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The Family Tree
Middle schoolers make a family tree. In this family lesson, students brainstorm what the word family means, interview their family members and grandparents, create a family tree, list their family's favorite foods and write an essay...
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Pass the Peace Pipe
Students investigate the history of smoking in the United States. In this history of smoking lesson plan, students read about the Native American influence on early settlers before researching the Internet for information about the...
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Multicultural Attire
Students research the native attire of a chosen culture, write an essay reflecting the role of the attire in the given culture, and create a significant piece of attire from that culture that be modeled in a fashion show.
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Mildred Taylor: Understanding the Author of "Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry"
Middle schoolers complete various activities related to the analysis of the novel "Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry." They create a collage of words and images of what it was like to live in the South in the 1930's, conduct Internet...
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Origin of the Purple Heart
Students research the origin of the Purple Heart. For this writing lesson students research personal stories of friends or family who have received the Purple Heart. Students then design their own armed forces award complete with an...
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A New NATO?
Students read and interpret NATO's mission statement. After reading an article, they discover incidents in which NATO has deviated from their original purpose. In groups, they research the opinions of the countries of NATO. They write...
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Up Close and Personal with Black Bayou Lake
Students get up close and personal with Black Bayou Lake. Visiting web sites and taking virtual tours, they write multi-paragraph essays using descriptive words and literary devices.
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Macbeth
Students discuss the changes the characters go through in Shakespeare's play Macbeth. They discuss the themes of the play write an essay comparing current events to the themes of the play.
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Exploring Color Vocabulary
Students explore color terms and related meanings and metaphors in cultural and literary contexts. They use the main colors to explore synonymous color terms and related metaphorical meanings of color words. Students recognize the...
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Values Clarification
Students examine their values and what is important to them. They define value, list what is important to them, prioritize the list of values, write a sentence for each value on the list, create a diagram of their number one value, and...
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It's a Mystery to Me
Students read a variety of mysteries to improve their reading and comprehension skills. Using a worksheet, they define and practice using new vocabulary. In groups, they read stories from Poe and Sir Arthur Conan Doyle and write an...
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Valentine Cinquain
Students review parts of speech by using Inspiration. They brainstorm vocabulary that fit a Valentines theme. Students watch as the teacher demonstrates the parts of a cinquain poem. Students write their own poem and create a KidPix...
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Why I Like ________?
Young scholars write a persuasive essay on why they would like to visit a particular place in the United States and why they think others should see that particular place. In their essay, they should use the title I have for this lesson...
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County Chronicles
Students review and use the information from previous lessons about their county. In groups, they write articles for various sections of a class newspaper. They review and edit each others work and publish their newspaper using a desktop...
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We're On A Mission!
Students examine the Mars Exploration Rover mission. In groups, they design their own mission while participating in a webquest. They write an essay using the information they gathered to propose their mission to the President. They...
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Proofreading with Peer Editing
A standard peer editing activity, young writers get into groups and pass their papers to each of their peers in turn; each person checking their peer's paper for spelling, punctuation, and grammar mistakes. In a fun twist, your class...
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Classic Columns
Sixth graders present a PowerPoint presentation on Greek columns. They realize that Greek culture is centered around religion. Students create a model of one of the columns. Also they find examples of Greek architecture in major Greek...
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Keeping Yourself Organized During Writer's Workshop
Writer's Workshop can be a wonderful way to develop a classroom of authors.
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My Sierra County
Students investigate the special landmarks of their county. In this geography lesson, students view a Powerpoint presentation about counties. Students create a Powerpoint presentation of their own county and use a digital camera to take...
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The People's Design Award
Students analyze, critique, and evaluate information from various sources and learn about the design process. In this design instructional activity, students critique work submitted to People's Design Award and create a design of their...
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Picture This
Students create a descriptive paragraph about their past or their heritage and provide a picture to go along with it. In this past and heritage lesson plan, students share their paragraph with the class.
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Creative Autobiography
Learners brainstorm and outline ideas for their autobiography. They begin composition of it as well. Students create a timeline of important events to help them get started and discuss the elements of a what makes a good story.
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Hometown Heroes
Students identify the factors of starting a business. In this business lesson, students interview a local entrepreneur and discuss the factors that influenced their decision to start a business. Students create a composition based upon...
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Changing Verb Voice (Active/Passive) Practice
For this active voice and passive voice practice worksheet, students read an informative lesson. Students then respond to 5 questions that require them to identify the voice the sentences are written in and rewrite them in the opposite...