Mississippi Whole School Initiative
Dream Big...With Your Eyes Wide Open
For many people, Barack Obama's presidency was the next step in Martin Luther King, Jr's dream of America's future. Explore the dreams of Americans past and present, as well as the young Americans in your class, with a set of activities...
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Getting to Know You
Third graders explore different types of poetry and illustrate their own experiences through creating their own poem. In this getting to know you lesson plan, 3rd graders create and recite their poems with a self-portrait.
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Folk Games
Students listen to the poem, "De Cunjah Man" and discover how and why this language came into existence. They are introduced to the idea that songs are a way of expressing human feelings and name a song that makes them feel happy or sad.
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What I Did On My Summer Vacation
Students improvise then compose and notate melodies with appropriate accompaniments that are inspired by events that transpired during their summer vacations. Requires a networked keyboard lab.
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Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer
Students explore the concept of self-respect. In this character education lesson, students listen to the original "Rudolph, the Red-Nosed Reindeer" story and listen to the song. Students discuss the meaning of the word underdog and the...
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Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass: An American Slave by Frederick Douglass
In this literature worksheet, students respond to 12 short answer and essay questions about Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass: An American Slave. Students may also link to an online interactive quiz on the novel at the bottom...
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National Symbols
Students explore symbols of nationalism and consider their relevance today. Students listen to national anthems of various countries, discuss sentiments that songs and lyrics invoke, research history of anthems and countries they...
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Violence On TV
Students examine violence on TV. In this data collection lesson, students explore TV violence. Students watch TV shows and fill out a checklist about the amount of violence. Students organize and analyze the information to make a report.
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Health: Influences on Decisions
Students discover factors influencing their decisions after explaining their reasons for choosing favorite beverages. Working in pairs, they complete worksheets about the influences on decision-making. They write stories about...
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Language with Linguistic Legos
Middle schoolers visualize and manipulate sentences as building blocks, and, given a key, use Legos™ to demonstrate how to construct sentences of variety (simple, compound, complex, and compound-complex).
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I'm Convinced!
Students examine persuasive techniques used to sell products, and create and write an advertisement for peanut butter.
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Much Ado About Something
Learners view video clips of Shakespeare's plays. They discuss issues in his plays that challenge his authorship. They discuss the concept of a genius and identify what qualities a writer has.
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The Secret Society and FitzGerald's The Great Gatsby
Students formulate what tensions about wealth and status are revealed in The Great Gatsby. Apply how these tensions are reflected in Nick Carraway's struggle to belong. Write a "credo" for the "secret society" implied in The Great Gatsby.
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Self Discipline: Building Character
There is not a clear purpose for this resource. It seems to be partly an exploration of self-discipline and a discussion of the myth The Dancing Horses of Sybaris. If a class was studying this myth, it could be altered, and corrected in...
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Art and Sole
First graders discuss how culture can be transmitted from generation to generation. In groups, they create a bust of themselves after viewing various artists artwork. They also develop their own dance routine and perform it in front of...
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Drumbeats and Heartbeats
Students explore some of the battles of the Civil War through music, literature, and art. The use of the drum on the battlefield and the reflections and emotions of the drummer boys are examined.
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Using Words to Work Things Out
Students listen as teacher reads Words Are Not For Hurting, and answer questions about the content. Students discuss how to prevent arguments and work disagreements out with words. Students watch a puppet show that promotes discussion as...
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Sing a Tale
This activity allows students to explore the elements of traditional folktales in folk music.
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The Three Faces of William Penn
Students analyze art depicting William Penn. They analyze three different paintings discussing the symbolism, artistic elements, and depiction of Native Americans in each painting.
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Reading Images: Maconaquah
Students examine a portrait of Maconaquah and compose a list of things they observe about her. They look at her age, clothing, jewelry, and her emotions based on her facial expression. Conclusions are drawn as they "read" the pictures...
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Endeavor: Preparing Ourselves for Future Destinations
Middle schoolers define the word endeavor and then practice the art of self-discipline. They create character trait charts and discuss how strong character traits help students meet their future destinations.
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"In Like a Lion, Out Like a Lamb"
First graders listen to the story "Cloudy With A Chance of Meatballs" by Judi Barrett. They discuss weather forecasting and create an art project to go with the saying about March weather: "In Like a Lion, Out Like a Lamb".
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The Places We Love
Students examine how they and others express themselves. Using various writings and art, they discover the places they like to go in the world and share them with their classmates. They paint their favorite place and share their...