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Reading Connected Text Fluency (Passage)
Practice makes perfect when it comes to reading fluency! Walk your emerging readers through a familiar passage, slowly pointing to each word to keep every learner with you. While looking at a projected passage, scholars read one word at...
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Minority Graduation Rates: A 50-50 Chance
Students conduct research on issues and interests by generating ideas and questions and by posing problems. They gather, evaluate and synthesize data from a variety of sources. In this lesson the issue is minority graduation rates.
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Citizens Hold Their Breath in Smoke-free Cities
Learners investigate the laws covering smoking in public places in their community and find out if city council or other governing bodies have considered changing these laws. Students conduct interviews and write an article explaining...
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Character Sketches
Students are introduced to the types of characters found in short stories. They read a short story in class and produce sketches of the protagonist and antagonist. Finally, they create their own characters and write about them in their...
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Harmony and Expression in Writing Form
How do you write an interesting beginning, middle, and end of a story? With this instructional activity, young writers look to other stories as examples. Then, they use some of the attached graphic organizers to help them create their...
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Book: The Southern Colonies: Quest for Prosperity
Young scholars, after reading Chapter 1 in the book, "The Southern Colonies: Quest for Prosperity,"begin to analyze the motivation behind European colonization. They convey the setting of the scene into a writing piece to illustrate the...
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Speakers in Action
Tune into C-Span and tape politicians delivering testimony before congress. Class members view these tapes, formulate a rubric for rating the effectiveness of such a speech, and then emulate best practices and include them in their own...
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Dictionary Detective
Build your class's dictionary skills with this fun game. The activity allows learners to better understand dictionary usage, spelling, and vocabulary. By the end of this activity, they should be skilled word finders.
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"Swamp Monsters" by Mary Blount Christian
Using the book Swamp Monsters by Mary Blount Christian, young readers discuss key vocabulary terms and make predictions about swamp monsters. They complete a Cloze activity, explore past-tense verbs, and categorize vocabulary words.
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Compounding the Problem
Pupils sharpen their dictionary skills and their understanding of compound words in this plan. Tailor it to the grade level you teach by honing in on specific skills. For older learners, the plan suggests providing a word and having them...
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Pair Editing
Practice thinking critically and editing by finding basic errors in spelling, punctuation, and grammar. Partners read the stories What's Up? and Cold Water Clean. They look for and edit any mistakes they find. Worksheets are available...
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ICT/Literacy
Deepen understanding of email correspondence. Begin by tapping into prior experience with email and word processing. Learners then send emails to one another, practicing attaching images and copying and pasting their work into a word...
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Using Transitions
Learners explore the importance of using transitional phrases in their writing. They discuss why transitions are important to their writing and various types of transitions that they can use. Students practice using transitions in their...
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On Your Mark, Get Set, Read!
Are your beginning readers trying to build fluency? Use this activity to teach them how to monitor their reading fluency. First they get a sentence to practice with, reading it to their partner once and rereading it silently five times....
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Say it with FEELING!
Why should we read with expression when we read? Engage your learners in this discussion and teach them the easiest way to gauge expression: the end mark! Is it a question mark? An exclamation point? This helps you determine how to...
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Be Expressive!
First through third graders explore reading with fluency and expression. They examine how to read with expression, changing the speed, volume, and pitch of their voices while reading. Students listen to a story that is read with...
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Reading With Expression
Reading with fluency and expression is an important skill for beginning readers to develop. They discuss what it means to read with expression and observe the teacher reading Goldilocks and the Three Bears without any interest or...
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Informative Essay Writing
High schoolers start by drawing Mr. Essay Man, who is supposed to illustrate the different parts of an essay. After discussing what each component should contain, writers start their essay, guided by the teacher and class discussion....
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Scarf Juggling
Students participate in an activity that promotes self-confidence, concentration and improves hand-eye coordination. They choose a scarf to throw up into the air and catch with one hand and then the other hand. Stimulation of the brain...
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Definition Poems
“Hope is a tissue, wiping away your problems and fears.” Use a Definition Poem Web worksheet to model for your class how to craft a free verse poem based on an emotion. After brainstorming topics, groups use the sheet to make comparisons...
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Developing Listening Skills With Folktales
Students answer questions about a folktale that is read to them. In this listening skills lesson, students practice listening to folktales and answering questions about what they hear. They listen to repetitive readings of the same...
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Capturing the Reader with Vivid Images
In this using vivid images worksheet, students identify vivid images and analyze their effectiveness in John Deever's "Mr. John and the Day of Knowledge." Students then write rich images for their classmates to imagine.
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Past Tense Irregular Verbs
With this worksheet, youngsters review past tense irregular words and predict the spelling of these words. They complete a worksheet where they fill in the missing letters of irregular verbs. The sheet provides the exact number of spaces...
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How to Research and Write an Essay
Research and write a 500-word essay. Pupils research a topic and write an essay based on their research. They use the given directions and examples to help them research, organize, format, and write their essay. There's a short chart...