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Re-Presenting Race in the Digital Age: "Who Can Pass"
Eleventh graders examine the relationship between race and class in historical and societal settings. They read and discuss the poem, "Passing," by Langston Hughes, analyze photographs by Yinka Shonibare, answer discussion questions,...
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Three Coffles Lesson Plan
Middle schoolers read about the slave trade in primary source documents. They discuss differences and commonalities in experiences. They write prose or poetry from the point of view of one of the figures from the reading and create a...
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Personalized Postcards
Students create and send postcards to friends and family members. Using actual photographs, they write a rough draft and final draft of a paragraph and print it out to glue onto a postcard template to mail to their friend or family member.
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Robert Munsch: Author Study
Learners study Robert Munsch's style of writing. In this literature lesson plan, students read many of Robert Munsch's books, write a list of the characteristics found in his books, and write or orally tell a...
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Citizens For the New Zoo
Third graders complete Internet research to find information about an animal and its basic needs. They design a model of a zoo habitat that would accommodate their animal. They write a letter of recommendation to a Zoo board of directors...
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Child Survival Stories: Hope To Cope
Students brainstorm a list of the various scenerios going on their family life at home. In groups, they read about different perspectives on survival and identify ones they could use in their own lives. They share their own experiences...
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Halloween Counting Book
First graders recognize and write numerals from 1 to 10. They estimate and count to identify sets with more, fewer, or the same number of objects, listen and respond to others in a variety of contexts, and take turns speaking in a...
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Conservation of Energy
Fifth graders examine their use of energy over a certain time period. They come up with a plan to reduce their energy consumption and carbon footprint. Groups of learners complete a chart with three columns; energy-using events, the form...
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The Time I Got Lost
Third graders go through the writing process but substitute paper and pencil with the computer to create a story about "The Time I Got Lost".
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Tell Me a Whopper!
Sixth graders investigate tall tales as a literary genre. They listen to a number of tall tales to discover how exaggeration is used as a story element. They write and publish a tall tale using word processing software. They illustrate...
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Interpreting a Story from a News Article
Students read and retell a story form out of the newspaper. They write to communicate ideas, stories, letters, simple explanations, and short reports. They edit and perfect their projects for homework, and they share their work with the...
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If a Picture is Worth a Thousand Words...
Fourth graders take three different photographs representing the beginning, middle and end of their story. They use the Tool Factor program Fresco to add elements to enhance their creativity and make their writing come alive. They then...
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Creative Writing Inspired by Paintings
Third graders view a PowerPoint presentation of the images by Maxfield Parrish. They wirte a short story based on one image and create drawings of an imagined character.
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Lessons of the Indian Epics: The Ramayana
Students read a version of Ramayana and explore the elements of the epic hero cycle. In this Ramayana analysis lesson, students retell the basic narrative of the Ramayana and identify the main characters. Students identify elements of...
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Adventures in Alice
Students create a haiku and illustrate it on the computer. In this haiku lesson plan, students review the history of the haiku while they are outside and then write their own. Students then use a computer program to illustrate their poem.
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Reading Lesson Plan
Tenth graders read the poem "Still I Rise" and discuss the different ways it can be told and read and brought to life. In this poetry lesson plan, 10th graders read aloud and silently, and compare different works of poetry.
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Chronicling the Journey
Students chart the order of events in literature. For this literature lesson, students read The Odyssey and summarize the epic journey in their own words. Students then write about journeys they have taken in their own lives.
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Out of the Dust
Learners create a poem that expresses the physical and emotional turmoil of living through the Dust Bowl. In this Out of the Dust lesson, students research facts about the time period and discuss the cause-effect patterns...
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Troubadours
Students perform an original piece in the style of a Medieval troubadour. In this troubadour lesson plan, students discuss the role of the troubadour and identify facts from a story that a troubadour might share. Students...
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Illinois Biodiversity
Students examine the amount of biodiversity in the state of Illinois. They practice using new vocabulary and listening to stories about animals. After given time to reflect, they write their own haiku. They work together to create a...
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Cloudy Days Are for Reading and Writing
Students consider a variety of well-known proverbs that refer to the weather. They research the scientific validity of these proverbs, conduct interviews about public perception of the proverbs and summarize their findings in writing.
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The Odyssey Lesson 2
Ninth graders read and discuss part 1 of The Odyssey and create a mind map and visual images to represent vocabulary. In this reading lesson plan, 9th graders are introduced to poetry, and the Hero Cycle.
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CSAP Preparation: "Strike While the Iron is Hot"
Students survey several concepts in literature, science, history, and geography as a preparation for the CSAP standardized testing experience. This nine lesson unit provides exposure to the format and content of the test.
Starfall
Every Day is Earth Day
For this environment instructional activity, students read a poem called "Every Day is Earth Day." Students also write about how they can help on Earth Day.