Novelinks
The True Confessions of Charlotte Doyle: Problematic Situations
When is it okay to go against authority and what can happen if you do? This is the leading question in this activity to accompany your classroom reading of The True Confessions of Charlotte Doyle by Avi. After reading...
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Poetry Interpretation and Figurative Language
Fifth graders discover how figurative language is used in poetry. They read selected poems and identify the figurative language with handouts and worksheets included in the lesson. They write poems of their own using figurative language.
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Legends of the Fifth
Fifth graders discover the difference between myths, legends, and folk tales. They summarize legends. They work together to dramatize legends and then create their own legend using the writing process. Handouts and worksheets are included.
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Streams of Time Lesson Plan: Visually Organizing the History of the Atlantic Slave Trade
Students read, The Transatlantic Slave Trade, and then in teams, focus on one section of the essay. They write down key events and dates, with a brief description of each, and organize it chronologically onto a timeline.
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Essay Exchange Unit: Final Drafts
Learners develop final versions of their position papers and add them to the school's web pages for review and feedback.
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Essay Exchange Unit: Rough Drafts
High schoolers submit rough drafts of position papers and post them on computer networks for review.
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Up Close and Personal with Black Bayou Lake
Pupils 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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A Christmas Memory
Students think about and remember a special Christmas they had with their family when they were younger. They write an essay using vivid descriptions that appeal to the senses.
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Comparing Realistic and Fictional Settings
Students examine setting in a work of realistic fiction. In this literature activity, students read The Hound of the Baskervilles by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle and then write an essay that compares real-life settings to the settings in the...
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WH AT' S Y O U R A M B I T I O N?
Students read and analyze an excerpt from Life on the Mississippi by Mark Twain. Students use the Six Traits of Writing to compose an essay on a personal life ambition that each students may have. Students use prewriting strategies and...
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Exploring Satire - Jonathan Swift
Young scholars study about satire and find examples Part One of GULLIVER'S TRAVELS. They then write an essay about the examples they found and how the writer used satire in his literary work.
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Figurative Language - Part Two
Students need to use their papers from Part One of this lesson. They then write a paragraph for each term. This exercise help them to use these terms in their writing. Using figurative language makes writing more descriptive and alive.
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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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Chivalry
Eighth graders explore manners by writing short stories. In this chivalry code lesson, 8th graders identify the traits of chivalry and explore the history of chivalry in England. Students complete a chivalry worksheet and write a...
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Defining Character Traits
Learners read and analyze an extended definition in preparation for writing an extended definition of a CHARACTER TRAIT. They use analogy as a definition strategy to tailor writing to a particular audience. Finally, students SHARE...
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poem "One Inch Tall" from the book "Where the Sidewalk Ends" by Shel Silverstein
Students use the terms: ratio, proportion, and measurement in their description of the life of a person one inch tall.
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"The Fall of the House of Usher" by Edgar Allan Poe
Students read and analyze the short story "The Fall of the House of Usher" by Edgar Allan Poe. They take notes while reading the story, select an element to analyze, and write an essay about the characters, theme, or the setting.
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Heroes
Tenth graders participate in research and class discussion before attempting to write a traditional five paragraph essay. They use the examples of 16 other hero stories to consider. Students use examples and descriptive details to...
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If I Were President...
Students practice their critical thinking skills by examining current issues in the campaign. They write an essay stating what they would to do solve problems if they were president. They share their solutions with the class.
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You Should Not Have Believed Me: Hamlet
High schoolers discuss the sanity of Hamlet and Ophelia in Shakespeare's Hamlet. Students analyze an image from the play to address the sanity of the two characters. Then high schoolers read the text to determine whether the characters'...
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Cultural Exchange
Young scholars are introduced to the concept of cultural exchange and identify two examples of the concept. Individually, they research two specific examples of exchange and write about how it affected the two groups involved. They...
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Examining Conflicts At Camp Green Lake
Students complete an essay documenting a conflict present in the novel Holes. They define the six types of literary discussion as a class. After identifying one of these types of conflicts in the novel, students write a five paragraph...
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Every Dog Has Its Day
Students explore the use of imagery in writing. In this writing lesson plan, students create a writing piece that features sensory images without resorting to the use of clichés.
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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.