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Art as Storyteller
Students examine how paintings tell stories. They read biographies about artists, analyze paintings, research and write the art history of a painting, write a creative story based on the painting, and create a painting in the artist's...
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Responding To Rembrandt's Work Through Poetry
Students write poetry in response to Rembrandt's landscapes and portraits. They create accompanying illustrations based on interpretations of Rembrandt's work and present them along with the poems in book format.
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Voices of Tragedy and Horror: Remembering the Holocaust
Students consider the implications of the Holocaust. In this World War II lesson, students read the graphic novel Maus at the end of a unit on World War II. Students discuss the impact of reading about the Holocaust as well as theme of...
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Chronicling the Journey
Students chart the order of events in literature. For this literature lesson, students read The Odyssey and summarize the epic journey in their own words. Students then write about journeys they have taken in their own lives.
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Writing the Mystery with a Purpose
Learners present the outline of the mystery story they are writing while working in reciprocal teaching groups. They respond to group members writing before they continue to finish revisions.
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Out of the Dust
Seventh graders read a book of poems called "Out of the Dust". In groups, they research the Dust Bowl and how it affected people living through the Great Depression. Using the text, they identify the theme and key turning points and...
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Writing Application: The Canterbury Tales
Students read stories from The Canterbury Tales by Geoffrey Chaucer and create their own tale. In this writing applications lesson, students read the tales and analyze the specific details that Chaucer use. Students work in groups to...
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Sheila Rae, the Brave
Students read Sheila Rae, the Brave, and make predictions about the main character.
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Stain My Days Blue
Students read several poems related to the life and culture of the Appalachia region. They are introduced to the poetic forms of simile, alliteration and onomatopoeia and respond to the poems through journal entries and poetry of their own.
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Greeting Card to A Character
Students create a greeting card from one character to another after finishing a novel. Individually, they use their imagination to write the paragraph using the text to support their ideas. They share their greeting card with the class...
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Persuasive Advertisement For A Novel
Sixth graders engage in a project to persuade classmates to read a certain novel. They create a poster using persuasive advertising language. Media can be included in the form of pictures and other graphics to make the visual...
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American Literature, The Earliest Days
Students prepare for and respond to literature selections. This package includes eleven lessons from the American Literature, The Earliest Days: Prehistory to 1750 each covering a different reading selection. Pre-reading and response...
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Marching to the Beat of a Different Drum
High schoolers explore the American dream. In this contemporary music lesson, students analyze the lyrics of songs by Neil Diamond, Bruce Springsteen, and David Massengill. High schoolers create 3-D representations of the American dream...
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Contrasting Cinderellas
Students compare and contrast the traditional Cinderella to the modern-day fairy tale, Cinder Edna. In this fairy tales lesson, students read both stories and construct a Venn diagram to compare the two fairy tales. Students identify how...
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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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More Choices
Fourth graders create onomatopoeia for a variety of things such as a mean dog, a crying baby or a doorbell ringing after exploring word choice as used by authors in selected books. They complete a Word Choice worksheet that is attached.
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Critic's Choice
Third graders read three to five genres and choose one as a favorite. They write an essay persuading the class to read the genre. This lesson serves as a nice introduction to different styles of literature.
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Amazing Adjectives
Fourth graders compose sentences that use descriptive adjectives to describe a specific food and day that they both like and dislike. They should really enjoy coming up with words that describe their favorite and least favorite foods!
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The Experience of Diary Writing
Students read sections of Mackenzie King's diary. King was the Prime Minister of Canada during WWII. They relate the importance of keeping a diary.
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Incorporating Reading Comprehension Using Cinderella Stories from Different Lands
First graders investigate Cinderella tales from different lands to discover their commonalities in this unit. They perform their favorite Cinderella story.
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Reading My Hero Stories
Students use the My Hero website to help them develop their reading skills. They create a KWL chart for the hero of their choice.
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The Name Jar
Students participate in a lesson that focuses on the literature of Korea. "The Name Jar" is read by students to practice some essential reading skills. This would include the recognition of sequence in a story, characterization, and...
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Family Life in America: Past, Present and Future
Ninth graders brainstorm the economic and social functions of a family. In groups, they research the roles of each member of a family in the past and compare it with their family today. In groups, they develop criteria for what the...
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The Odyssey: A Deeper Appreciation
Students read "The Odyssey" and identify the ways it relates to their own lives. As a class, they also examine the history of the story and identify the various Greek gods and goddesses. In groups, they focus on the geography of the...