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Library Skills Review
Middle schoolers review library skills by rotating through teacher-created learning stations covering various topics. They discuss plagiarism, work on Almanac practice as a team, complete practice using indexes, and an abstracts handout...
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Animals in the Almanac
Students practice using a World Almanac by completing the provided worksheet on animals.
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Make a Community Almanac
Students gather geographic information about their community. They work together to create a community almanac.
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Starting With Stats
Statisticians analyze a data set of student IQs by finding measures of central tendency and dispersion such as mean, median, mode, and quartiles. They practice using a graphing calculator to find the values and analyze box plots and...
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Word Reference Materials
A class discussion on reference materials opens up a lesson on how to use these important resources. They discover that dictionaries, glossaries, and thesauruses are called word reference resources, and they practice using them. The...
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Using Information Resources: Lesson 1
Eighth graders examine, brainstorm, cluster, and skim how to use a variety of information resources to assist them in projects or reports. In addition, places to find those information resources as well as the parts of a book is covered...
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Illinois Biodiversity
Students examine the amount of biodiversity in the state of Illinois. They practice using new vocabulary and listening to stories about animals. After given time to reflect, they write their own haiku. They work together to create a...
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Reference Materials
Learners discuss reasons to use reference materials, identify correct reference material to use for specific information, find answers to specific questions by locating information in encyclopedia, dictionary, atlas, almanac, glossary,...
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So You Want to Be a Copy Editor?
Explore what a copy editor does and take a copyediting test. Pupils practice spelling while identifying the skills and knowledge necessary for a career in journalism. The resource is well done.
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Encyclopedia Expertise
Fourth graders, in groups, practice using the encyclopedia as a reference tool. They research animals today using the encyclopedia. Their job be to find three or more strange but true facts about the animal listed on their card.
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PERCEIVINGT A CULTURE THROUGH ITS LITERATURE
Studentsexamine cultural values in literature, identify the cultural assumptions, prejudices, and purposes of authors and translators, use historical perspective to determine if the values and lifestyle depicted apply to contemporary...
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Prairie Restoration and Prairie Ecology
Young scholars collect data as they identify and classify native prairie plants and insects. They create their own population study using a variety of sampling techniques to determine the population density of various species. Students...
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The Solar System
Students construct a sketch of the planets in our solar system using concentric circles and angles. In this solar system lesson plan, students plot the position of each planet on concentric circles using graph paper. The sun is included...
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Habitat Cards
Students discuss the relationship between a habitat and the environment. In groups, they use the internet to research the relationship between the animals and the habitat on their card. They present their information to the class to...
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Economics Using SimCity 2000
Fifth graders build a city and balance a budget for the population.
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Colonial Hornbook
Students examine the schools in colonial New England. They discover what a hornbook is and how it was used. They create their own hornbook and share them with the class.
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Making Math Meaningful in March Madness
Students examine the statistics of March Madness, the college basketball tournament. They watch videotaped basketball games to collect data for further analysis using Word and Excel. They analyze the data in a variety of activities...
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American Revolution (And What if There Had Not Been One?)
Eighth graders create scenes that might have existed if the American Revolution had not taken place. They use information they have gathered to plan, produce, and present a variety of products from the perspective of a British citizen in...
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Leapin' Landmarks: Locating 10 Man-made Landmarks Around the World
Third graders label continents, oceans, and major mountain ranges on maps and use the maps to write an informational report about landmarks. In this landmarks lesson plan, 3rd graders write about 1 major landmark.
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Benjamin Franklin: Colonial Printer and Journalist
Fifth graders explore how important print media is to everyone's daily life. Students use present daily newspapers and they are to reproduce weather forecasts.
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Represent Rational Numbers
Students identify expanded notation and scientific notation. In this rational numbers instructional activity, students use a calculator to discover the powers of 10. Students practice writing numbers in expanded notation using powers of...
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Let Me Be Your Guide - A Guided Tour of the Dictionary
Fifth graders, in teams, compete arranging vocabulary words into alphabetical order. They complete different worksheet activities to practice locating designated words in a dictionary.
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Cloud Database
Students research information on the types of clouds. They create a database and use a formula. They create various reports and access electronic information to obtain accurate pressure and temperature readings from the National Weather...
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Can You Find It?
Students use the Internet and search engines to research a foreign country. They use the Internet and library to further their understanding on how to use those resources.