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Understanding Fantasy
Explore fantasy as a genre. After working in small groups to identify literary elements in The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe by C.S. Lewis, class members share their work and then use the presentations to help them prepare to write...
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Check it Out...Nonfiction Can Be Fun!
Organizing information gathered for a research topic can be a challenge. Read aloud notes you have collected on a topic and use suggestions offer by the class to categorize and sort this information. Partners then follow this pattern,...
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Teen Living: Six Basic Emotions
Helping teens recognize and identify the six basic emotions, this activity involves a game in which they match feelings with statements on cards. No game card content is attached. View film clips first with no sound to evaluate body...
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Mark Twain and Huckleberry Finn Introductory Lessons
“What is the role or function of controversial art? And, should children, our children, be required—forced—to study certain works they may find painful or humiliating or offensive?” Robert Zalisk’s question, found in his article, “Uproar...
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Animal Rights Vs. Animal Welfare - Understanding the Issue
Students explore the difference between animal rights and animal welfare. They take a field trip to a farm to explore the producing animals for human use. After researching and collecting information from animal welfare/rights...
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It's in the Cards
Young scholars discover how art auctions have become competitive after reading an article from The New York Times. Students voice their opinions about specific examples of modern art and create trading cards based on their research of...
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Taking It to the Streets
Students read about a protest in France, led by students against the government's labor laws targeting youth. They research student-led protests over the past 50 years and role-play student protesters, reporters, and government officials.
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Take Me Back to the Ball Game!
Students examine the role of sports in American society, analyzing both positive outcomes and its exclusive nature. They reflect on how the lessons that they participate in as students may carry with them into their adult lives.
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Strength-Training for Both Body and Mind
students take part in a variety of writing exercises about the most important pastime or activities in which they participate and the personal growth gained through this participation.
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Taking the Witness Stand
Learners identify a pivotal event in world history that they would have liked to have witnessed. They then research this event and write a first-person account of it as if they had been present. Their first-prerson account is modeled...
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Mathematical Metaphors in Art
Students investigate the role of mathematics in their everyday lives. They discover, through reading a Times article and through analyzing a specific example of art, that mathematics exists on a deeper 'metaphoric' level in art.
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High Anxiety
The Learning Network section of the New York Times produces high-quality teaching materials. This issue gets middle or high schoolers reading an article about how people use art to express their response to high-stress events. They work...
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The Persuasive Art of Portraiture
Students first explore the power of the visual image to convey a message by examining the portrait of George Washington on American dollar bills. They next use, 'Prolific Chinese Painter Is Anonymous No More,' to explore a famous...
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Cuisine Art
Students explore the history of the foods of different ethnic groups and the significance of these foods in perpetuating culture.
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The Art of Speech
Students discuss President Bush's goals for his second term in office. After reading an article, they identify the major themes of his second inaugural address. In groups, they brainstorm ideas and create murals to illustrate them...
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Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day
Students investigate storytelling by analyzing images in a book. In this reading analysis lesson plan, students read and analyze the book Alexander and the Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day. Students observe the illustrations...
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Incredible Shrinking Notes
Students listen to a biography of Amelia Earhart. They fill in an index card of the important information. They narrow down those notes to smaller post-it notes. They practice determining important facts in documents.
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Looking At Narrative Art Lesson 2: How Does The Story End?
Students use narrative art vocabulary to speculate about the story in a visual image. In a group, students use narrative art vocabulary to create a story with an ending. They view images imbedded in this lesson plan.
National First Ladies' Library
Workers, Take a Holiday! the Beginning of Labor Day
When your upper elementary class returns in the fall, have them identify and define the beginnings of the labor movement and Labor Day in the United States. They thoughtfully reflect on changes that have occurred in the way we think...
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Recording the Deed: Note-Taking on Heroes
Students prepare to write summaries of heroes. In this note-taking lesson, students listen to a guest speaker discuss the attributes of unsung heroes and take Cornell method notes.
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Vocabulary & Language Development
Students develop their vocabulary skills. In this vocabulary and language lesson, students practice naming everyday objects as they take part in 3 classroom activities that require them to note attributes of everyday objects their...
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Environmental Art
Students create their own environmental art after the teacher shows them a variety of example and has a discussion about it. They then write an initial personal definition of environmental art.
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Rewriting Shakespeare
Have your learners play around with Shakespeare's language. In this plan, small groups examine and rearrange soliloquies from Othello, noting how the language changes and morphs. All groups have a chance to change each soliloquy, making...
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Calligraphy, Handwriting And The Alphabet
Young scholars produce calligraphy projects using writing skills and unique tools in this six-day Art activity. Emphasis is placed upon the work of Portland, Oregon calligraphy artist Inga Dubay and her experiences with "Italic" writing...