Curated OER
What's the Big Idea
Discuss the concept of main idea in a story or other reading material. Middle schoolers identify the main idea in a passage using a technique that eliminates unnecessary words not relevant to the main idea.
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My Secret War: Lesson 4
Fifth graders write a speech. In this history instructional activity, 5th graders define the word infamy and listen to a speech by FDR. Students work in groups to summarize his speech and rewrite sections of the speech.
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Ecuadorian Rainforest
Have your class talk about the importance of the rainforest and the products that come from it. Learners watch a video showing the path of chocolate from the rainforest to the supermarket. They discuss how the rainforest and chocolate...
Curated OER
Sample Lesson on Taking Notes
Have your middle schoolers define the terms outline, summary, paraphrase, plagiarism, citation, reference, and bibliography. They identify the main ideas, topic sentence, supporting ideas in technical writing and create note cards using...
Microsoft
Plagiarism Fair Use Copyright
Nothing makes junior high and high school teachers more frustrated than plagiarism. Instruct young writers about copyright laws and the correct ways to paragraph information without copying the exact words. A set of secondary-level...
Curated OER
Plot the Oysters' Peril!
Use comic strips to teach sequencing in narrative poetry. As homework, each class member selects a comic strip with 4-8 frames, cuts the frames apart, places the pieces in an envelope, and brings the envelope to class. Class members swap...
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The Research Paper
Students demonstrate a working knowledge of how to produce bibliography cards using MLA Documentation. They organize information from a variety of sources and credit sources for both quoted and paraphrased ideas.
For the Teachers
Story Strips Sequencing
What happens next? Work on story sequence with a instructional activity that prompts kids to put a story back in order. Additionally, they discuss what would happen if one event was missing from the sequence.
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Writing History: From Students to Scholars
An Online NewsHour article about scholarly ethics launches this study of plagiarism. Since historians are supposed to bring original ideas and perspectives to their publications, they must give credit to the ideas of others. After a...
Gateways
Teaching the Easter Story
If you are looking for a secular approach to teaching about Easter, this may just be the resource for you. Pupils read a paraphrased text depicting the last supper, arrest, and crucifixion of Jesus Christ as told in the Bible, while also...
Curated OER
The Original's Sins
Are history textbooks plagiarized? The New York Times article, “Schoolbooks Are Given F’s in Originality,” looks at this question and forms the basis for a lesson on textbooks and plagiarism. The very detailed plan includes resource...
Curated OER
Kalahari Explorations
Students explore world geography by completing graphic organizers and researching the Internet. In this Kalahari desert lesson, students identify the geographic location, weather and creation of the Kalahari desert. Students define a...
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Please No Posers
How do you reference information correctly? Avoid plagiarism by accurately summarizing a New York Times article with your middle or high schoolers. Young researchers then insert properly attributed quotations and paraphrases into their...
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Practice Paraphrasing
Help your high schoolers identify the main idea of a passage with this instructional activity on paraphrasing. First rewriting a paragraph in their own words, they then underline the most important words in their paraphrase and use them...
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Third Grade Ecuadorian Rainforest
Third graders explore the Ecuadorian Rainforest. In this writing and research lesson students utilize several information sources to learn about the Ecuadorian Rainforest. Students also summarize and paraphrase information learned...
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How can we keep our forests intact and have chocolate too?
Fourth graders recognize the need to sustain crops in the rainforest. For this rainforest lesson, 4th graders consider the use of products from the rainforest. Students discuss how people of different points of view decide what to do...
Curated OER
Writing a Research Paper
Students work through the steps of writing a research paper in this lesson. They define their problem and decide what sources of information to use. They read, take notes, and organize the collected data. Finally, they write the...
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A Read-In
Students explore philosophy by participating in a philanthropic activity. In this book read-in lesson, students collect a group of used books and illustrate an image to go along with the story. Students donate these books to a shelter or...
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Ecuadorian Rainforest: If the Forests Could Talk
Third graders explore the delicate balance the must be maintained in a rainforest ecosystem. In this ecosystems lesson, 3rd graders learn about the importance of "little things" such as bugs or a certain plant in the rainforest. This...
Curated OER
Gathering And Analyzing Information
Students participate in a lesson that focuses on the skill of analyzing information. They pick the subject for keeping engagement throughout the assignment. The information is analyzed using higher order thinking skills and they develop...
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Paraphrasing
Seventh graders practice paraphrasing. As a class, they review previous lessons and discuss the difference between paraphrasing and plagiarism. Students begin by paraphrasing sentences orally and then they complete a worksheet,...
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Career Education
Students participate in a instructional activity that focuses on the research of a chosen career field. They gather information from a variety of resources. The information is used to compose a research paper or powerpoint presentation.
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Researching Another country's Holiday: Organizing and Recording Information
Prior to this lesson, 5th graders will have collected notes from several sources. Students extend their note taking to include at least one example each of summarizing and paraphrasing. They record bibliographic information for each...
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Map the Mystery!
Seventh graders read the novel, "The House of Dies Drear", and create a story map to analyze the plot and recall events.