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Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs
Fourth graders participate in a play to work on seeing events from a different perspective. Some of them are reporters, some cameramen and women, and others are interviewed. They put themselves in the shoes of the people in the book...
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A Picture Says a Thousand Words
Students create a writing selection with a well-developed plot. They use a personal photograph in which they are visible to base their autobiographical writing. They write a description of the events surrounding the photograph in the...
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Show Me the Story
Students examine the elements of a story, read a review of Chris Rock's new sitcom, "Everybody Hates Chris" and create original sitcom episodes based on their own lives.
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Satire in Fiction
Twelfth graders identify satire in various fictional texts. For this language arts lesson, 12th graders will learn to define satire, parody, and caricature. Students will identify different forms of satire in historical and modern-day...
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"Twilight" Music Provides Link Between Past And Present
Music appreciation lessons can use modern phenomena like "Twilight" to motivate students.
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Because of Winn-Dixie
Students complete a variety of activities related to the book "Because of Winn-Dixie" by Kate DiCamillo. They create a scrapbook of the characters in the book, play a reading comprehension maze game, and participate in an online...
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Literature Circles in Action
Students form cooperative groups to read, discuss, and respond to a novel. They select a novel from offered choices or by criteria given by teacher and complete a culminating project on the novel from such choices as: creating a...
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Real-Life History
Students collect artifacts which are part of their family/community history. They gather at home and share in the classroom at a specified time when extra care and supervision might be provided.
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Pioneering Children on the Move
Students inquire about life for pioneer children. In this pioneer period lesson, students analyze photographs of children, make information foldables, and create a covered wagon that was typical of the ones of the past. Students will...
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Fictional Biographies
Students read and discuss the fictional biography, "Strega Nona: Her Own Story" by Tomie dePaola. They compare the characters of the story to other fictional characters then choose their own favorite fictional character to write a...
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The Other Tall Tales
Students research many different tall tales. They retell the tale in their own words and create an orginal tale of their own. They share their tall with the class along with illustrations.
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A Question of Style: Exploring the Nature of Shakespeare's Comedy
Students present scenes from As You Like It and critique presentations of their peers. In this As You Like It lesson, students stage the opening scene, experimenting with different approaches to find the tone and style they think works...
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Night by Elie Weisel
Students read "No News from Auschwitz" and answer the study questions as an introduction to the novel. They record reactions to the essay and compare with reactions after reading "Night".
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Castle Builder
Fifth graders discuss the importance of castles in medieval times. Using the internet, they research the parts of a castle and design their own using the components. They use everyday materials to build the castle to a specific scale.
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Fantasy Stories
Students create fantasy stories. In this creative writing lesson, students write a fantasy where they can use characters that they have read about in The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien.
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Analyzing Elements of a Memoir
Young scholars analyze and identify elements of memoirs. In this literature lesson students explore qualities to listen for while the teacher reads a memoir; they then break into groups and analyze a memoir independently.
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Sami and the Time of Troubles
Students read Florence Parry Heide and Judith Heide Gilliland's, Sami and the Time of Troubles before discussing it as a class. They brainstorm ideas for a letter to the main character, Sami. Next, they write a rough draft of a letter to...
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Dialogue Tags/ Synonyms for Said
Sixth graders analyze dialogue tags. In this synonyms lesson students work in groups analyzing a personal narrative. They enter the words onto a classroom chart as well as their notes or journal. The students replace tags with more...
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Exploring Space Fiction
Students visit web sites with information on space fiction and collect information for their stories.
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You Too Can Haiku
Students explore the country of Japan. In this international studies lesson plan, students utilize their geography skills to locate Japan on a map. Students explore some Japanese customs and communities. Students use descriptive language...
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Read Across Texas
Sixth graders read various books about the state of Texas. They read their assigned book, write a book report, and create an illustration or a shadow box of a scene from their assigned book.
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Lyddie
Seventh graders read the novel, Lyddie, while studying the reform movement. They complete assignments for each chapter and write essays about Lyddie's development through the novel.
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SCI-FI TALES
Fifth graders brainstorm known features of science fiction books and titles read. They pair up and discuss the possible physical characteristics fo a creature that could appear fron an excerpt of SCI-FI TALES.
