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Picturing America: Images and Words of Hope from Romare Bearden and Langston Hughes
A carefully crafted three-day lesson integrates poetry and visual art. By analyzing and comparing Langston Hughes' poem "Mother and Son" and Romare Bearden's collage "The Dove," readers explore the theme of hope. The lesson activates...
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Expository Journal Prompts
Stuck for a journal topic? Download CAHSEE’s 21 “Expository Journal Prompts” as a pdf handout for yourself or class. A great resource for your writing program, print it up and add it your curriculum library.
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Self-Esteem through Literature and Music
Students research representations of self-esteem in music and literature, reflect on their meanings and use in developing positive attitudes. They make a presentations based on their research. They also keep a daily journal.
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Class in the Media: Writing a Television Show
Students look at popular media presentations to determine what type of messages they convey about class and class-linked behavior. They listen to contemporary music to explore how the songs touch upon social class issues. They read...
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Exploring the Self
Students use different pieces of music and writings to explore the theme of self-reliance and individuality. After viewing a video clip, they discuss how the images made them feel. They keep a writing journal to evaluate their own...
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Pumpkin Writing Paper
For this writing worksheet, students use the blank lined paper with a colorful pumpkin border for any kind of writing: reports, poetry, stories or letters.
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Not Just the Facts
Encourage your learners to explore the differences between hard news and news analysis. They outline a complex news analysis about the upcoming presidential election, then endeavor to write an analysis of the same topic, using local...
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Life Reflections in Songwriting and Poetry
Students analyze, discuss and compare sources of inspiration, use of words and imagery, and other differences in writing styles between two featured songwriters. This is an introductory lesson to a creative project unit.
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Reading Primary Source Documents: Historical Content
Why do we read primary source documents? What can they give us that other writings cannot? Provide your learners with any of the primary sources attached here (there are seven), and have them complete the graphic organizer (which opens...
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That Was Then, This is Now: When I Was Puerto Rican
Students explain how geographic/cultural setting influences identity by comparing/contrasting Esmeralda's Puerto Rican self with her American self. They closely read text to pinpoint when Esmeralda was no longer Puerto Rican. Students...
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Celebrating Heroes That Surround Us
Students investigate the concept of a hero. They write in journals to find definitions and create hero symbols. Also students conduct research to create a banner of quotations made by famous heroes who fall under the definition generated...
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Investigating World Cultures
Students, in groups, write research reports and create visuals about countries, put on a culture fair, and use PowerPoint to present their information.
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Lomax the Songhunter
Students write in their journals about the role of music in their lives. They discuss the media's use of music and watch a video clip about someone who prohibited the use of music. They create an illustration to show the folklife in...
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He Said, She Said, So: What's the Point?
Not by the hair on my chinny chin chin! Upper graders and middle schoolers read the story The Three Little Pigs and other tales related to the story from various points of view. They use the Internet to find more stories...
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Patriotic Slaves
Eleventh graders listen to a song and read the lyrics and discuss what patriotism means to them. After viewing pictures of important patriots throughout history, they describe their contribution to society. They write in their journals...
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Survey Says…
Students design surveys to help them to better understand the behaviors and opinions of their peers on issues that are important in their lives. They survey and interview peers and write articles describing their findings.
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Space Exploration
Sixth graders identify and interpret the following: What is space?, Space Race, Living in space?, Man on the Moon, Astronaut training; students compare/contrast US and Russia space exploration. Students write a letter of application to...
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The Media and Social Justice in the United States
Students investigate why the hip hop is sometimes called the CNN of black youth. They explore the political themes in American hip hop. Students examine the connection between art, media and social justice in hip hop.
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Let's do dinner
Students observe the benefits of family structured activities. In this social studies lesson plan, students keep a journal of their experience in having dinner with their families every night for a week. Students research the importance...
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Social Studies: What Is Folklife?
Learners read an essay about folklife and record their thoughts in journals. After discussing the terms associated with the topic, they complete worksheets on types of folklife, pop, elite, and folk cultures. Depending on the age group,...
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Sound
Third graders explore sound. They describe sounds in terms of their properties and explain how sounds are made. Students discuss how various sounds sound to their ears and how sound travels in waves.
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Marco Paul's Travels on the Erie Canal
Students conduct research in order to create an understanding of The Eerie Canal and its place in history and the world. students use a variety of primary and secondary resources to aid in the research process.
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Bootleg Bytes
Learners conduct background research to explore the positions of different groups involved in the digital piracy debate, then participate in a fishbowl discussion that seeks to find a consensus on the issue.
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Birth of a Nation
Fifth graders portray one of the actual framers of the Constitution. They summarize each class period with a journal entry and culminate the experience with the actual framing and signing (or not signing) of the Constitution.