Smithsonian Institution
The Sounds of an Island: Jamaican Music for the Classroom
Introduce young explorers to the music and history of Jamaican culture through game songs and dances. As a bonus, class members get to play simple songs transcribed for the recorder.
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Newspaper Lesson Plan
Students create a newspaper in order to examine the process and impact of political revolutions. In this newspaper lesson, student analyze the impact of selected revolutions while discussing the language style of each newspaper. Students...
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Follow the Road to Riches
Students study the story of gold and silver mining in the San Juan region. Through the use of interactive video and the Internet, they will examine the various events occurring at this time. They create a timeline highlighting the major...
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The Collaborative Works of Rodgers and Hammerstein: Show Business
Students study the work of Rodgers and Hammerstein in an historical context of the development of American musical theatre as an art form. Students explore "roots" of the genre as it evolves in last half of the 19th and first two decades...
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The Catcher in the Rye: Chapters 21-23
After answering comprehension questions (good for a homework reading check), class members analyze "Comin' Thro the Rye," and using the included guidance questions, discuss Holden's misreading of Robert Burns' poem. The URL to text of...
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Jabberwocky-Identifying Adjectives
Elementary learners identify adjectives in sentences. They read the poem "Jabberwocky" by Lewis Carroll and highlight the adjectives. A good supplemental lesson if you are studying Lewis Carroll and/or "Jabberwocky."
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School Facilities: Setting the Mood for Education
Pupils watch the News Ohio video about Lincoln Junior High School. They write a reaction paper, explaining what effect the studying environment has on students. If the classroom was in a basement, perhaps a little dark and damp, would...
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Lessons from History
Students review key vocabulary in history and review a specific website. They write a paragraph summarizing an event they read about on this website. They analyze the importance of studying and learning from history.
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Myths, Folktales, & Fairy Tales
Introduce the concept of myths to your class. Using the link to "Myths Around the World," read a story aloud and have learners list characteristics of a myth. Readers then choose their own myths from the site and work in groups to answer...
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The Hare and the Water: A Tanzanian Folk Tale
"The Hare and the Water," a Tanzanian folk tale, lends a global perspective to literary analysis. Learners spend the first two days reading and storyboarding. On day three, they examine folk tale elements (worksheet included), and design...
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The Rise of Landscape Painting
Students study the rise of landscape art throughout the 19th century and the specific features of the genre. In this landscape art lesson, students read the definition of landscape art and its precedence in the 19th century. Students...
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Apples, Apples, Apples
Students complete activities using apples that help improve their science, math, and reading skills. In this apple lesson, students read the book Apples, Apples Apples and visit an orchard or farmer's market to buy a variety of apples....
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Sculpture: Statues, Monuments, and More
Students explore some of the components of sculpture through a variety of artists and their artwork. The six lessons of this unit utilize the sculptures experienced when students were studying American history and the Native Americans.
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Study Guide for the 2009 Richard Gray Visual Arts Lecturer: Jules Feiffer
Learners analyze the cartoons of Jules Feiffer and the art genre to then create their own comic book-style spread. For this cartoon art lesson, students read about the work of Feiffer and identify the techniques of the art. Learners...
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Lady Sings the Blues
Learners explore women and music in the 20th century. In this music lesson, students study the relationship between literature and music through The Color Purple and music by Ethel Waters, MA Rainey, Bessie Smith, Billie Holiday, Ella...
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Medieval and Renaissance Art: Botanical Symbolism
Students study the significance of flowers in art from two periods. In this Medieval and Renaissance art lesson, students research the presence and meaning of botanical illustrations in twelfth, thirtieth, and fourteenth century...
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Myths, Folk Tales, Fables and Fairy Tales
Fifth graders study the differences in the four genres of myths, folk tales, fables and fairy tales. They use a PowerPoint Presentation, an assessment in Word, and a writing template also created in Word on which they write first, a...
K5 Learning
Seven Little Mice
Which days of the week does each mouse find a bun? Is it Monday through Sunday, or Sunday through Saturday? Read a poem about the adventures of the seven mice during the days of the week, followed by four reading comprehension questions.
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Let the Good Times Roll! with Louisiana Music
Seventh graders examine the role of the different types of music originating in Louisiana. Using the information they gathered, they create a PowerPoint presentation about an artist who plays Louisiana music. They compare and contrast...
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Point of View and Mentor Relationships
Tenth graders analyze the role of mentors, point of view, and prejudice using the texts of To Kill a Mockingbird and Maya Angelou's I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings. For this literature analysis lesson, 10th graders review Scout's...
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Pursuit of Meaning
High schoolers study art based on the theme "The Pursuit of Meaning." In this art lesson, students research the role of a museum curator and create a proposal and exhibit catalog based on the theme "The Pursuit of Meaning."
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Batter Up
Students explore personal achievement by reading a children's book. In this story analysis lesson, students read the book Batter Up, by Sue Muller Hacking and discuss the main character in the story and the actions that she takes to meet...
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US Steel Gary Works: A Photographic Study
Middle schoolers formulate historical questions about the circumstances surrounding a photograph about the Gary Steel Works factories. They differentiate between historical facts and interpretation. They create a newspaper article about...
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A Light in the Storm
Examine the genre of historical fiction while reading A Light in the Storm. They extract events in chronological order to make a timeline. Then, they use information in the book important to the characters to create a presentation of an...