Teaching Tolerance
Talking About Race and Racism
Set the stage for discussion in a thought-provoking instructional activity on racism. An informative resource prepares scholars to discuss the history of race and racism with a quiz, vocabulary, and guidelines. Academics discuss topics...
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Mystery Pen Pal
Learners investigate different cities and states in the USA, and practice their letter writing skills while corresponding with a pen pal.
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Nothing but Nests
Students examine both the upper and lower case letter "N,n." They practice making the "n" sound, writing the letter, and recognizing it in words. After a teacher book talk, they listen to Christine Young's, "Nests," and make the "boat...
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You Be the Judge
Students explore nonfiction writing by completing a worksheet in class. In this research questions lesson, students read several stories about the Wild West icons Wyatt Earp and Wild Bill Hickok. Students answer study questions about the...
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Romeo and Juliet
Students read Romeo and Juliet and then write an essay from the point of either Lord Capulet or Friar Lawrence persuading someone to adopt their views concerning marriage.
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College Accept-tion to the Rule
Students extend their ideas about the college application process. They write an informative, persuasive letter about themselves to a college admissions counselor that could be used as a 'cover letter' to college applications.
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Working on the Slant
Compare and contrast a major news story from various newspapers. How does the perspective change? Are certain things included in some of the stories and left out of others? Have pupils complete a graphic organizer to compare how...
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Animal Coverings and Homes
First graders research what kind of coverings living organisms have, and where those organisms live before they can understand how to group them. The following activities will precede the "animal groups" centers, and therefore allow them...
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Phonics -- Alphabet Activities for Letters Aa and Ii
Students practice saying the letters "a" and "i". They examine and identify objects that begin with those letters and sponge paint the letters. They practice with all the letters in the alphabet this way.
Pennsylvania Department of Education
Writing with Beans
Students become familiar with the letters in a word by pasting beans on it. In this Bean writing instructional activity, students make words using navy beans. Students color or paint the beans.
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October Writing Journal
Students work on Sustained Silent Writing which encourages them to develop their writing skills. Students are encouraged to share their writing with a partner, the class, a small group, or in a "donut". Lesson describes ways to journal...
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Hands-On! The Invention of Writing
Students are introduced to the way writing was invented in Mesopotamia. In groups, they participate in re-creations of events that occured in a traditional Mesopotamian school. They practice writing in cuneiform script on clay using...
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If I Were An Ant - Creative Writing
The teacher reads the story "If I Were An Ant" by Amy Moses. The students then each create a page in a classroom book about what a small object would look like if he/she was an ant. The student writes about their chosen object and then...
August House
Anansi and the Tug o' War
Combine art, math, language arts, drama, and delicious Jell-o with a instructional activity based on the African folktale Anansi and the Tug o' War. Kids make predictions and discuss plot points of the story before joining in...
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Spelling Takes a Hit!
Learners practice spelling and word recognition. In this spelling lesson plan, students play a game. . Learners are given a word to spell and as they call out each letter, they swat the letter with a fly swatter allowing each student to...
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BINGO with Greek and Latin Roots: Unit 1 Narrative Writing
Play BINGO! Reinforce knowledge of word roots with an adaptation of this classic board game. The teacher draws a root word from a bag and learners fill in a square with a word that has the same root base. Instructions and Bingo cards are...
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King Arthur and his Knights
Fourth graders examine the myths of King Arthur. They compare/contrast versions of the story, The Sword in the Stone, write a letter, identify and analyze characters, sequence events, and write observations and answer questions in a...
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Identifying and Using Parallelism and Balance in Literature
Analyze the use of balanced sentences and parallelism in a narrative. Included in this resource is a narrative about serving as a Peace Corps volunteer in Kazakhstan titled, "The Train Ride Home". Middle and high schoolers review...
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Old Hobbits Are Hard to Break
Explore film adaptation of literature with this lesson, which focuses on the world of film advertisements. Middle schoolers discuss various films (including The Lord of the Rings) and create advertisements for a pretend film based on a...
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Behind the Cover
Students develop questions they would have liked to ask an author about their written works. They read an article about their forefathers and research a back story to a written work of their choice. They create posters to illustrate the...
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Careers
Students review career options, resumes, and job applications. They compile a job portfolio using the items listed on the job kit page then write resumes and cover letters.
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Reading Strategies for Decoding Tricky Words
Help primary school pupils learn valuable reading strategies. As they choral read a poster or big book, they predict covered words and learn various reading strategies for figuring out an unknown word. This will help them gain an...
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Base Words and Prefixes
Once your second graders grasp base words and prefixes, challenge them with this visual word meaning activity. They watch you model it before engaging in guided practice. Use these word cards focused on the prefix re to help your...
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Why Are Thinning Trees Important?
Young scholars investigate thinning trees and why they are important to the forest. In this sustainable environment lesson, students role-play as if they are trees in the forest and simulate the overcrowding and inability to move...