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The Essential Brick
Students examine their position within their school and discuss qualities they need to be productive citizens outside of school. they culminate the unit by writing an autobiography that includes the concepts of responsibility, choice,...
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Idioms...not the be taken literally!
Students define common English idioms which they find in books and book excerpts. They use an idiom dictionary and constuct a database of five idioms along with meanings and sentences. They beam this information to classmates.
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Maestro Creativity Challenge
Learners work in small groups to write an article using the maestro group format. In this journalism instructional activity students break into groups and randomly choose an item that must be incorporated into their article.
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Who Is That Ghostly Character?
Eighth graders listen to a taped version of the radio play, "The Hitchhiker". They write a conclusion to the play and work with a partner to evaluate it before a final revision.
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Nature Walk Poem
Third graders read poetry inspired by nature. They talk a walk in nature or in their neighborhood with paper and pen and write down feelings and perceptions. They write a poem about their walk and share it with the class.
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Holistic Lesson Plan - Potato Writing
Eleventh graders, in groups of three, improve their descriptive writing skills by receiving a numbered potato. They write a description of their potato without disclosing the number. Groups take turns trying to guess which potato is...
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Thank you Ma'm Langston Hughes-Devoloping the concept of Theme
Students complete various activities linked to several stories and movies, to reinforce the concept of theme in a story.
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Henry Wadsworth Longfellow's "The Slave's Dream"
Students examine Henry Wadsworth Longfellow's contribution to the anti-slavery movement. They read and analyze a poem, identify the poem's techniques, and write a critique of the poem, "The Slave's Dream."
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Integrating Japanese Folk Tales into the Classroom Using Japanese Kamishibai
Young scholars study Japanese folk tales focusing on the traditional values and key elements. They compare the Japanese values with their own. They discuss Japanese art before designing a set of kamishibai on which they write a summary...
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Reflections of My Life--Student Autobiographies
Sixth graders provide a writing experience based on their own lives. The components of the writing process will be emphasized as well as narrative writing experiences. They then will publish their autobiography on the computer and use...
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The Cat Came Back
Students are read the story "The Cat Came Back". Using Spanish, they communicate the context of the story with each other. They practice using new vocabulary, identifying main characters and putting the events into order. They use the...
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Outlining
Students read and evaluate a piece of expository writing. They participate in a class discussion of the outlining process and individually outline a piece of expository writing. Finally, the students create an outline for the purpose...
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Shadow Puppetry in South India
Students read a variety of literature from India, including folktales and fables. They then select a scene or story to script, work together to design and craft shadow puppets of characters and scenery, narrate a story, manipulate the...
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Let's Go On A Bear Hunt
Students work together to complete a research project on bears. Using the Internet, they answer questions they have about bears and reinforce what they already know. They compare and contrast different species of bears and bears in...
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In the Time of Butterflies: Character Analysis
Tenth graders read about the life in the Dominican Republic during the Trujillo Regime. After exploring a book, "The Time of the Butterflies," students describe the sisters and their lives. They complete a graphic organizer and write a...
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Ahimsa in Writers Workshop
Students investigate nonviolent lifestyles by researching the life of Gandhi. In this journalism activity, students define the word ahimsa and how important nonviolence is when solving conflicts. Students create a timeline of personal...
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Me, Plain and Tall
Second graders read and discuss Patricia MacLaclan's book Sarah, Plain and Tall. They write a narrative putting themselves in the setting of the story.
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An Introduction to Poetry
Students examine the genre of poetry. They read and discuss list poems, write a list poem, research and read poetry online, and write a free form poem.
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A Unique Drawing Experience
Students complete a drawing based on a set of instructions. They discover how their classmates have a different drawing based on the same instructions. They discuss how they completed the assignment as a class.
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Technology-Based Lesson on Letter Writing
Second graders discuss the non-verbal ways to communicate. They word process letters to their teachers expressing five of their favorite things to do after school. They set up e-mail and send their letters to an e-pal.
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Make Lemonade
Students participate in pre-reading activities such as looking at the graphics on the cover, reading the synopsis on the back cover, reading the dedication, and discussing the title. Students read the text aloud, stopping at strategic...
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Christmas Synonym Lesson
Second graders examine the use of synonyms. In this synonym lesson, 2nd graders listen to a read aloud of Splendiferous Christmas and ring a jingle bell each time a synonym is used for a word mentioned in the book. They write synonyms on...