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The Writing Process
Introduce young writers to the writing process. Activities model the steps in the writing process (prewriting, drafting, revising, editing, polishing). A logic tree template is also included.
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Superbowl XXXVII Ads: Who Wins Here?
Students research what experts and viewers thought about the commercials shown during Super Bowl XXXVII, paying special attention to the reason ads very popular or not. Students prepare a notebook or a PowerPoint presentation on the Best...
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Harmony and Expression in Writing Form
How do you write an interesting beginning, middle, and end of a story? With this activity, young writers look to other stories as examples. Then, they use some of the attached graphic organizers to help them create their own story. Note:...
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Writing Process
Introduce primary graders to the writing process. After reviewing the steps, they practice using the process by writing a book report. Before writing the draft, they complete a graphic organizer. The completed draft is reviewed by peers....
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Introduction to E-Discussion
Here's an interesting way to incorporate technology into your classroom. Have your young readers conduct an e-discussion of a story they are currently reading. Learners can post and/or respond to the comments of others reading the same...
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Painting Modern Life
Examine three Cubism art pieces by Pablo Picasso and Georges Braque with your students. They will research how Cubism was advanced due to Picasso and Braque. and then compare and contrast Cubist works through image based discussion. Your...
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Writing to Argue
Students analyze speeches for or against continued military presence in Iraq. In this writing to argue lesson, students listen to speeches given before Parliament to identify rhetorical devices used. Students compare techniques...
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Formal Writing Introduction
Give your class tips on formal writing. A paragraph format is outlined along with specifics for writing a conclusion sentence. A few transitions are listed to vary sentences and sentence structure. Pull this resource back out whenever...
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Proofreading with Peer Editing
A standard peer editing activity, young writers get into groups and pass their papers to each of their peers in turn; each person checking their peer's paper for spelling, punctuation, and grammar mistakes. In a fun twist, your class...
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ELA - Literacy.CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RH.11-12.1
Understanding, analyzing, citing, linking—the four steps required by CC ELA Literacy Standard RH.11-12.1. Enjoy the humor of the explanations of these steps as you examine the suggestions for Common Core designed activities related to...
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The Gummywolf
Students read a story about "Gummywolf," stopping periodically to answer questions about the progression of the story. Next, they create a Venn Diagram to compare and contrast "Gummywolf" to "Goldilocks and the Three Bears." Students...
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English Vocabulary Skills: AWL Sublist 5 - Exercise 1b
In this online interactive English vocabulary skills worksheet, students answer 10 matching questions which require them to fill in the blanks in 10 sentences. Students may submit their answers to be scored.
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Short 'A' and Phoneme Blending
Have your class explore the short /a/ sound. They will pronounce isolated consonant and short /a/ sounds and then blend the sounds to make a word. An assessment sheet is provided.
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Sound It Out!
Help your class improve their spelling skills. Learners take a test, are given a particular spelling rule to practice, and play a Bingo game. This employs various methods for practicing spelling skills.
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Be a Celebrity and Share Your Life with Us
Sixth graders discuss their likes, dislikes, hobbies, goals, and special events in their lives. They write a five paragraph autobiography focusing on style, transitions, and details. This is well-suited for either explanatory or...
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Studying History through Journal Keeping
Students read and write journals to relate to events of the past, in this case the Oregon Trail travels. They watch a video and read journal accounts dealing with the trip to the West as they attempt to keep a journal of what the trip...
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Hotels in Acapulco
Students explore a website for a hotel in Acapulco, Mexico, answering questions about hotel offers, prices, and special activities. They prepare a skit between family members, or prepare an ad for a hotel.
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Library Skills Review
Middle schoolers review library skills by rotating through teacher-created learning stations covering various topics. They discuss plagiarism, work on Almanac practice as a team, complete practice using indexes, and an abstracts handout...
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We’re Going on a Bear Hunt
Second graders participate in guided reading and writing experience in this set of five lessons. They complete a picture walk of Michael Rosen's, We're Going on a Bear Hunt before listening to the story and retelling it. Working with a...
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Snapshots of a Short Story
First graders will be creating and filling in a graphic organizer using Kidspiration, as a pre-writing activity for their short story piece. They then use their graphic organizers to write their entire short story. Once written, the...
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Steps to a Short Story
Students write and publish a short story using KidPix computer software. They discuss the basic elements of a story, observe a demonstration of how to use KidPix, select a setting and characters, and print out their background picture to...
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On The Day You Were Born
Students engage in a study about the holiday of a birthday with the help of using children's literature. They make cognitive connections of using the characters of the book and relating them to the personal celebration of a birthday.
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Macbeth
Young scholars explore and analyze how to approach Shakespeare and create more meaning in a variety of contexts. In groups, they imagine three witches on the heath and trying to play it straight. They study various script extracts to...
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Dictionary Work - Entry Words
Second graders examine the use of entry words in the dictionary. In this dictionary use activity, learners look at guide words in a children's dictionary as the teacher/librarian describes the characteristics of each entry. They complete...