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Language Arts: Plot Summary
Eighth graders implement plot summary organizers to identify essential elements such as conflict and resolution in literature. In pairs, they retell fairy tales to each other and complete plot summaries about them. As students read new...
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People are People
Explore human diversity in this human rights instructional activity. Middle schoolers compare novels, speeches, videos, and short stories that promote diversity and basic human rights. They complete daily coursework as they read the...
Appalachian State University
Science Fiction - Genre
Unsuspecting George McFlys are presented into the craft workings of the science fiction genre of literature. Speculations are developed through teacher-led dialogs about how science fiction impacts science, technology, and comments on...
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It's All Greek to Me
Introduce your class to the Greek alphabet and language. Examine how the Greek language influenced the English language. Study the history, timeline of achievements, and the role oral history played in Greece.
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The Evolution of Transcendentalism
Key concepts, major writers, and historical events related to Transcendentalism are explored in a student-produced PowerPoint about this movement. The presentation could be used as an introduction to a unit or as a model that class...
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Do You Know Gone With the Wind?
A story that captured the entire nation's imagination, Gone With the Wind portrays the struggle of the Civil War from the perspective of the South. Do you remember some of the details? Test your understanding and that of your pupils with...
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Creating a Science Fiction Story
As the culminating activity in a unit study of science fiction, young writers demonstrate their understanding of the genre by producing their own graphic novel. After deciding on the main elements of their story, individuals use a comic...
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Those Baffling Bibliographies!
Are you working on a research and citation unit? Have your young writers listen to a lecture on how to cite research sources correctly and how to distinguish new information that requires citing. They compile a list of works cited from...
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The Boy in the Striped Pajamas: Graphic Organizer: Venn Diagram
Compare and contrast the characters in John Boyne's The Boy in the Striped Pajamas. Using a Venn diagram, kids write in different traits to describe each person, and note their shared characteristics in the middle section.
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Lesson Plan 7: The Elements of Story
Budding novelists work on character development by relating to the characters in their stories. They imagine their own hopes and dreams and recall those of characters from books they've read. Learners also consider struggles the...
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Washington Irving in Context
Students examine the various roles Washington Irving had in his lifetime. Examining the situation in Europe and the United States, they are encouraged to relate Irving's experiences to different events. They examine themselves in many...
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Author's Influence Project
Eleventh graders use technology as a tool to research authors of literature being studied. Then students use a presentation program to make final presentations. This lesson allows them to create an understanding of the context related to...
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Sleuthing A Writer's Skills
Learners read The Train Ride Home by Robin Solomon. In this literature response lesson, students will inspect the writing of Solomon to determine how she established a certain tone through her word choice and paragraph structure....
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The Interactive Read-Aloud
Youngsters participate in interactive read alouds about immigration.As they listen to teacher-chosen books that highlight the concept of immigration, they will be provided with opportunities to interact. They can respond to the...
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Vocabulary Development
Learners utilize various vocabulary strategies. They use vocabulary logs to record strategies they have been taught, such as the Frayer Model (definition, picture, examples, non-examples), writing their own definitions, and using...
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To Kill a Mockingbird
Provided here are activities and questions for Part I of To Kill a Mockingbird (although one activity is also included for Part II). Readers study the novel's plot, characters, and setting. I wouldn't recommend using this as the sole...
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The Swiss Family Robinson Teacher's Notes
Guide young readers through the classic novel The Swiss Family Robinson with this collection of activities and worksheets. From basic spelling and grammar practice, to reading comprehension skills, this resource will enhance children's...
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America in Film and Fiction
Students begin the lesson by reading a book on film study. After watching the movie "Citizen Kane", they work together to identify the issues concerning the United States before World War II. As a class, they discuss how the ideas and...
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Discovering American Identity through Writings and Paintings, 1800-1845
Tenth graders view paintings to determine the identity of the United States in a specific time period. As a class, they listen to their teacher give the title of the painting and they write a prediction about what the painting might be....
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Academy Awards for Books
Students are exposed to literature and create an Academy award for their piece of literature. They play an author or a character and present themselves, a category, and each of the nominees in that category to gain awareness of...
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Writing Traits Instruction
Students assess and critique a wide variety of writing samples for each of the traits of writing strands from literature, composition writing, reading and assessment tools. They create and design a descriptive definition piece of writing...
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Unearthing the Secrets of the Garden
Students analyze the literary class, The Secret Garden. In this literature unit lesson, students complete a unit of activities to help them with their reading comprehension of the book The Secret Garden. Students complete webs,...
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Book Illustrations and Their Illustrators as Artists-4-6
Young scholars construct relationships between written narratives and book illustrations, and between the narratives in formal visual art and the subject of the visual art. The use of picture book literature provide a context for the...
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Pigs: Facts And Fun
Students complete a unit on pigs. They take a field trip to the fair and zoo, watch the video of "Charlotte's Web," create a poster, read and analyze "The Three Little Pigs," write a storybook, participate in a reader's theater, and make...