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Night: Guided Imagery Activity
Prior to reading Night, class members engage in a guided imagery activity that helps them make text-to-self connections to Elie Wiesel’s account of his experiences with his father in Auschwitz and Buchenwald. Complete directions, as well...
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Classroom demographics
Students use strategies to read and comprehend words and material. The use of technology is the backbone of this lesson and is essential for implementation.
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Links to the Past
Learners use documents from California As I Saw It: First Person Narratives, 1849-1900 , in American Memory to create a script depicting the motivations, expectations, fears, and realizations of immigrants who settled California between...
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Revising Pronouns and Antecedents
Students choose better pronouns to use in their writing. In this pronouns in writing lesson, students identify pronouns in their writing, then replace second person pronouns to improve their writing.
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Telling Our Stories of Giving - Writing to Persuade
After identifying the parts of a persuasive piece of writing, young writers explore different prewriting activities for the persuasive essay. They have the option to write a news article, personal narrative, or persuasive essay to...
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Point of View
A picture is used to begin considering point of view. Then, have kids role play included scenes which all involve some type of conflict where the character's have very different perspective. Discussions ensue each role play, with kids...
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Hispanic and English Literature
Eleventh graders listen to a brief history lesson about the 40's and 50's mid-West America and the Migrant workers that worked the fields. Next, learners will read a short story written by Tomas Rivera (both in Spanish and English)....
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The Holocaust
Students comprehension widens on the subject of the Holocaust by focusing on two different, yet related, experiences of Jews in Europe during the Holocaust. Those being death camps and life in major ghettos. They trace both commonalities...
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Philanthropic Literature: Quilt to Freedom
A reading of Sweet Clara and the Freedom Quilt by Deborah Hopkinson launches this study of slavery, freedom, and the Underground Railroad. After a discussion of the importance of showing respect for others and of helping each other in...
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Height versus Shoe Size
Students find a correlation between a person's height and his/her shoe size. They have access to entering data into lists on a graphing calculator and can complete scatter plots. Students read and interpret a scatter plot and use the...
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Fiction Stories
Students complete writing activities for fiction. In this fiction writing lesson, students complete four sets of activities in a writer's workshop format to practice reading and writing in a fiction style. Students develop plot outlines,...
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Candles in the Dark
Students analyze and apply their personal responses through poetry and film to a challenging and disturbing event-the Holocaust. They use a digital video camera to film each student reading their poem.
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Hawthorne: Author and Narrator
Learners examine the difference between a narrator and author. They read Nathaniel Hawthorne's novel, 'The Scarlet Letter,' write a description of the narrator, and research how Hawthorne was impacted by the politics of the time.
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Latino Literature: Poetry
Under construction, this lesson focuses on Canto Familia, a collection of poetry about Gary Soto's experiences growing up in California's Imperial Valley. Representative of the experiences of many Latinos, the poems also address themes...
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Unsent Letter: Canyons
As your class reads Gary Paulsen's Canyons, challenge them to assume the perspective of a character to write a letter. The plan suggests learners pair off, one person assuming the voice of Coyote Runs, and the other assuming the voice of...
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I Can Write a Poem
Using an outline, learners write a poem. The poem is focused on highlighting their experiences. This is a great way to combine language arts and an exploration of self esteem.
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Text as Object and Art: Aesthetic Impact on Audience Reception of Books in the Early Renaissance and Today
Tenth graders examine the role that aesthetics play in the publication of books. In groups, they apply the concept of physical affectation on each reader's experience to literature. They also compare and contrast the varied types of...
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Guess Who's Coming to Our Classroom
Students use their research skills to determine the famous person given in clues. Using a character recently dicussed in their classroom, they discuss how they would create a costume for them. They write sentences to be used as dialogue...
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Color Your Destiny
Eighth graders read and discuss a variety of children's books that deal with feelings, self-concept and how they affect a person's perceptions of themselves as well as their world. They also tie in interrelationships of visual and...
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General Music: Star Spangled Banner
"The Star Spangled Banner" became our country's national anthem, but why? Second and third grade musicians read about the song, analyze the lyrics, and discuss patriotism. They then complete a related word search.
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Angry Words: What Goes Around Comes Around
Students examine how angry words can effect the people and environment around them and identify ways to cope with angry feelings. They listen to the book Andrew's Angry Words by Dorothea Lachner, and participate in a simulation of how...
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The Giver Literature Guide - Conflict
In The Giver literature guide worksheet, learners read several passages from the novel and identify the type of conflict it exemplifies and explain it.
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History Personified
In 1856 Congressman Preston Brooks of South Carolina beat Senator Charles Sumner of Massachusetts over the head with a cane. This event, which highlighted the acrimonious debate over the expansion of slavery, is the focus of a paper...
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One Step at a Time
Young scholars investigate the customs and habits of other cultures by reading letters from a Peace Corps Volunteer. In this global customs lesson plan, students discuss how analyzing a culture is similar to analyzing art, no two people...