New Bedford Whaling Museum
A New Bedford Voyage!
A thorough set of activities, articles, and reference material can enlighten your class about the history of whaling in New England. Kids travel back to a time when whale products were valuable and hunting whales was a way to help the...
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Endless Alphabet
Engage emergent readers with colorful monster animations as they practice sound-letter correspondence, develop phonemic awareness, and gain new vocabulary.
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The Secret is Out
Students explore ideas about journalism ethics as they relate to Watergate and discuss various issues related to an anonymous source being revealed. They write letters to the public editor of The NY Times about credibility and anonymous...
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"Name Me Nobody"
Students complete a 3-5 week unit related to the novel "Name Me Nobody." They participate in a literature circle, read and discuss stories provided by the Safe Schools Coalition, complete a Character/Problem-Solution chart, create a...
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Match the Umbrellas
In this uppercase and lowercase letter matching instructional activity, students cut out the umbrella cards and match the uppercase letters to the correct lowercase letters. This instructional activity covers all of the letters in the...
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Writing Letters for Human Rights
Students draft and edit a letter regarding human rights. They work in groups to select a cause, follow basic letter writing guidelines and draft a persuasive letter expressing their concerns. Students can also send the letters to a...
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Imperialism in China
If you are completing a unit on the European impact on China, this short lesson may be useful. It requires an excerpt from Chinese Civilization: A sourcebook, by Ebrey, that gives Liang Qichaos's account of his visit to America....
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Learning To Get Along With Classmates: A Discussion of Bullying And Intimidation At School
Students discuss cliques, intimidators, support systems and how it feels to be victimized, and discuss ways to deal with hurtful people.
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Navajo Code Talkers
An engaging lesson focuses on the contributions of the Navajo people during World War II. Learners read the book Navajo Code Talkers by Andrew Santella, answer a series of comprehension questions about the text, and write a letter...
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Writing a Query Letter
Students examine how to write a query letter to a publisher. They plan a short story they would like to write, conduct Internet research about possible publishers, and write a sample query letter.
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The Ancient Times
High schoolers create a newspaper sharing stories of Cleopatra before her death. They use the internet to research information about her and the time in which she lived. They share their newspaper articles with others.
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A Teacher's Guide to the Holocaust: Headlines
Students examine newspapers to research public opinion about the Holocaust. In this critical thinking lesson plan, students research the information Americans received in U.S. newspapers about events like Kristallnacht, the Berlin...
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From Printed Page to Home Page
Students compare on-line newspapers to their print counterparts
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Scooting Away from Justice?
Students examine President Bush's July 2007, decision to commute the 30-month sentence of former White House official, I. Lewis 'Scooter' Libby by reading a New York Times article. They scan editorial sources on various sides of the...
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Swift Response
Young scholars examine how matters of national security affect the press' ability to practice free speech. They read and discuss an article regarding the Swift program, discuss opinions about patriotism and the press, and write a letter...
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Safe and Secure: More or Less?
Students discuss what they believe to be the state of security of the nation since September 11, 2001. Reading articles on security, they gather insight into new reports on security. They write letters to major newspapers expressing...
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Serving Memory
Students read an article about a woman who lost her fiance in Iraq. Reading a letter he left his son, they discuss how his words will affect his son once he is old enough to understand. They research the number of casualties in the war...
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The Rules of the Game
Students debate whether college athletes should be held to a higher behavioral standard than non-athletes. Students determine whether behavior outside of school should be punishable by university administration, then write letters to the...
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The Aftermath of Genocide
Young scholars read and discuss articles written about the Rwandan genocide. They participate in a class discussion, and write a letter to the U.N. or a letter to the editor of their local newspaper.
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Trading Up?
Students explore the benefits and drawbacks of free trade from the perspective of the United States, Canada, Brazil, Argentina, Venezuela, Chile and Mexico. For homework, they each write a letter to the editor expressing their personal...
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Immigration Reform: Understanding the Issue From Different Points of View
Students examine the topic of immigration reform. They conduct research on groups representing various viewpoints on immigration, write and perform a role-play, and write a persuasive essay or letter to a state senator on their views of...
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Putting Writing Skills To Work
Tenth graders reinforce their knowledge of the format and elements of business letters by writing a request letter. A review of effective letter writing is provided prior to an independent assignment. This helps with scaffolding the...
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The 8th Amendment: The Death Penalty
Students take a closer look at the death penalty. For this U.S. government lesson, students watch a Discovery video about capital punishment in the United States and then compose letters to the editors of newspapers about their stance on...
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"No News Like Ancient News"
Want to know more about Ancient history? Young historians will read a minimum of two web sites to complete the chart "Residents of Olympus". They choose one Greek god or goddess to research. This could be a small group activity or...