Curated OER
Analyzing Persuasion
A reading of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s "I Have a Dream" speech launches a study of rhetorical devices such as hyperbole, allusion, metaphor, simile, personification, connotative language and parallel structure. Class members then...
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Every Vote Counts
Students participate in an activity designed to increase student awareness and participation in the voting process.
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Hands on Essays
Third graders relate the concept of individuality of geometric shapes to the individuality of topic sentences. They write and revise a persuasive argument essay using an established rubric.
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Putting it On Paper
Students locate and print samples of two different business letter formats. They write rough drafts of business letters inquiring when, where, and how math is used.
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Was the Wolf Really Guilty?
Young scholars read plays, short stories, or novels which revolve around trials, and write essays explaining or defending the assigned role in a mock fairy tale trial.
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WORDS FRANKLY SPOKEN
Students visit appropriate websites to discover quotes from Franklin's Poor Richard's Almanac. Working in pairs, they choose three quotes on which to elaborate and then write two original quotes.
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The Story of My Life
Students complete autobiographical writing assignments throughout the school year that they save and rewrite to put into a published book during the last month of class. They include photographs, drawings and mementos of their lives in...
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The Problem with Prejudice
Third graders read and discuss "The Hangman" by Maurice Ogden and answer questions about the poem. They list things they can do to combat prejudice using each of the letters in the word and create a small poster with a slogan against...
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Relating to Franklin's Age of Reason
Fourth graders read a selection describing 13 virtues from "The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin." They keep track of their behavior and whether or not they can keep up with 5 chosen virtues. They write a 5 paragraph essay on their...
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I Am a Book
Third graders discuss books that have been banned and the things that they have in common. They explore the concept of freedom of speech and write poems based on their discussion.
Beacon Learning Center
Challenging the Human Spirit
High schoolers select a theme-related essay topic from Night, by Elie Wiesel, or The Metamorphosis, by Franz Kafka, and develop an essay that relates the theme to modern-day personal experiences. The essay follows a preset rubric...
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Clean Air
High schoolers read sales promotion reports and create a sales promotion summary using information from the report. They develop a graphic organizer to outline their information for a presentation. There is an assessment checklist...
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Mad About Parts of Speech
Eighth graders review and use the different parts of speech using Mad Libs or Web Libs. They also utilize creative writing skills by providing the most interesting word(s) for the story line. They utilize worksheets imbedded in this plan.
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What's for Dinner? (Using Adjectives)
Sixth graders use adjectives to describe foods listed in restaurant menus. In cooperative groups, 6th graders create menus and identify the adjectives used in the menu created by their group.
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Mouthwatering Adjectives!
Third graders write descriptions of food items in order to create a restaurant menu. They use adjectives to describe mouth-watering and vivid food and compare it to a boring adjective-lacking menu. They design and share their menus with...
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First Class Mail
Students read The Witch of Blackbird Pond, and write a friendly letter to Elizabeth George Speare, the author, discussing their points of interest in the novel with her.
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Wacky Web Tales
Students study the parts of speech and then review them. They identify each part of speech and place them on a tree map. Then they visit a website to create a "Wacky Web Tale" using information from the tree map. They print their tales...
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Jazz-Age Intrigue
Eleventh graders read The Great Gatsby and explain the jazz age. They use jazz age terms to create their own short story, scene, or letter.
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The South Wins Gettysburg!
Students explore American Civil War, hypothesize that the Union Army was defeated at Gettysburg by Lee's army, and write an essay describing how different North America would be today if the South had won the Civil War.
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Analyzing a Science Fiction Movie
Fourth graders watch the movie "Contact" and write a review. They discuss in their review how scientists deal with technological problems, the movie's connections to the nature of science and how technology affects science. They share...
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There's a World of Science to Read Today!
Young scholars read a current science article. They write a summary of the article, take notes, write and edit a summary, and print their work.
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Where No Student Has Gone Before
Students create a story about an unknown planet invaded by humans as a pre-reading activity for the novel, A Wrinkle In Time. They discuss good versus evil, and identify examples of the theme good vs. evil in books, film, and their own...
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What's the Scoop on Casey
Third graders read "Casey at the Bat" by Ernest L. Thayer and create a newspaper article about Casey's infamous at-bat.
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Preposition Pizazz
Students examine examples of poems and identify the prepositions in them. They write original poems using prepositional phrases and create illustrations to go with them.