Historical Thinking Matters
Spanish-American War: 1 Day Lesson
After analyzing newspaper articles portraying different perspectives of the explosion of the Battleship USS Maine, your young historians will take a stand on which position is the most believable in both discussion and writing.
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Reaching Students through Literacy Centers
Continue the celebration of literacy this month by integrating reading centers into the classroom.
Constitutional Rights Foundation
If Men Were Angels: Teaching the Constitution With the Federalist Papers
Much like the methods of group work, the writers of the Federalist Papers worked together to advocate for their viewpoints against the anti-federalists. The resource enables learners to break into small groups and conduct research before...
Facing History and Ourselves
A Scene from a Middle School Classroom
Citizens in the modern world can't imagine making the same social choices made by many Germans in the 1920s and 1930s, but they don't realize that they actually do it every day by ostracizing others. A case study of middle schoolers...
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The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe: Anticipation Guide
Before reading The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe by C.S. Lewis, take part in this thought-provoking, pre-reading activity that invites discussion about the story's theme using universal adages.
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Express Yourself Lesson Seed 8: Character
Characters often change over the course of a story or novel. Use the sample graphic organizer provided here to track how the narrator has responded to the sequence of events in chapter four through six of The Cay. In addition to this...
1-2-3 Learn Curriculum
Colors in Spanish
How do you teach your pupils the colors? This activity requires kids to match colored strips to color words that are written in both English and Spanish. A fun hands-on twist to the typical color activity.
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Civil War Journal Mini Lesson
Eighth graders explore the battles of the Civil War through journaling exercises. In this American Civil War lesson, 8th graders write journals from the perspective of teens accompanying the troops into various battles.
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Enrichment Activities - "Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH"
Fifth graders read the novel "Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH." They discuss the various characters in the book, and the different types of conflict that take place within the book. They also research owls and rats to make comparisons...
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Children Actively Investigating Rocks and Minerals
Students follow directions to set up their own record keeping journal. As a class, they are introduced to the characteristics of crystals and identify three types of crystals they see in their everyday lives. They examine materials they...
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Community Journals
Learners visit a multimedia online journal as a model for their research and journal about their own communities. They examine writing for themselves and writing for an audience as they study the community and present it in more than one...
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Journal Writing: Daily Activities
Students use present tense verb endings by describing his/her routine daily activities, demonstrating verb endings. They listen to teacher's description, taking notes. They write their own journal entries about their own daily routines.
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Tall Tales: Read, Write, Draw and Sing
Students get to know the characters and events that shaped American folktales through writing, drawing and singing activities. Handouts and worksheets are included.
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Pre-writing activities for improving students' connections to literature
Students, while reading a novel together in class, jot in their journals any connections to their own lives they can make between the text and self, text to text or text to the world. Various themes are connected to open more doors to...
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Close Reading of a Sonnet
Students practice reading sonnets line by line to find the message of the sonnet. In this sonnet activity, students read a sonnet one line at a time as the teacher projects it for the entire class. As each line is shown, students focus...
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Reading Comprehension Practice: Nonfiction Text
Students practice their reading comprehension. In this reading comprehension lesson, students read or listen to a nonfiction article about meditation. This lesson includes discussion questions and comprehension questions.
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Reading to Learn
Students complete story maps in this lesson. Students read "The Magic School Bus", and get into groups to choose their story element. Each group shares their information with the class. They then complete a story map for a book read...
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Graphing Family Reading Habits
Second graders collect data from their families about their reading habits and graph them. In this graphing family reading habits lesson, 2nd graders interview family members about their reading habits. They then use a graphing computer...
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Kindness Feels Good/Reading Kindness Books
Students complete acts of kindness. In this kindness and compassion instructional activity, students read books about acts of kindness and complete various activities each month to show kindness.
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Reading Without Seeing: Louis Braille and the Braille Alphabet
Students study Louis Braille and the history of the Braille alphabet. They participate in an activity using the sense of touch to determine how the Braille alphabet works.
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Journal of the Stars
Students receive balloons representing the "Life Cycle of the Stars." As the attached script is read, students follow the directions for the color of balloon they are given. Students chart the results for their star. They plot data from...
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Reading Comprehension Strategy Ideas
Students participate in pre-reading activities, journal keeping, vocabulary lists and other reading comprehension boosters. These activities can be applied to many genres.
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Circle of Gold Guided Reading
Students participate in a variety of Guided Reading activities including comprehension questions, discussion, prediction, characterization and inferring meaning while they read Circle of Gold by Candy Dawson Boyd.
Jamestown-Yorktown Foundation
Life of a Private Lesson Plan
In order to understand the challenges the Continental Army faced during the American Revolution, class members analyze primary source materials including a soldier's journal and an officer's letter, and watch a short reenactment video.