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The Dream Factory
Students compare postcard samples from Los Angeles, CA and Austin, TX. They examine them to find common elements they share (tone, mood, romanticized themes, artistic elements, etc.) They create postcards to show the "real" Austin.
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Jabberwocky-Identifying Adjectives
Elementary learners identify adjectives in sentences. They read the poem "Jabberwocky" by Lewis Carroll and highlight the adjectives. A good supplemental lesson if you are studying Lewis Carroll and/or "Jabberwocky."
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Style and Voice
Develop the writing skills of your high school class. Writers consider their personal style and voice, read selections by other authors, and then write pieces that challenge them to experiment with their own style.
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Horse of a Different Color: An Introduction to Color in the Visual Arts
High schoolers examine how artists use color to create a sense of depth in a two-dimensional space. They view and analyze prints, complete worksheets, and write a paragraph on how color is used to draw the viewer's eye to a central figure.
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Women's Right To Vote
Fifth graders explore the history of women's right to vote and identify two of the leaders of the suffrage movement, Alice Paul and Lucy Burns. After completing readings and discussions, they write an article for the newspaper about...
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Transcontinental Railroad Web Quest
Students examine aspects of the Transcontinental Railroad. For this Westward Expansion lesson, students conduct a web-quest in order to gather information about the Transcontinental Railroad. Students will use their information to...
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Mapping the Brain
A virtual 3-D tour leads students to developing icons representing the function of various parts of the brain. These icons are then used to label hand-drawn maps of the brain. A worksheet, assessment, and detailed procedures are included.
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Ornithology and Real World Science
Double click that mouse because you just found an amazing instructional activity! This cross-curricular Ornithology instructional activity incorporates literature, writing, reading informational text, data collection, scientific inquiry,...
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Pastimes
Students define and discuss personal pastimes, listen to the story Owl Moon by Jane Yolen, discuss owling as rural pastime, demonstrate comprehension by writing responses to story, and discuss how climate and geography often determine...
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From Page to Stage
Students, utilizing video clips and Web sites, compare specific passages from original texts to moments in Broadway musicals on which they were based, analyzing similarities and differences between them. They adapt literature into a...
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Looking Back - An Art/English/History Interdisciplinary Unit
Students research historical events of the past century to recognize that society impacts the themes within art and literature. They then interview an individual to develop a biographical narrative, a collage and finally an oral...
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Every Dog Has Its Day
Students explore the use of imagery in writing. In this writing instructional activity, students create a writing piece that features sensory images without resorting to the use of clichés.
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Happiness is A Warm Puppy
Students investigate dog breeds and write a short story from a dog's perspective. In this dog research and writing instructional activity, students watch the film, "Dog: The Early Years. They apply critical thinking skills to determine...
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Jingles Sell
Students explore the different persuasive techniques used in commercial and print advertisements. Students then analyze a variety of print ads and discuss the effects of a country's political, economic, and social climates on its...
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Voices of Tragedy and Horror: Remembering the Holocaust
Young scholars consider the implications of the Holocaust. In this World War II lesson, students read the graphic novel Maus at the end of a unit on World War II. Young scholars discuss the impact of reading about the Holocaust as well...
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Creating an Anthology
Student compile a poetry anthology. In this literature lesson, students examine notable poetry anthologies. Students then select a theme to build their anthologies of 10 poems pertaining to their chosen theme.
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The Raven: Creator of the Universe?
Students explore biology by researching birds in class. In this raven identification instructional activity, students utilize the Internet to identify the anatomy, habits and habitat of ravens. Students write descriptive paragraphs about...
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Writing Process-- Revision and Editing
As guided practice, class members work together to revise a model persuasive paragraph. Then they practice independently with their own writing. The included rubric looks at prewriting, drafting, revising, editing, nonfiction text...
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Extreme Poetry Vocabulary
Challenge your class with this comprehensive list of literary vocabulary words. Learners take a pre-test, look up definitions, come up with an example, and then take a post-test. You might use this prior to a unit about poetic devices in...
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Irony in Poetry and Prose (Fiction and Non-fiction Texts)
Middle and high schoolers examine the impact of irony in poetry and prose. In this figurative language lesson, they read instructor-selected literature and identify uses of irony. Then they discuss how irony enhances literature.
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Careers on Stage And Air
Middle schoolers create and perform a scene for play using a common fairy tale for the story line. They view and discuss a video on careers in stage and radio to identify the roles and responsibilities for each of their group members.
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Literary Elements Worksheets and Graphic Organizers
Using graphic organizers can be an effective way to teach literary elements.
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African American Voices
Students investigate the many forms of Haitian art. They compare the art of some different cultures, religions, countries, and philosophies. Students also read the biography of an artist to build context for a particular piece of...
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The Thrill of Big-Wave Surfing
Students view a PBS Nature program about big-wave surfing and participate in a class discussion about their experiences with surfing, body boarding, or body surfing. Students create a drawing based on a reading and post their art around...