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Language Arts: Plotting Stories
Second graders read the story, "The Foolish, Timid Rabbit," as part of a unit on appearances. After reading with partners, they write their own stories that include elements about some forms of matter from their science studies. Students...
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Women In Space: Sally Ride
Second graders explore the life and accomplishments of Sally Ride, the first American woman in space. Through reading and discussion, they recall details from Sally Ride's life.
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Comic Book Project
Students write a comic. In this writing lesson, students discuss comic books and why they continue to be so popular. Students create a comic book using an imaginary character. Students must present a problem and solution in their comic.
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A Pixie Biography Report
Students practice biographical writing after completing research on the subject. In this journalism activity, students read a story of an important person's life and discuss the important moments along the way. Students...
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Muslim Arab/Spanish Connection
Ninth graders watch the video, 'El Cid.' They participate in teacher-led discussion about the beliefs, customs, goals, and heroes of both Spaniards and Moors. They create and present an artifact to the class showing the results of their...
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The Great Jellybean Hunt
Students explore natural selection and its influence on the populations to fine tune traits and characteristics. The acquisition of traits developed out of need is examined through a game played in class.
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Bone's Adventures
Students read and discuss a chapter from the book "A Dog's Life," focusing on the point of view of the dog in the story. They explore dog rescue organization websites, and play the online game "Bone Travels On," creating a story map and...
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Jimmy Jett and His TV Set
Fourth graders engage withh the fun poem, Jimmy Jett and His TV, to explain the iimportance of assuming responsibility for personal health.
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Controlling the Code: Molecules at Word
Young scholars investigate how cells determine which genes will be expressed and which will be silent. In this genetics lesson, students use on-line resources to complete a worksheet and gather information about gene regulation. Lesson...
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The Texas Revolution
Fourth graders examine the time period of the Texas Revolution. In groups, they research the contributions of Haden Edwards and Henry Raguet in the democratic process. Using primary sources, they place the events in the correct sequence....
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"Mr. Betts and Mr. Potts"
First graders listen to the book "Mr. Betts and Mr. Potts" and examine the career of being a veterinarian. They categorize animals based on whether they could be house pets or not, develop a class pet graph, and list the various...
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"A Pig is Big"
Students explore the concept of big, bigger, and biggest. They examine and classify items by size, listen to and discuss the book "A Pig is Big," complete a fill in the blank activity, and create a tri-fold that illustrates two items...
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Numbered Heads Together
Fifth graders demonstrate reading and active listening by examining story elements. Working in teams, each student will develop and demonstrate an understanding of story elements by answering questions related to a given story.
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La Raspa, Mexican Hat Dance, and Cinco De Mayo Celebration
Learn two dances that your class can perform at a Cinco De Mayo school celebration. This is really an outline and would be better used if there were plans for how to teach the dance steps. The idea is good to teach the cultural...
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Samuel Pepys
Young writers examine the world of diaries. They study the diary of the famous Samuel Pepy, and discuss why it's so important. Together, as a class, they create a diary that describes what happened in school on a certain day. The catch...
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Rosa Parks
Second graders discover who Rosa Parks was and the significance of her role in Black History. Students place events in Rosa Park's life in chronological order.
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Nursery Rhyme
After reading several types of informational and narrative text involving Nursery Rhymes, have your young readers create a dramatic reading of their selected tale to perform for the class.
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A Walk Around the School: Mapping Places Near and Far
After reading Pat Hutchins’ Rosie’s Walk, have your young cartographers create a map of Rosie’s walk. Then lead them on a walk around the school. When you return class members sequence the walk by making a list of how the class got from...
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Civil War Essay
Upper graders explore equality by writing an essay. They read the story Pink and Say by Patricia Polacco, and discuss the meaning of the story and its relevance to Civil War events. Learners investigate the five writing process steps and...
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Reading Examples
Young writers read excerpts from Gary Paulsen's memoir to identify figurative and literal language that contain sensory details. They determine which selections are examples of sensory language and fi the language is used literally or...
Brain Targeted Teaching
Tuck Everlasting Novel Study
The broad ideas included here provide clear ideas on how to use brain-targeted learning, what activities work best with Tuck Everlasting, how to apply the knowledge gained from their reading, and ideas for evaluation. Not teaching...
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Narrative Literature Response Letters: Original Lesson Plan
Readers write a formal letter to an author offering an alternative ending to a story the author has written. First, the class reads a story or novel. Upon finishing the reading, they are introduced to the format of a formal letter. They...
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Narrative Nuts and Bolts
After viewing slides and reading about child labor, young authors compose an original narrative story. They practice note-taking skills and work to effectively engage a reader by incorporating plot, logical order, complex characters,...
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Narrative Writing
Imagine a day in the life of a child who has to work 12-14 hours a day, seven days a week. After viewing images and reading stories of child laborers, class members select an image and write a richly detailed narrative about a typical...