Curated OER
Walking With Thoreau
Students engage in a series of activities geared towards studying the author Henry David Thoreau. They use different sources to obtain information to create context for future lessons. Students attempt to model their own lives to that of...
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Thoreau
Eleventh graders answer the question Why Westborough? Why did their town develop as it did, what types of industry were here and why. They are introduced to journal writing. Students free write about ideas that stand out from class. ...
Curated OER
Abolitionists in U.S. History
Students read and discuss excerpts from the writings of Henry David Thoreau, Frederick Douglass and Sarah Parker Redmond. They compare and contrast the views of the three abolitionists concentrating on the experiences and reasons for...
Curated OER
INDUSTRY AND THE ENVIRONMENT
Seventh graders create a final project called Industry X (which was previously researched in the unit) has plans to build in town. There is a special town meeting scheduled to discuss this matter and allow everyone to express their...
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Observation: It's A Natural!
Students play the role of naturalist in their own community just as Thoreau was in his. They observe their communities looking for positive and negative aspects on the environment. They work together in groups to complete a model for...
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American Transcendentalism and Buddhism:
Students study American transcendentalism through readings of Emerson and Thoreau. They make cognitive connections to the similarities to Buddhism in these writings. The connection of the literary movement is explained in the art of the...
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Hoot, the Movie And Classroom Activities Too
Students complete various activities for the book and movie "Hoot." They read and analyze the novel, observe wildlife in their neighborhood, and compare/contrast Henry David Thoreau with a main character in the book.
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Project Design
Twelfth graders study Thoreau as "philosopher" and developing a personal philosophy of life (both metaphorically and literally). They come to an understanding of the interconnectedness of the natural world. Students come to a realization...
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Anonymous Patriots: Songs of the Revolution
Give your class a deeper understanding of the context and meaning behind early American song lyrics. By reading the lyrics to "Yankee Doodle" and "Revolutionary Tea," high schoolers will practice analysis by examining the structure and...
Penguin Books
A Teacher's Guide to Sue Monk Kidd's: The Secret Life of Bees
A 12-page teacher's guide to Sue Monk Kidd's The Secret Life of Bees provides the discussion questions and activities that lead readers to understand not only Lily's fears, but her reasons behind them.
Curated OER
The Relationship Between Nature And Man's Place
Students engage in a lesson that is concerned with the findings of the environment that is around them. They make observations and think reflectively about nature. Students make cognitive connections from the world around them and write...
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Creative Writing
High schoolers criticially read an unfinished creative writing piece, answer factual questions concerning the piece, and then finish the story or create their own story about their own neigborhood and possible environmental issues.
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Water Creative Writing
Students red and discuss an example of a biographical essay. They read The Last of the Falling Tide by Car Hiassen, answer factual questions concerning the work, and create their own story about a natural place they are familiar with ,...
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Bioregion Shifts
Students are introduced to the various bioregions of the world. In groups, they research the characteristics of one bioregion and how the area around them affects the environment. To end the instructional activity, they compare and...
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A Literature of Democracy
Eleventh graders analyze how American literature shows a lot of different genres. In groups, 11th graders create a short report about the passage they have chosen.