IPDAE
Themes in Short Stories
"What is the theme of this story?" The very question can spark fear in the minds of readers and incinerate confidence. Here you will discover an exercise that shows how writers use the tools of setting, plot, conflict, and...
Curated OER
History of Coal in the United States
Students examine a timeline of coal mining in the US and research how the policies of coal dependent companies have changes over the last 50 years.
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The Effects of Photosynthesis on Plant Growth
Students are able to draw a diagram of the light reactions and briefly describe what is occurring throughout the process. They are able to explain where each reactant/product in the photosynthesis equation comes from/goes during the...
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Great Expectations: Group Writing
Examine the differences between totalitarianism and democracy in this writing lesson. Using the same format and theme from Great Expectations, young writers work in pairs to compose their own short stories. They follow guidelines for the...
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Amos and Boris: Text Study
Twenty insightful questions follow a read aloud of the story, Amos and Boris by William Steig. Scholars then show what they know through completion of a cause and effect chart, reading fluency assessment, and a written...
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Strategies for Organization and Elaboration of Personal Narrative
Personal narrative writing is usually a favorite form of writing for youngsters because they get to write about a personal experience. The lesson here asks pupils to take a piece of narrative writing and improve it by following...
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Samuel Pepys
Young writers examine the world of diaries. They study the diary of the famous Samuel Pepy, and discuss why it's so important. Together, as a class, they create a diary that describes what happened in school on a certain day. The catch...
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Narrative Nuts and Bolts
After viewing slides and reading about child labor, young authors compose an original narrative story. They practice note-taking skills and work to effectively engage a reader by incorporating plot, logical order, complex characters,...
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Narrative Writing
Imagine a day in the life of a child who has to work 12-14 hours a day, seven days a week. After viewing images and reading stories of child laborers, class members select an image and write a richly detailed narrative about a typical...
Curated OER
California Artists
Fifth graders identify and compare works of art from various regions of the United States. Telecollaborative partners, from different states, work together to complete this assignment. Using the internet, 5th graders research a specific...
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Journal Writing in American Studies
Learners write their thoughts about political cartoons, photographs, and articles in their journal and then discuss them in class.
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George Winter Lesson Plan 3
Bring language arts and U.S. history together in this lesson, which prompts middle and high schoolers to gather biographical information about Abraham Lincoln. They compare and contrast information written about his childhood and discuss...
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Early Exploration of North America
Third graders "travel" from Europe to North America as Columbus did. They organize the information into chronoglogical order.
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Revolution! Freedom for All?
Twelfth graders examine the causes of freedom by revolutionary patriots. For this Civics and Economics lesson, 12th graders analyze primary sources. Students work cooperatively to write a freedom declaration for their group.
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Reading the Coyote School News: Lives of Ranchers in Southern Arizona
Fourth graders examine the effects of Mexican-American ranching on life today.
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The Great Kapok Tree..
Students predict what each animal in the story read says and then compare them. They pretend that a tree was cut down and write a new ending for the story. Students explain why the story is not true and create a Venn Diagram comparing...
Curated OER
Sarah Plain and Tall
Students read the story, dividing it into chapters per day until complete. They respond to the ad, just as Sarah, Plain and Tall did and use the correct parts of a letter used including a return address, greeting, body, closing and...
Pennsylvania Department of Education
Counting Numbers: Four
Students practice counting to four. In this counting to four lesson, students access an e-book at "I Save A Tree.com" where they count items up to four. They examine the text and images which can be seen in both Spanish and English.
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Innovations That Stand the Test of Time
High schoolers create a class presentation that explains the value of an innovation to society. In this design innovation lesson, students discuss relationships among math, science, technology, and engineering, read a story about design...
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Take the Last Train to Clarksville: Arkansas's Historic Depots and Railroad History
Students study the history of railroads and depots in Arkansas using websites and memoirs. They complete activities that explain how and why the railroads were built, and the different ways people used them.
Curated OER
What's Your Symbol?
Sixth graders investigate how colors, objects and geometric shapes have been used symbolically in art during specific time periods. They use this information to create symbolic artwork and write a descriptive/informational piece...
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Digging It - A Garden That Is
Students plan, design, and create a school/community garden. In this planning, designing, and creating a school/community garden instructional activity, students research materials needed to start a garden. Students determine...
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Read Research and Report
Third graders organize information from fiction and nonfiction trade books to add to the understanding of a /curricular topic. They prepare oral presentations that reflect their understanding, show organization and include appropriate...
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The Time I Got Lost
Third graders go through the writing process but substitute paper and pencil with the computer to create a story about "The Time I Got Lost".