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Hidalgo's Fight for the Independence of Mexico
Tenth graders study and examine the life of Miguel Hidalgo while working to identify major themes. Small groups create sequence of event chains, analyze and label maps of Hidalgo's travels, and work together to create giant chalk maps...
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Comparison and Contrast - Two Short Stories
Middle schoolers investigate writing techniques by analyzing 2 stories written by Edgar Allen Poe. In this language arts lesson, students choose two Edgar Allen Poe short stories to read and take notes on the setting, theme, characters...
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Narrative Strategies
Sixth graders explore strategies authors use to make characters and setting seem real to readers. They develop characters and describe setting in original narratives. Students read myths and determine common themes found in myths from...
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Oliver/Kenyon
Young scholars, through two pieces of writing, identify poetic/language devices through the speakers, personification , imagery, metaphor, etc. They assess the patterns those devices are used in and analyze the theme of each. Each...
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Time to Read
Students identify how the literary elements of theme, point of view, characterization, setting, and plot illustrate the effects of a certain disease on a community. They identify the aspects of the book that are specific to the...
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Fan(tom) of the Opera
Students explore the ways in which the worlds of popular music and opera can work together to complement the other. They work in small groups to analyze plot, characters, setting and themes of a popular opera using a summary of that...
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Life in Korea During World War II: When My Name Was Keoko
Twelfth graders review facts about roles of Asia and Japan in World War II, read When My Name Was Keoko to familiarize themselves with daily life and historic events during World War II in Korea, and participate in student-led...
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The Art of Speech
Students discuss President Bush's goals for his second term in office. After reading an article, they identify the major themes of his second inaugural address. In groups, they brainstorm ideas and create murals to illustrate them...
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Different! Diverse! Dynamic! Lesson 2: Teaching Peace Through Literature And Song
Learners investigate bullying and discrimination and draw pictures of a personal response to being bullied. They read Thank You, Mr. Falkner by Patricia Polacco, to determine the philosophic act that the main character performs. They...
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Classical Music Connection-Popular Music - Connecting Pachelbel, Beethoven, and Mussorgsky to Disco and Rap
Students examine classical music and the "Art Rock" of 1967. They review classical themes in their original genre and discuss/analyze how pop musicians incorporate theses themes into a variety of pop music genres.
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Expansion and Reform: Applying the Declaration of Independence
Students conduct inquiries and research-acquiring, organizing, analyzing, interpreting, evaluating, and communicating facts, themes, and general principles operating in American history. They use the Declaration of Independence to...
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Story vs. Plot
Students, after reading and discussing the two texts by Flannery O'Connor, "Good Country People" and "Greenleaf," analyze the plot, tone, characters, themes and setting in each story. They write their own short stories dealing with a...
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Held Accountable
Learners examine and draw conclusions from an excerpt from a slave narrative. They analyze excerpts from two recently discovered slave narratives.
They draw connections among the narrative excerpts and historical texts by investigating...
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Winter Through the Arts
Students read the book The Snowy Day and discover various winter themes. In this winter lesson, students develop movements to express the feeling of a snowstorm. Students also construct winter-themed art pieces.
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"Theseus and the Minotaur"
Learners analyze the features of myths and legends. They read the myths "Theseus and the Minotaur" and "Orpheus and Eurydice," identify the myth story elements, evaluate each story for the overall theme, describe the characters, and...
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Identifying Science Fiction
High schoolers discuss works of science fiction that they read, highlight aspects that made each a part of science fiction genre, identify formal literary elements, and discuss ways each can be developed through science fiction.
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Comparing Characters Across Two Short Stories
Ninth graders listen to a read aloud of two short stories focusing on literary devices. The write about the settings and realism of the stories, and decide each main character handles the conflict he faces with nature.
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Exploring Prejudice and Text-to-Text Relationships
Tenth graders use the novel To Kill a Mockingbird to analyze relationships in society. In this literature analysis lesson, 10th graders participate in a shoe activity where they bring in one shoe belonging to someone they know and a...
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Literary Response and Analysis: Romeo and Juliet's
Tenth graders complete characterization analysis for Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet. In this characterization lesson, 10th graders work in learning tiers to analyze the characters and plot in the play. Students work under, at, and above...
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Review of Personification and Alliteration
Young scholars study personification and alliteration in various fiction texts. In this literary devices lesson, students use various texts to identify the literary devices of personification and alliteration. Young scholars use examples...
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Magic Eye
Students discuss the history of tobacco bag stringing. In this primary documents history lesson, students closely examine photographs of families who worked stringing tobacco bags. This lesson includes discussion questions and a...
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Hollywood
Pupils listen to a play, or perhaps, take turns reading portions of it aloud. Afterward, they thoughtfully analyze and discuss the components of a well-written play. Next, a theme is assigned, and each person writes a play in conjunction...
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Shakespeare 2000
Young thespians can try their hand at writing a script and acting out a scene, while gaining a deeper understanding of the universal topics presented in Shakespeare's wide array of plays. Begin the lesson by conducting a compare and...
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Beowulf: Songs of Ancient Heroes
Introduce your class to epic heroes with these activities for Beowulf. After watching a video clip, taking notes on heroes, and tracking characteristics of heroism throughout Beowulf, class members retell an episode of Beowulf using a...