Gwinnett County Public Schools
Analysis of the Tuck Everlasting and The Birchbark House Text Exemplars
Looking to introduce some text-based questions into your ELA lessons? Practice the kinds of skills the Common Core demands with the seven text-based questions and the essay prompt provided here. Designed to be a three-day instructional...
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Water Pollution Experiments
Fifth graders conduct experiments in simulated water pollution using a box of items to hold "pollutants"and an aquarium, representing a waterway. They observe how "rain" from a watering can poured into the box washes the pollutants into...
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Maple Syrup Production
Students make their own maple sugar and learn about how it is made on a grander scale. In this maple sugar lesson, students make their own maple sugar and learn about evaporation and what labor is put into making it.
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Childhood Lost: Child Labor in the United States, 1830-1930
Working in groups, middle and high schoolers describe and discuss photographs depicting working conditions experienced by child laborers in the 19th century. They then write a persuasive paragraph supporting an amendment to regulate the...
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The Wonderful Pigs of Jillian Jiggs: Rhyming Words
Readers explore rhyming words. They will use the story The Wonderful Pigs of Jillian Jiggs to identify rhyming words. Then they will create their own lists of rhyming words. In the end, they will be able to come up with words that rhyme...
NASA
Touchdown
Individuals design and build a set of shock absorbers to protect their astronauts when they land. Using a limited amount of supplies, pupils build a system that will keep two large marshmallows from flying out of a cup when it lands...
Cornell University
Catapults
Ready, aim, fire! Launch to a new level of understanding as scholars build and test their own catapults. Learners explore lever design and how adjusting the fulcrum changes the outcome.
Middle Tennessee State University
Who's Afraid of the Big Bad Wolf? A Comparison in American Culture
As part of their study of the Progressive Era, class groups examine a 20th century version of "The Three Little Pigs" through a New Era lens and identify how ideals such as the value of hard work, creativity, and problem solving,...
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Roller Coasters: They're Fun, But Are They Safe?
Students survey people to find out what roller coasters they like, conduct Internet research to find information on dangers in amusement parks, contact experts on subject, and write feature that shows pros and cons of coasters.
Science 4 Inquiry
The Impact of the Sun and Moon on Tides
In 150 BC, Seleucus of Seleucia theorized that the moon causes the tides. Scholars learn about what causes tides by studying the interactions of gravity between the sun, moon, and Earth. They use technology to formalize otherwise...
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Beaver Ecology
Students explore the lives of bgeahvers. They identify the physical and behavioral adaptations that help beavers survive in their environment. Students compare and contrast how beavers influence the ecology of both forest and aquatic...
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Maple Syrup Production
Students examine the steps of maple sugar production and the labor and effort involved from the tree to the final product. They participate in a taste test game, and if they have access to maple trees, make their own syrup and sugar.
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Canadian Social Trends
Students use surveys to explore how to design graphs, tables, and diagrams. They discuss articles which can stimulate ideas for research topics, or surveys of their own.
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Outsourcing City Hall
Students examine how some city halls around the country are using private companies to run them. After watching a video, they write a reaction paper to some part of it. They write an article for their school newspaper discussing whether...
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University of the State of New York: Grade 4 Science Test
For this New York University grade 4 science test, 4th graders complete 40 multiple choice questions covering a wide range of grade 4 science concepts.
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Kamishibai Stories
Students explore kamishibai stories, Japanese stories told through illustrated picture cards, and become familiar with their form. Afterward, they develop their own illustrated kamishibai story. Students discuss the process of drawing,...
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Checking Out Community Preparedness
Students research storm preparedness in their community. They interview city officials to determine the current emergency plans, warning systems, etc. Students write an analysis of the situation.
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Language Arts: Prince Harry - A Bullet Magnet?
Students research Prince Harry's upcoming deployment to Iraq as a British soldier. They write reaction papers expressing their opinions about it. Students choose from two points of view - should he be deployed, or will his deployment...
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The Pledge of News
Learners explore the fundamentals of news-gathering, the etiquette of reporting, and the rights a news writer/reporter has. They review the parts of a news story and write an article discussing their beliefs about the Pledge iof Allegiance.
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Investigating Properties of Water: Temperature
Investigate how temperature affects the density of water and stratification that occurs in bodies of water when temperatures vary. Water of differing temperatures is given different colors to see the layers that form. The lesson is meant...
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William Shakespeare's Julius Caesar: Fate Versus Free Will
Students relate legends of lucky objects such as a rabbit's foot and principles of Feng Shui to fate and free will concepts that are expressed in Shakespeare's play, "Julius Casear". In small groups, they redesign the palace of Casear to...
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Puffin Patrol
Bird diversity and the majestic puffin are the topics of today's lesson. Children discuss and look at images of puffins, and then they use felt to put a puffin body together. After that they talk about what and how puffins eat. They get...
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Tending To The Greenhouse
Learners investigate global warming through initial discussion of recent findings of an 11-day lengthening of the growing season caused by warmer temperatures. They research and propose solutions for restricting greenhouse gases.
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Sneetches by Dr. Seuss:
Students enter the classroom, half of them are given die-cut stars. They are told to keep the star for later. At the start of the day, the students with stars a piece of candy. Students brainstorm how it feels to get/not get a piece...