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I Love Navarre
Third graders use a research checklist to gather information for a brochure of their local area. students then use a Brochure Data List and Brochure Rubric to edit their brochure. They discuss and revise and create their final brochure.
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Mathematical Contributions By Women
Third graders explore the contributions of women to mathematics by writing a research paper, presenting a summary to their peers, and sharing an activity with their peers. They use a variety of reference materials to gather information...
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Which Car Will Mom Approve?
Eighth graders write a comparison/contrast essay to determine which of two cars should be purchased from the parents' perspective.
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Linking the Past with the Present
Fifth graders explore how Africans built South Carolina into an economic giant. They write an expository paper explaining how Africans and their descendants built the rice empire along the Carolina coastline. They write a persuasive...
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Animal Reports
Third graders choose an animal to research and write a report about. They determine the animals' habitat, animal classification, whether it is endangered or extinct, and the type of food it eats. Also, they add any special...
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Lung Disease
Students simulate breathing for a smoker and someone with a chronic lung disease. For this health science lesson, students examine the short and long term effects of smoking. They write a persuasive argument against it.
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And Your Point Is . . .? Part I
Students, in groups, complete a WebQuest titled "Love Canal Debate". They follow the WebQuest to research and write papers on different points of view regarding the Love Canal environmental disaster.
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National Security - Japanese Internment
Tenth graders investigate the balance between national security and individual rights using the Japanese American internment camps during World War II as the setting. The instructional activity incorporates photographs from the Manzanar...
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History: Impact of the Lewis and Clark Expedition
Students formulate theories about the Lewis and Clark Expedition about its purpose and impact on America. They write position papers supported with facts discovered in their research. Students include quotes, factual references, maps,...
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I Oppose!--Counter-argument/Classifying
Students create an effective classification and counter argument. In this counter-argument instructional activity, students decide upon a label for at least three types of people and then describe their groups. Students...
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"Anything We Love Can Be Saved" -- A Contemporary
Students compare authors Rachel Carson and Mary Eliza Church Terrell. They read an introduction by Alice Walker and summarize the main points. They also identify the language she uses to persuade readers. They write their own activist...
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In The Eye Of The Beholder
Learners, in groups, research Rembrandt's life and works. They find critiques of his work, as well. Each group reports their findings back to the rest of the class. Finally, they create abstract drawings and write interpretations about...
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In Defense of Elitism
High schoolers identify the key components of an argument essay. They differentiate between claims based on facts, opinions, beliefs,and prejudice. Students develop skills of critical thinking in this lesson.
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Video-Conferencing
Students write a paper on the impact of video-conferencing in an area of their choice. The paper should discuss pros and cons to this technology and include a clear description of what video-conferencing is.
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Genetic Engineering
Students will apply their knowledge acquired from two guest speakers to writing a three hundred-word essay on either the pros or cons of genetic engineering. They will try to persuade the reader of their essays to agree with their stance...
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Supreme Court
Eleventh graders explore the redistricting process. In this American Government lesson, 11th graders examine the electoral map. Students write an essay posing an argument for the redistricting process.
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Innocents Lost
Learners use discussion and writing to express their views about the causes, circumstances and impact of the shooting of a six year old girl by a classmate.
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Voluntary Movement or Not? African-American Movement to the West
Students form an opinion on how voluntary African-American moves really were and then write a persuasive composition supporting their opinion. They access a multi-media narrative imbedded in this plan.
Harry S. Truman Library & Museum
Marshall Plan: Convince the American People
This is an excellent resource for US history classes, especially AP history. After learning some background on the Marshall Plan, the class, divided into two groups, researches opposing positions on this aid program. Groups read and...
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Analyzing Persuasion
A reading of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s "I Have a Dream" speech launches a study of rhetorical devices such as hyperbole, allusion, metaphor, simile, personification, connotative language and parallel structure. Class members then...
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Team Apollo
Seventh graders brainstorm about problems with a school track. They research different possibilities for a solution. They test different track materials with erosion, durability, abrasiveness and resiliency. They determine the area,...
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Change of Perspective
After reading an example of a Cultural Connection about a particular person, class members are asked to think about what this person might experience on a daily basis. They then craft a narrative from the subject’s point of view.
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Four Year Plan Essay
Students complete a personal vision, a four year plan essay, meant to stimulate their thinking process. They set a foundation for what they hope to strive for in the next four years to come.
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Your Next Class Trip
Students write a persuasive argument to their principal to take their class trip to a destination of their choice. They must transfer the written argument into a website. They also focus on what it takes to plan a trip.