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Timeline - United States and Germany, Before, During, and After World War II
Learners read novel Rosa's Miracle Mouse, research assigned years in small groups, and create timelines and Powerpoint presentations detailing interaction between Germany and the United States before, during, and after World War II.
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Exploring the West Using Fiction
Young scholars explore post Civil War development of the American West. They investigate the conflict among various groups involved in the settlement of the West and select a novel by a western writer and complete questions from the...
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Setting the Stage from the Page
Learners examine the differences between the portrayal of characters in books and in motion pictures. Using the novel, The Kite Runner, students discuss the ways in which the characters can be interpreted. Learners create original...
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Across Five Aprils
Eighth graders are introduced to the novel "Across Five Aprils" written by Irene Hunt. They become familiar with the people, places, and events referenced in the story and comprehend the story of the Civil War. Students are given a...
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Contrasting Characters
Learners analyze characters in a story and contrast them in terms of their appearance, education, family, religion, and more. In this characters lesson plan, students fill out a worksheet provided.
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HyperStudio Book Reports
Fifth graders create a HyperStudio book report after reading a novel. They work in pairs or small groups to design a HyperStudio stack about a previously-read novel. They use a variety of graphic organizers to have Students gather...
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Focusing with Anticipation Guides
Students write with a sharp, distinct focus identifying topic, task and audience. They discuss anticipatory statements with supporting details. Students create an essential question at the beginning of a composition, novel, or unit.
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Exploratory Teaching
Students participate in an exploratory teaching program. Individually, they identify the positives and negatives of being a teacher and how they effect the students. They use the internet to research the history of the profession and...
National First Ladies' Library
Mark Twain's America
Students read Huckleberry Finn, analyze text for historical contexts, and write book report emphasizing historical elements, type report comparing and contrasting events in book to events of today, create Powerpoint presentation...
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The Centre of the Universe by Danny Wallace and I Love Football by Hunter Davies
Young scholars read, analyze, critique and study the novels, "The Centre of the Universe," by Danny Wallace and "I Love Football," by Hunter Davies. They evaluate an extract from each novel and explore the concept of private passions.
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Number the Stars
In this Language Arts worksheet, students read an introduction to the novel Number the Stars. Students read about the how the author, Lois Lowry, researched about the Danish Resistance.
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Number the Stars Historical Background: Kim Malthe-Bruun
In this history and literature worksheet, young scholars read a true biography of a Danish resistance fighter named Kim Malthe-Bruun. In the novel Number the Stars, the character of Peter is based on this young man. There are no...
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Read a Transportation Story
Sixth graders read a story about intercontinental truck drivers and their journeys. In this transportation lesson, 6th graders read the novel Kamyonistan by Robert Hackford and discuss the travels of the truck driver through the Middle...
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The Civil War in Historical Fiction and Historical Accounts
Eighth graders examine life during the Civil War through various readings. They compare and contrast a novel they read in class to one they chose on the subject. They work together as a class to produce a newspaper displaying the...
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A Long Walk
Students watch a video regarding persevering through difficult situations. In this character education instructional activity, students watch a video about perseverance and discuss the examples of perseverance.
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Synthesize, Don't Summarize
In this reading and writing analysis worksheet, students read two passages, one a summary of Flowers for Algernon and one a synthesis of the novel. The goal for students is to understand the effectiveness of synthesizing a piece of...
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Through the Looking-Glass Chess: Create Your Own Games!
Sixth graders research chess in relation to the metaphors in Lewis Carroll's Through the Looking-Glass. They read the novel and note references to chess and research the history of chess and how to play the game. In groups, they create...
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Outsiders Unit Plan
Students complete novel analysis activities for the The Outsiders. In this novel analysis instructional activity, students complete three weeks of lessons that help them analyze the text and character education lessons within the novel.
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I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings
Students write a literary response essay to Maya Angelou's novel, I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings. In this literary response lesson plan, students complete pre-writing activities, discuss the rubric for the essay, and visit the given...
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Fahrenheit 451
Students agree on a definition of censorship and then discuss incidents of censorship with which they are familiar. They might consider incidents in present-day America, elsewhere in the world, and in the past. Bradbury's novel serves as...
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Disease and Culture through Literary Time
Students select books to read that include disease as a plot or theme component. They fill out a matrix for the disease in their novel and write a five-paragraph paper about their book. Students use the rest of the week's classes to...
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Chain Reactions
Students create a picture collage showing the cause and effect of events in the novel Holes. Given a set of pictures from the film adaptation, students place them in sequential order. They write a brief summary of the events and what...
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Chickenfeed by Minette Walters
Students read, analyze and discuss the novel, "Chickenfeed," by Minette Walters. They assess the theories of tell me a story, take a letter and is truth stranger than fiction? Each student reviews the synopsis and explore how dialogue...
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1984 Activity Sheet and Progress Test
In this 1984 activity sheet and progress test learning exercise, students respond to a total of 27 multiple choice, matching and fill in the blank questions pertaining to 1984 by George Orwell in order to better understand the novel.