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House Opposite
High schoolers read the short story House Opposite to help them differentiate between the terms "religion" and "spirituality." Students make connections to situations of people who struggle between the two in the real world by creating a...
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Readers Theatre: The Three Snow Bears
Students dramatize the story, Three Snow Bears by Jan Brett. For this readers theatre lesson, students read the story and then dramatize the events during readers theatre. There is an included script.
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Through the Looking Glass: Eudora Welty's Photography and The Ponder Heart
Learners study the context of The Ponder Heart through Welty's photographs.
They analyze how illustrations and photographs interact with written text and
create their own images to illustrate a well-known Welty short story....
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Literature: Isabel Allende
Students watch and respond to a Bill Moyers Now video on the Chilean author, Isabel Allende. They brainstorm a list of recent events that might inspire writers and choose one to write about in poetic, diary, or short story form.
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The Ogre Bully
First graders complete activities with the story The Ogre Bully. In this literature lesson, 1st graders discuss opposite words and then read the story. They answer questions for comprehension and complete phonics activities and worksheets.
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The Science of Aging
Students reflect on the lives of older people they know, then research and debate the key issues surrounding scientific experimentation in anti-aging. They write a short story that reflects their own philosophical beliefs on aging and...
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Writings on a River
Students identify words that can be used to describe Mark Twain's character Tom Sawyer. Students explore stage production of "The Adventures of Tom Sawyer" by reading and discussing "An Older (and Calmer) Tom Sawyer". They develop their...
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Unit Plan for Mark Twain and American Humor
Students create brochures about the humor of Mark Twain. In this literature-analysis lesson plan, students read "The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County" and other short stories by Twain. Students write analytical paragraphs and...
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Life in Letters
Students explore the relationship between an author's life and their work. Students research the historical and personal events surrounding a Nobel Prize winning author and how they are reflected in the author's writing. They create a...
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Roy G. Biv Has Feelings Too
Students test their memory recall and discuss its association to color. After reading an article, they discuss the natural and psycho-sociological significance of the color red. As a class, they participate in a mood-color association...
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Bugging Out
Students explore how insects behave in their natural habitats and build dioramas to create an Insect World in their classroom. They investigate various insects and the roles they play in the environment. They write creative short...
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Christmas Around the World
Students learn how other countries celebrate Christmas. In this Christmas lesson, students read a story about Christmas celebrations in other countries, discuss how they differ from U.S. celebrations, color pictures of traditional...
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The Art of Adaptation
Students examine and discuss animal adaptation. They read an article about snakes, conduct research on ways animals adapt, develop a diagram, and write a short story written from the perspective of the animal they researched.
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Oklahoma Stone Soup
Students discover the history of the Oklahoma Territory and what foods cowboys used to eat while on the move. In this culinary lesson, students read the ingredients to Oklahoma Stone Soup and prepare them in a crock pot over the course...
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Fun with Summarizing
Students practice summarization by creating a story map. After reading Freckle Juice, students working in groups, create a story map of the main events of the story. Groups use their story maps to summarize a chapter of the story and...
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Who Am I Without Him?
Middle schoolers read and discuss the book, Who Am I Without Him? In this fluency lesson, students practice reading with expression and making text to self connections. Middle schoolers practice writing expressively in their journals.
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Stories of Our Lives!
Students write their own books based on a life experience that they have had. In this life experiences lesson plan, students practice the writing process along with illustrating their book.
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Secret Stories: Exploring the Elements of Folktales and Fables
Students are introduced to the characteristics of fables and folktales. In groups, they read and identify the various elements in the stories they read from around the world. For each story, they analyze the setting and the various...
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Personal or Social Tragedy? A Close Reading of Edith Wharton's Ethan Frome
Students complete close reading activities to analyze Edith Wharton's Ethan Frome. In this literary analysis lesson, students analyze key quotations from Ethan Frome and respond to contemporary reviews of the text. Students use textual...
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The Tell - Tale Heart
Students read The Tell Tale Heart and practice critical analysis while reflecting on its underlying meanings. In this reading instructional activity, students make predictions, monitor their own comprehension and adjust their reading...
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Family Lessons in Philanthropy: The Drive
Students investigate family philanthropy. In this family philanthropy activity, students review vocabulary such as community, family, service, volunteer, tradition, and caring. They listen to Valerie Flournoy's, The Patchwork Quilt. They...
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Multicultural Literature Lesson Plan The Lotus Seed by Sherry Garland
Sixth graders begin reading "The Lotus Seed" before determining a plant that is a representative of their country or region. They illustrate the plant and write sentences about it and locate the region on a map. Finally, they make a...
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Dramatizing Your Story
Learners write a script, planning and recording improvisations based on personal experience and heritage, imagination, literature and history.
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How to Write a Biography
Looking for a great lesson on how to write a biography? Here, middle schoolers draw from magazine articles, novels, historical figures, and current events to choose a person, or character to write about in a biography. They follow a...