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Writing Folktales
Students consider the structure of folktales. In this writing skills lesson plan, students list the attributes of folktales that they read in class. Students then complete handouts based on the elements of the tales as well as types of...
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Curiouser and Curiouser!
Students imagine that they are casting directors for a student story-turned-movie, and assess considerations for making the book's characters as accurate, interesting, and fun as they are in the original piece.
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Stellar Discoveries That Are Out of This World
Students hear of the recent discovery of a group of planets orbiting the star Upsilon Andromedae. Each student create a page about an element of the universe,
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Recalling History by Pulling Strings
Learners investigate the role and nature of story-telling as it preserves history and culture and discuss how puppetry serves as an effective method of presentation. They create basic outlines for puppet shows that relay important...
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Valuable Lessons
Young scholars explore how immigration, citizenship, due process of law, and the freedoms of speech and assembly have shaped American values throughout American history
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The Lorax Explorations
Students read and debate the purpose of Dr. Seuss' The Lorax, analyze its story elements, and write their own The Lorax II.
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Monkey See, Monkey Do
Students consider the influence of bullies and map the social ecosystem of their schools. They create lifelines that compare baboon and human development and write an essay that considers the relationship between psychosocial development...
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Thirteen Original Colonies
Students use maps, the Internet, graphic organizers and discussion to explore the history of the Middle American Colonies. They consider how the colonies were founded and the ideas of religious freedom and self-government they embodied.
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Truman Capote: Other Voices, Other Rooms
Students read and analyze Truman Capote's autobiographical short story, "A Christmas Memory." They discuss writing styles, conduct Internet research on Truman Capote, write a book review, and write a short story based on one of Truman...
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Bureau Stats
Students explore the role of bureaucracy in United States government; they then examine the history, leadership, organization, and goals of executive agencies.
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Investigating the Method by Which the Body Defends Against Pathogens
Students explore disease caused by bacteria and viruses, how they are transmitted, and how they exert their effects on their hosts. They explain how diseases, such as AIDS, are spread by exponential growth.
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Energy Conservation Games
Learners become acquainted with the first law of thermodynamics, which concerns the conservation of energy as it is transformed from one form to another. They identify forms of energy, and devices or processes that transform energy from...
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A Picture's Worth 500-700 Words: Neoclassical Painting Analysis and Creative Write
Students survey Neoclassical art and create a narrative based on their analyses. Focused questions and relevant background information provided by the Getty Museum provides a great foundation for students to understand art techniques as...
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Buzzing Bee's Wardrobe
Students investigate the anatomy of honeybees. In this anatomy instructional activity, students research the physical characteristics of bees and discover what they do. Students create a model of a honeybee showing the correct anatomy.
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Filter Feeding in Reef Sponges
Young scholars investigate the role of sponges in our oceans. In this biology lesson, students create a diagram visualizing how sponges bring food into their bodies through a filtering process. Young scholars discuss the connections...
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The Role of Public and Private Sectors
Students explore the role of government in the economy market. In this economics lesson, students analyze the decision making and how it takes into consideration additional cost, benefits and public awareness of what they are trying to...
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Exploring A Streetcar Named Desire
Students investigate the dramatic elements of a Streetcar Named Desire. In this drama lesson, students explore the theme of the Tennessee Williams play as they read the play and watch performances of some of the acts. Students then write...
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Filter-Feeding in Reef Sponges
Students make observations and describe the filter-feeding in sponges as it relates to the ecological role of sponges on coral reefs. In this filter-feeding in reef sponges lesson, students are introduced to the feeding methods of...
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Harriet The Spy
Fourth graders investigate the style of diary writing as its own genre of literature. They read Harriet The Spy in order to have a text for this literature study. Students use the skill of prediction to preview the story, and then...
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The Battle of Good and Evil on the Big Screen
Learners evaluate how the movie industry depicts heroes, villains, and events, and how these characters and plots relate to the society and time period in which the films are created.
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Bad Bard/Good Bard: Coming to Character through Preconceptions of Shakespearean Acting
Young scholars practice their own acting skills. For this Shakespeare lesson, students participate in choral readings and reenact scenes from The Taming of the Shrew. Young scholars then discuss the difficulties of Shakespearean acting.
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New england (1780-1820): Dress, Dance and Games
Students examine and discuss nineteenth century clothing and compare it to contemporary styles. After writing paragraphs describing the clothing styles, they play games from the period. For homework, they create their own games to play...
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Home: The Ties That Bind
Students read two novels, The Human Comedy and A Separate Peace and an autobiographical memoir, Farewell to Manzanar. They focus on the difficulties faced by the teenage protagonists in order to set up a connection between adolescence...
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Living With the Heat: The Ring of Fire
Young scholars investigate the planet Earth's infamous ring of fire and the life that thrives from it. For this ocean environment lesson, students investigate hydrothermal vents and how organisms thrive off their heat. Young scholars...