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Cause and Effect

For Teachers 2nd - 4th
Students identify cause and effect relationships in a short story. After reading a short story, they participate in a discussion of how one event in a story can lead to several others. Students are then paired for a matching task that...
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Inferring Themes

For Teachers 5th
Fifth graders practice making inferences on various types of reading material. As a class, they develop a definition of the word "theme" and discuss themes for some of their favorite stories. They use the context of the reading...
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The Desert Alphabet Book

For Teachers 1st - 2nd
Students use a book to discover an interesting fact from the desert using each letter of the alphabet. Using a United States map, they identify the meanings of symbols and locate deserts within the U.S. In groups, they participate in...
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Food and Languages of the World

For Teachers K
Students listen to the story "No Blue Food" in this lesson plan. They then discuss Allegra, the main character, and her hesitation to try new foods. They participate in a matching game in which they match cards to determine a fruit...
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The Eighty Yard Run

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Students read and explore the themes of the book The Eighty Yard Run. In this literature lesson plan, students discuss their observations and predictions. Students develop their own story which is similar to that of The Eighty Yard Run.
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The Witch of Goingsnake

For Teachers 8th - 10th
Students identify figurative language in a proverb and write an interpretation of the proverb prior to reading The Witch of Goingsnake. In this The Witch of Goingsnake instructional activity, students read a native American proverb and...
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Historical Heroes and Character Sketches

For Teachers 7th - 9th
Students write a character sketch and present it in first person.  In this historical heroes and character sketches lesson, students "meet" Harriet Tubman (played by their teacher) and discuss her contributions. ...
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Strawberry Girl: Outdoors in Florida

For Teachers 4th - 7th
Learners explore nature by researching the state of Florida. In this animal identification lesson, students read a children' story and research the Internet to discover the difference in animal life between the early 1900's and present...
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A Moroccan Fairy Tale vs. European Folk/Fairy Tale

For Teachers 2nd
Second graders explore world geography by reading two different fairy tales. In this cultural storytelling lesson, 2nd graders read Snow White and the Seven Dwarves and the Moroccan story The Girl Who Lived with the Gazelles. Students...
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GREEK MYTH IN PAINTING

For Teachers 2nd
Second graders look closely at a Renaissance painting depicting an ancient Greek myth, review the term renaissance, hear a Greek myth that tells how the peacock got its tail, sequence the story, and identify the actions of the myth in...
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The Twelve Months: A Slavic Cinderella Variant

For Teachers 3rd - 8th
Students locate Slavic countries and identify a few characteristics of those countries. They read and/or listen to the Slavic tale, "The Twelve Months," and compare this version with another Cinderella story.
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Centennial: Ghost Riders And Rest Stops

For Teachers 4th
Fourth graders read aged letters that describe communities or stops along the route of the early Pony Express. Each day they mark on a map where the letters come from and chart the Pony Express route. They compare to today's mail and...
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Prairie Voices: Community Development, Investigating Local History

For Teachers 3rd - 12th
Students investigate local history. In this research skills lesson, students examine historic landmarks, tax records, fire maps, town plans, historic photographs, newspapers, and other primary sources to learn about local communities in...
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Priceless Gifts

For Teachers 3rd
Third graders read about Italy and the complete activities that investigate the spice trade. In this spice trade lesson plan, 3rd graders analyze characters, write a thank you note, speak Italian, and complete language activities.
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Visualizing: Hill Fire

For Teachers K - 3rd
Students use visualization while reading Hill of Fire. For this language arts lesson, students read the story and draw a picture of what they see while listening to the story. Students use manipulatives to create the figures described.
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Simple machines

For Teachers 5th - 8th
Learners list and describe the six simple machines. They create a Thinking Map and outline using Kidspiration and create a paper on the importance of simple machines using Microsoft Word.
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Learning About Our World

For Teachers 1st - 6th
Students explore their world using the book "This is the Way We Go to School." They predict information about the story based on the title and pictures. Students label a world map with the names of continents and oceans. They write a set...
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New American Diplomacy

For Teachers 8th - 12th
Students explore the presidential era of Teddy Roosevelt. They read about American diplomacy in Asia, the Caribbean, and discuss the Panama Canal and the Roosevelt Corollary. As a class, students take notes and create a bubble map for...
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One Grain of Rice

For Teachers 2nd - 3rd
Students complete a Know / Want to Know / Learned chart about India. They locate India on a map and read facts about India. They access the Internet and view a slide show about India. They read "One Grain of Rice" in the Scott Foresman...
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The Legend of the Poinsettia

For Teachers Pre-K - K
Students explore the poinsettia and its symbolism as a Christmas flower. Students will listen to a story about the poinsettia and its origins in Mexico and discuss what they know about Mexico. They will discuss the poinsettia's...
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It's All in the Making: Our Local Organizations

For Teachers 4th - 6th
Students study African American nonprofit organizations. For this nonprofit organizations lesson, students discuss African American organizations. Students research the NAACP and NUL website. Students design posters for both groups....
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Families and neighborhoods

For Teachers K
Students create their house to add to a class "neighborhood". For this lesson on family and community, students read the book Family by Todd Parr and discuss how all families and houses are different. Then, students create their own...
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Causation-Exploration and World Trade

For Teachers 5th - 8th
Learners investigate spice trade. In this world history lesson, students identify various spices in jars and their places of origin. Learners listen to a lecture on how spices came to countries in Europe. Students complete a source...
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How Far to Freedom?

For Teachers 5th - 9th
Students research the life of William Parker to learn about the Underground Railroad. In this US history activity, students research William Parker and the Underground Railroad. Students research the Christiana Resistance and map routes...