students brainstorm and explore the five values of life: truth, love, peace, right conduct and non-violence. They bounce ideas off each other to assess more of a knowledge of each value. In addition, they write their reflections of each...
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Energy Conservation
Students explore the topic of energy conservation. They identify energy sources, complete a chart and a questionnaire, and write two paragraphs summarizing the lesson plan information and ways to conserve energy.
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Bronze Bow
Explore ancient Rome through reading The Bronze Bow by Elizabeth George Speare. Readers activate prior knowledge by examining objects that relate to the story and predict the significance of the items. Their curiosity is aroused...
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The Hat
Honing reading and communication skills through the theme of farm animals is the focus of this lesson plan. Students read a book about Scandinavian farm animals and complete prediction journal activities. They complete a worksheet about...
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How Do Cells Reproduce?
Beginning biologists prepare a sugar solution for yeast cells to live in, and divide it into two different jars. Samples from each jar are viewed with a microscope, and then one jar is placed in a warm environment and the other a cold...
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Bird Interdisciplinary Possibilities
Students explore birds, their territory, breeding, and seasonal movement. They research and collect information on birds through writing letters to ornithologists, reading in books, comparing web sites, and observing pictures. Students...
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Magical Maps
Second graders discuss the importance of using maps and how they are used. After they listen to a folktale, they develop their own story line maps and write their own folktale to accompany a map. They also identify and locate the seven...
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Creating a Consumer-Awareness Information Campaign
Young scholars work across grade levels to research and design a community awareness campaign on the benefits of purchasing fair trade chocolate. They develop print advertisements, conduct research, write letters, make posters and...
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Survivors
Seventh graders explain their understanding of their strength and how it is helpful in a group situation. They also complete graphic organizers by writing at least four of their own personal strengths. Students write about their...
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Illinois Biodiversity
Students examine the amount of biodiversity in the state of Illinois. They practice using new vocabulary and listening to stories about animals. After given time to reflect, they write their own haiku. They work together to create a...
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From A Different Perspective
Emerging writers create a response to their reading. They read Notes from the Trail and discuss whose perspective the journal entry is written from. Then, they write a response to the journal entry in first person perspective as if...