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Appreciating Poetry
Students examine different types of poetry. They choose a poem and write it on another piece of paper practicing their cursive writing. They illustrate their poem and shares them with the class.
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Fun With Past Participles
High schoolers read and discuss an article about the environment, identifying the past participles in the article. They write questions about the article and interview other students.
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Compound Words
First graders read newspaper articles and locate compound words. They break the words into two parts, then draw pictures of the two words.
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Culture Universals Lesson Plan
Students perform research on specific cultures. They write a short paragraph on each of the universals and explain how each universal relates to their home culture.
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A Sure Bet!
Ninth graders analyze Chekhov's "The Bet". They repsond to a journal quesiton and use examples from the novel. In groups, they take on different roles analyzing the novel and then write one of my prompts to complete the lesson.
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Lost Lyrics of Love, Lust, and Losers
Twelfth graders explore the connection between poetry and the "real world". They are reminded of the elements used in poetic interpretation, and use them to analyze various texts.
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World War II: Japanese-American Internment
Fifth graders read "The Bracelet" by Yoshiko Uchida and use it as a catalyst to discuss the internment of Japanese-Americans during World War II. They debate the morality of the internment, create Venn diagrams and chart important events...
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Clay Animation
Eighth graders create a visual story without using words. A study of the history and process of clay animation is explored and discussed. Students storyboard a plot of a story and students divide up into groups designing characters and...
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Using "Why Mosquitoes Buzz in People's Ears" to Teach Cause and Effect
Students discuss cause and effect relationships and the chain reaction involved before listening to the story "Why Mosquitoes Buzz in People's Ears". Students create flow charts to show the chain reactions of causes and effects in the...
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The Lima Bean
Third graders investigate the life cycle of a seed. The parts of a lima bean are presented as part of a review. They identify the parts of the seed and state different stages as seen in observation. Students also use an illustration to...
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No Title
Fourth graders identify examples of figurative language in the book, "One Day in the Woods," by Jean Craighead George. They illustrate a figure of speech and identify it as a simile or metaphor. Each student then records their...
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Bias in Journalism
Students evaluate the credibility and reliability of various sources. Students survey the coverage of a particular event in different newspapers, select a current event and compare different perspectives. They write an article...
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Dragonwings
Middle schoolers engage in a lesson that is concerned with the literature study of Dragonwings. They write about the story from the perspective of a reader that is well informed towards the last chapters. Students also find target...
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Reading Immigration Graphs and Charts
Students examine the settlement patterns and land use in Minnesota. In groups, they practice reading immigration graphs and charts and discuss why immigrants settled where they did. They are also introduced to new vocabulary related to...
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Once Upon a Word
Students explore the derivations and usage of common slang terms. Through internet research and discussion, students consider the Latin and Greek roots of contemporary slang terms. Groups complete an etymology chart documenting their...
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Produce a Nonfiction Text
In this language arts instructional activity, middle schoolers look for the facts and create several nonfiction texts while including useful information for the reader.
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Lady of the Sky Amelia Earhart
Eighth graders explore the contributions of Amelia Earhart. In this Amelia Earhart lesson, 8th graders research Internet and print sources to find information about the aviation feats of Amelia Earhart. Students write summaries based on...
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Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Program
Here’s the overview for a series of lessons about the Japanese American internment introduced by the resource entitled “A Fence Away From Freedom.” Included are the link to the Smithsonian website on which the lessons are based, a list...
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Bowl of Milk
Students analyze mixed messages about sexual behavior. In this sex education lesson, students use a milk bowl and food coloring to identify the mixed messages about sexual behavior. Students discuss the mixed messages for the topic and...
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"The War Prayer" by Samuel Clemens (Mark Twain)
Students explore the story "The War Prayer" by Samuel Clemens, aka Mark Twain. Students are introduced to the life of the author, read the story, and respond to prompting questions about the text. The story is included in this lesson plan.
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The Overthrow of the Hawaiian Monarchy
Eighth graders discover details about the overthrow of Queen Liliuokalani. For this Hawaiian history lesson, 8th graders watch "Hawaii's Last Queen," and read Hawaii's Story by Hawaii's Queen. Students reply to discussion questions based...
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Batty Facts
Students complete a chart which includes what they know about bats, what they want to know, and after conducting research on the Internet and in books, what they learned about bats.
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The English Settle America
Sixth graders compare immigration today with that of the colonial period. They locate colonies on a map and describe reasons their families immigrated to the United States.