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Creating Comic Strips
Students create comic strips to communicate ideas that cannot be expressed through words alone.
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The Juicy Stuff Matters
Students explore and practice the strategy of summarization and scaffolding while mastering how to recap the details from a story and/or singling out what is important to recall from a story. They summarize the book, "How the Grinch...
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Nibble, Nibble, Little Mouse
Learners complete activities to analyze points of view in different texts. In this point of view lesson, students read Hansel and Gretel and The Magic Circle and discuss the points of view. Learners choose a character from the story and...
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"Me and My Family Tree"
Learners explore genealogy by reading a family history book in class. For this family tree lesson, students read the story Me and My Family Tree by Joan Sweeney and discuss their own family history. Learners identify what the term...
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The Giving Tree
Fourth graders participate in a shared reading of The Giving Tree. They discuss the relationship between trees and people in the story. Students contribute to a class KWL chart. They create their own KWL chart with at least four things...
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Is This a House for Hermit Crab?
First graders identify text that uses sequence or other logical order. They identify and interpret how different plants and animals inhabit different kinds of environments and have external features that help them thrive in different...
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The Magic in Writing
Students watch a portion of a familiar film and write responses to a series of questions. They apply their observations to short stories.
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Words to Warm the Winter: Keeping Things Organized
Fifth graders are in Literary Circles according to the book they've chosen and choose roles.
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Whose Breakfast isn't for the Birds?
Learners explore coffee production. In this cross-curriculum rainforest ecology instructional activity, students research regions where coffee comes from and investigate how the native birds in the rainforest are effected by coffee...
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Animals of the Chinese Zodiac
Third graders study the elements of the Chinese zodiac. They observe the placement of the animals on the zodiac chart while studying the Chinese New Year.
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The Memory Play in American Drama
Students take a closer look at a memory play. In this American drama lesson, students read Tennessee Williams's The Glass Menagerie and analyze it as a memory play. Students discuss the linear and non-linear aspects of the play prior to...
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Fantasy Stories
Students create fantasy stories. In this creative writing lesson, students write a fantasy where they can use characters that they have read about in The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien.
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Could You Repeat That?
Students participate in an oral story telling activity designed to show how story embellishments occur. They read "Beowulf" and identify incongruities that suggest additions and embellishments over the years.
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Symbol Beneath the Surface in "The Life You Save May Be Your Own"
Students identify the value of symbols in shorts stories and analyze Flannery O'Connor's use of symbolism. In this symbolism instructional activity, students complete a worksheet about symbols for cars. Students answer questions about...
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Point of View and Mentor Relationships
Tenth graders analyze the role of mentors, point of view, and prejudice using the texts of To Kill a Mockingbird and Maya Angelou's I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings. In this literature analysis instructional activity, 10th graders review...
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Waddle You Know About Penguins
Second graders study the similarities and differences of the seventeen species of penguins. They investigate habitats and how these habitats are suited to each species characteristics. They see how animals adapt to their environments.
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Review of Personification and Alliteration
Students study personification and alliteration in various fiction texts. In this literary devices lesson, students use various texts to identify the literary devices of personification and alliteration. Students use examples of both...
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Reading and Writing Program Using Core Knowledge Literature
Students improve their reading and writing skills using Step Up to Writing and Six Traits of Writing techniques. Students complete a Robinson Crusoe vocabulary crossword, a Treasure Island character analysis web, reading comprehension...
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Meet the Press
Students give their book reports as oral "Meet the Press" type interviews. They team up with another student "reporter" and answer questions about main idea, details, and the point of view.
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Connecting Characters and Themes in Julius Caesar
Fourth graders prepare for the literary analysis. They locate, interpret, evaluate and analyze the relationship between a character and the theme. After a lecture/demo, 4th graders write topic and detail sentences, then correctly put...
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Teaching a Short Story
Students work in small groups and prepare an analysis of a short story to be presented to their peers. They research the story and create a handout or a visual aid that cites sources of information and summarizes the main points of the...
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Sum It Up
Students write summaries of books to exemplify comprehension of the stories. They create a story web to outline the important details of the story. In groups, students make story webs for separate chapters for the book. After the webs...
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Pablo Neruda
Eighth graders explore the life and works of Pablo Neruda. They complete an author map concerning his personal and professional life. Students identify the key components of an ode. They write an ode to a common object around their...
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Octavio Paz
Tenth graders read and analyze the poem, "The Street," by Hispanic author, Octavio Paz. They research the life of Octavio Paz and identify his literary contributions. They complete an online scavenger hunt and create an author map of...