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James and the Giant Peach
Fourth graders read James and the Giant Peach, write a chronological narrative, and complete a webquest dealing with the life of Roald Dahl.
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The Power of Journals: Going Beyond the Text
Eighth graders define and use new vocabulary and identify the reasons why Native Americans captured Europeans during the colonial period. They write their own journal entries about the topic and explain the importance of journals as a...
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Abraham Lincoln
Students brainstorm different names of presidents and reflect upon the importance of the role in government. They demonstrate a knowledge of the important events in the life of Abraham Lincoln. Students conduct research into the founding...
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"Julie of the Wolves"
Fifth graders research life in Alaska and compare life there to their lives in this instructional activity. They read "Julie of the Wolves." They research through the novel and other reference books facts about the Alaskan climate and...
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Inventors
Students brainstorm a list of inventions that have affected their lives. In groups, they use the internet to research a specific inventor and their invention. They use the information to write two paragraphs and share their information...
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Biomimicry: Working Together, Cooperative Design
Students explore the concept of biomimicry. In this cooperative design instructional activity, students consider how cooperation is connected to nature and then collaborate to create their own cooperative designs for the future.
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"Mother Earth" -- Past
Students examine our connection to the Earth. They identify how Native Americans believed in a "Mother Earth". They discover how the earth and life are connected.
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Water and Sanitation
Learners examine water contamination problems. In this global studies lesson, students compare and contrast water sanitation issues on Malawi, Tanzania, and Ontario. Learners propose solutions to the water sanitation problems.
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Persuasion
Students read various stories and write reflections in their journals. Using the text, they identify the techniques the characters used in persuading the reader or other characters in the story.They rewrite a fairy tale from the villains...
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Children's Literature Across the Curriculum Ideas-Polar, The Titanic Bear
Students read Polar, The Titanic Bear by Daisy Corning Stone Spedden. They complete a variety of cross-curricular activities surrounding this true story of a toy bear that survived the sinking of the Titanic. Included are reading, art,...
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Digital Storytelling: At-Risk Students Find Their Voices
Students use digital cameras and software to create a digital story which consists of a series of digital images paired with a narrarated soundtrack. They focus on relevant images and a presecribed sequence of steps to provide a vignette...
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Global Peace Lesson Plan
Fifth graders recognize the characteristics of poetry. In this poetry instructional activity, 5th graders listen to poetry by Dionne Brand and discuss the meaning of the poems. Students construct their own poems and present them as an...
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Too Many Tamales
Students investigate Mexican holiday celebrations and compare them to American Christmas holidays. They conduct a Mexican Christmas Scavenger Hunt. The instructional activity uses a streaming video in order to engage students in the main...
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Vishal Ramani & Shri Krupa Dance Foundation
Students study the art of Bharata Natyam Indian dance. For this Indian dance lesson, students read text about Indian dance Bharata Natyam dance. Students may create their own dance and a television story about the topic.
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Island Animals
Students explore the concepts of endangered animals and conservation. In this animal conservation lesson, students complete activities to investigate the endangered animals of the US Virgin Islands. Students complete multiple worksheets...
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Children Are...
Students apply prior knowledge to various articles, topics, and situations.
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The Red Badge of Courage: A New Kind of Realism
Students research the Civil War and make connections between the war and the interpretation of the war in the novel The Red Badge of Courage to help them understand realism. In this Civil War recounting instructional activity, students...
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Stories of Our Lives!
Students write their own books based on a life experience that they have had. In this life experiences lesson plan, students practice the writing process along with illustrating their book.
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How does it feel? Why is the Civil Rights Movement so Important?
Fifth graders study the Civil War. In this US history lesson, 5th graders simulate what life was like during the Civil War by having two groups with one group given more materials than the other group. Students then draw a portrait of...
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Systems Working Together
Fourth graders practice reading in the content areas (science) in order to explore the interdependence of the body systems. They answer written questions after reading.
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Places We Live
Students compare/contrast rural and urban communities, and view and discuss the images on the Illinois quarter. They discuss Abraham Lincoln's life, complete a chart and a Venn diagram comparing urban and rural settings, and create a...
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Five Kingdoms of Living Things
Fifth graders are introduced to the classification system used in Science. In groups, they explain the characteristics of each of the five kingdoms. After watching a video, they review the life processes of each kingdom and complete a...
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The Expanding United States
Students display comprehension of the concept of nationalism. They design a tool to conduct a survey. Students conduct a survey to find out which groups students feel affiliated (family, nation, religion, school, etc). They complie...
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Finding Comfort in an Unfamiliar Landscape
Students recognize the writings of a prominent American writer. They analyze written text making connections to personal prior experience. Students discuss in small and large groups their findings. They organize ideas in writing using...