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Unit Plan
Core Knowledge Foundation

Unit 4: The Renaissance

For Teachers 5th Standards
The Renaissance is the theme of a five-week unit designed to boost reading comprehension, spelling, vocabulary, and expository writing skills. Scholars listen to and discuss daily readings and engage in skills practice activities...
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Lesson Plan
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Safe Drinking Water Foundation

Water Bottles Everywhere

For Teachers 5th - 12th Standards
Young environmentalists examine how water bottle use is polluting the waters on our earth. In groups, your students study the handout on their assigned topic and present their findings to the rest of the class. Leading up to this lesson...
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Lesson Plan
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Safe Drinking Water Foundation

Ask an Engineer

For Teachers 5th - 12th Standards
A wrap-up to the unit, young environmentalists discuss and write about the difference in perspectives of a water keeper and water treatment engineer. 
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Lesson Plan
EngageNY

Speech Writing: Identifying Criteria for a High Quality Conclusion

For Teachers 5th Standards
Learning is never-ending. Scholars learn about effective conclusions as they continue watching a video of an opinion speech. After analyzing the speech's conclusion, they work in small groups to write an ending for their own speeches. 
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Lesson Plan
EngageNY

Speech Writing: Identifying Reasons, Evidence, and Linking Words

For Teachers 5th Standards
Enjoy the view. Scholars continue viewing a video of an opinion speech, this time identifying the supporting evidence the speaker employs. After watching, they work in small groups on their shared writing projects, crafting a body...
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Lesson Plan
EngageNY

Speech Writing: Identifying Criteria for a High-Quality Introduction

For Teachers 5th Standards
Using a helpful resource, pupils watch a TED Talk of an opinion speech as they consider the criteria for a high-quality introduction. Scholars then engage in a shared writing process with the teacher to practice writing the introduction...
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Lesson Plan
EngageNY

Final Performance Task: Fishbowl Discussion about Editorial Essay

For Teachers 5th Standards
Using the resource, learners share their essay revisions with a partner. Afterward, they participate in a Fishbowl discussion, receiving peer feedback about their editorial essays. 
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Lesson Plan
EngageNY

Group Discussions and Revision: Editorial Essay

For Teachers 5th Standards
Great minds think aloud! Pupils participate in the Fishbowl protocol, discussing their opinions about the Mary River mine proposal. As they share their thoughts, peers provide feedback about their thesis and supporting ideas.  
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Lesson Plan
EngageNY

Close Reading and Viewing: Nunavut Iron Ore Mine Approval

For Teachers 5th Standards
Using the thought-provoking resource, scholars continue researching opposing points of view about the Mary River Project proposal. They read an informational text, watch a video, and record the gist of the text and video in their journals. 
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Activity
PBS

House Warming

For Teachers 3rd - 8th Standards
Things should heat up during a hands-on lesson exploring solar energy. An enlightening activity challenges young scientists to design a structure that collects solar energy efficiently. They keep track of temperature data over time and...
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Activity
PBS

Plants Count

For Teachers 3rd - 8th Standards
Changes to habitats mean changes to resources. Groups examine aerial maps to predict areas of low and high plant resources. After formulating a plan, they visit the areas to collect data about the plant resources and then share their...
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Activity
PBS

Color Code

For Teachers 3rd - 8th Standards
Don't let your brain play tricks on you! Learners test brain reaction rates while it is receiving multiple stimuli. They time each other reading a set of color words written in different colors and again when they are written in black....
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Activity
PBS

Breaking Point

For Teachers 3rd - 8th Standards
Leaf toughness can add to its herbivore appeal. Learns design an experiment to quantify leaf toughness and then perform their procedures. They follow the experiment with a set of questions that ask them to think about how leaf toughness...
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Activity
PBS

Super Sleuths

For Teachers 3rd - 8th Standards
There's no such thing as the perfect crime! Your class of sleuths are ready to investigate the trace evidence at a crime scene and compare it to a list of suspects. They use their investigative skills to record physical properties of the...
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Activity
PBS

Print Hints

For Teachers 3rd - 8th Standards
It would be a crime not to give the lesson a chance! An inquiry-based lesson has pupils assume the role of crime scene investigators as they make observations about shoe prints. They look for patterns in the prints such as distance and...
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Activity
PBS

No Slip Grip

For Teachers 3rd - 8th Standards
The force will be with you during an inquiry-based lesson focused on friction. Young scientists explore the effect of different surfaces on friction. They use rubber bands to measure the amount of force needed to move an object on the...
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Activity
PBS

Insulation Station

For Teachers 3rd - 8th Standards
It's all about the material. Learners experiment with different substances as they try to keep an ice cube from melting. They draw conclusions by answering a set of questions about the types and amount of material that had the best result.
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Lesson Plan
Smithsonian Institution

Singing for Justice: Following the Musical Journey of “This Little Light of Mine”

For Teachers 4th - 8th Standards
Scholars go on a musical journey to discover the origin, importance, and evolution of the song, "This Little Light of Mine". Class members boost their voice talents and clap to the beat while learning the lyrics in both English and Zulu....
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Lesson Plan
J. Paul Getty Trust

Narrating a Family Tradition

For Teachers 3rd - 5th Standards
After examining a piece of art, scholars discuss what they see, paying close attention to details and space. A read-aloud introduces the topic of family traditions. Pupils interview their family members about a tradition in preparation...
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Lesson Plan
Cengage Learning

COVID-19: What Can I Do?

For Teachers 3rd - 6th Standards
Eleven slides make up a presentation that details the importance of practicing social distancing and what can be done at home during the COVID-19 pandemic. Scholars take part in the classroom discussion highlighting topics such as...
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Activity
Newspaper Association of America

Celebrating Women’s History Month

For Students 4th - 8th Standards
Examine the lives of four women—Blanche Stuart Scott, Madeleine L'Engle, Margaret Evans Price, and Sybil Ludington—in a 23-page activity packet. Each profile comes with a set of vocabulary and reading comprehension questions. Further...
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Lesson Plan
Penguin Books

One for the Murphys by Lynda Mullaly Hunt - Teacher's Guide

For Teachers 5th - 8th Standards
Children in foster care face a lot of uncertainty in their lives. A guide for the novel One for the Murphys introduces a main character, Carley, who is thrust into the foster care system. Chapter-by-chapter questions cover key details in...
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Lesson Plan
Penguin Books

An Educator's Guide to The Green Glass Sea by Ellen Klages

For Teachers 5th - 6th Standards
A lot of secrecy shrouded the creation of the atomic bomb. Readers uncover some of that secrecy using an educator's guide for the novel The Green Glass Sea. Three weeks of lesson plans feature discussion questions and reading...
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Unit Plan
Penguin Books

An Educator's Guide to Al Capone Does My Shirts

For Teachers 4th - 6th Standards
It's hard to imagine that life on Alcatraz could be dull. A series of intriguing lessons take readers through the novel Al Capone Does my Shirts. Pre-reading questions introduce the text and a range of suggestions, from comic strips to...