Smithsonian Institution
American Sabor Crossword
How much do you know about Latin American music? A crossword puzzle challenges learners to answer 24 questions about the history, genres, performers, and instruments of Latin American music.
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The Name Game
Students identify acts of philanthropy in different works of literature. They idenify and illustrate examples in colonial America. They also read "Miss Rumphius" on how they can make the world a more beautiful place.
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Exploring Japan Through Learning Centers
Students explore the Japanese culture and literature through various learning centers. They compare and contrast story details in two stories and complete a Venn diagram. After comparing the stories, they rotate to different centers and...
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Great Philsophers Revisited
Students work together to research the great philsophers of literature. With a focus on Emerson or Thoreau, they describe his ideas of transcendentalism or civil disobedience, respectively. In groups, they create a short video clip to...
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Freckle Juice
Third graders read Freckle Juice as a shared literature experience. This lesson plan has many good ideas of extensions you can do as your students go through the story.
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The Three Little Pigs
Students identify high and low sounds in the "Three Little Pigs" song, sing a song that includes vocal sound effects and identify ways that music relates to language arts. Before singing the song, they have listened to the teacher read...
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America in Film and Fiction
High schoolers begin the lesson by reading a book on film study. After watching the movie "Citizen Kane", they work together to identify the issues concerning the United States before World War II. As a class, they discuss how the...
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Analyzing Character Traits
Students read "Frog and Toad are Friends" and investigate physical, emotional, and mental character traits. They brainstorm a list of character traits that make a good friend. The list is placed into a visual ranking system that is...
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Fantastic Journeys
Students design a theme park attraction based on a fantastic journey from literature, film, or their own imaginations. They plan a multi-million dollar attraction based on a fantastic voyage from popular culture entertainment.
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Picture This!
Students practice visualizing images as they read text to help improve their comprehension skills. The teacher models a visualizing technique, and the passes out two poems for the students to read silently. The class creates a Venn...
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Design a Book Cover
Students use the programs Pics4Learning and ImageBlender 3 to apply their knowledge of characters, plot, setting, symbolism, and conflict to design and create a book cover. Designed as a culminating literature activity.
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Keith Gilyard: Poemographies
Students, in groups, read and analyze portions of Keith Gilyard's "Poemographies". They create original visual "poemographies" and participate in a written response activity.
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It's All in the Translation
Students compare and contrast translations of Greek literature. In this dramatic literature instructional activity, students read and perform passages from four different translations of Euripides's Hecuba. Students discuss how the...
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Imagination Express: Rain Forest
Fourth graders use spoken, written, and visual language to communicate effectively with a variety of audiences. He also demonstrate a knowledge of the rainforest.
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Salinger and the Vocabulary of the Vernacular
Young scholars discuss the use of slang expressions in literature. In this literary analysis lesson, students examine the use of slang words and expressions in the popular novel Catcher in the Rye. Young scholars research the...
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China
Second graders complete a variety of activities surrounding a unit on China and Chinese culture.
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Personal Response to the European Ghetto
Students examine the characteristics of the ghettos during the Holocaust. Reading various texts on the subject, they gather important information related to the event. They create a visual project of the ghettos and shares them with...
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Dear Abby: A Direct and Indirect Characterization Lesson Plan
Students practice identifying and creating examples of characterization based on comprehension. They assess direct and indirect characterization and use conflict in a plot to generate a piece of writing. Each student selects accurate...
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Home Sweet Home
Students complete activities with the books Color Me Dark, The Diary of Nellie Lee Love, and The Great Migration North. In this literature/History lesson, student read the story and discuss the plot. They analyze photographs taken...
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Would You Like to Become a Millionaire?
Young scholars answer questions written by other teams about literature in an attempt to become "millionaires." In small groups they write a motivational introduction to their teams selected books, publish their questions as a HyperCard...
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A Picture's Worth a Thousand Notes
Students listen to classical music and create a listening map for each piece. In this classical music lesson plan, students select a piece of classical music and create a visual map for the piece. Students set their pictures to music in...
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The Main Man
Students explore visualizing stories by completing a graphic organizer. In this reading strategy lesson, students read the story Pecos Bill by Steven Kellog and identify the setting, main characters and their interpretations. Students...
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Illuminated Text
Learners examine the technique of ancient decorative gilding used to support literature. They begin by tracing letters onto double tack release paper, then place onto cardstock before burnishing with a Simple Leaf sheet. Opaque Blick...
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Lesson Plan for Granny Will Your Dog Bite and Other Mountain Rhymes
Sixth graders practice choral reading of poetry. In this creative literature instructional activity, 6th graders incorporate elements of performing arts into their choral readings of various poems. They discuss musical...