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Gullah Activities
Students study the Gullah culture by watching a video about Gullah, Gullah Island. They discuss the customs and crafts of the people such as basket weaving, food preparation, pottery, and quilt making. While working in centers, they make...
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Children's Literature Across the Curriculum Ideas-Dancing With the Indians
Pupils read Dancing With the Indians by Angela Shelf Medearis. They complete a variety of cross-curricular activities surrounding the study of Native American festivals and traditions. Included are reading, art, math, science, writing,...
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Louisa May Alcott: The Candle and the Mirror
Students discuss the life of Louisa May Alcott and create an outline of a biography of her life and times. In this Louisa May Alcott lesson, students explore the Transcendentalist involvement in the abolitionist movement, relating...
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Re-Name That Tune: A Vocabulary Activity
Students build vocabulary skills by rewriting the names of some popular holiday songs, and create a fun "Holiday Tune" bulletin board display.
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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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Rewriting Shakespeare
Have your learners play around with Shakespeare's language. In this plan, small groups examine and rearrange soliloquies from Othello, noting how the language changes and morphs. All groups have a chance to change each soliloquy, making...
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If I Had the Power
Have your young learners practice using higher-order thinking skills by engaging in this problem-solving activity. They work in cooperative groups to solve problems, and list ways to address a variety of challenges. They explain their...
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Check it Out...Nonfiction Can Be Fun!
Organizing information gathered for a research topic can be a challenge. Read aloud notes you have collected on a topic and use suggestions offer by the class to categorize and sort this information. Partners then follow this pattern,...
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The Stranger Redeemed: A Portrait of a Black Poet
Read and analyze poems by African-American authors. Using the text, they identify the various patterns, subjects, language and dialects used. Then team up to compare and contrast the various authors and define new vocabulary. The lesson...
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Read Me a Story and Check My Listening
Young scholars develop listening and reading skills with the oral reading of a story. The students demonstrate good listening skills using appropriate body language and answering assessment questions. They discuss the story looking for...
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Counteracting Media Stereotyping
Discuss media stereotypes with your emerging consumers. They view a television program to identify gender bias. After discussing the clip as a class, each learner writes a story showing more equitable roles. Or consider having them...
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Monkey and Rabbit Together
Engage young ones and explain grammar with the folk tale Monkey and Rabbit Together. Using a list of verbs from the story, young readers work on verb participles and proper speech habits. The story itself is not included. Social studies...
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How Do You Profit From Trading Stocks?
Students calculate gains and losses of stock portfolios. Although the Global Stock Game (GSG) calculates profits and losses automatically, students should learn the basic math skills in calculating their stock investment the...
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Stereotypes About Homelessness
Students re-evaluate their own views of homelessness. They discuss their views on the homeless, examine where their ideas come from, and compare their views with what others have said. They write about "iam," a homeless man they study.
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Faulkner's The Sound and the Fury: Narration, Voice, and the Compson Family's New System
High schoolers complete a variety of discussion and writing activities surrounding the study of Faulkner's The Sound and the Fury.
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Poet James Whitcomb Riley: Famous in His Own Day
An engaging biography of "Hoosier" poet James Whitcomb Riley serves as a springboard for study of his unique dialect-based verse. Several activities illuminate differences between spoken vernacular and formal language. Learners record...
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Using Citations in a Research Paper
As a prequel to a research assignment, class members explore writing citations in the modern Language Association (MLA) and American Psychological Association (APA) formats. In pairs, or individually, researchers use books and magazines...
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Levies don't pass...and schools cut costs
Students collect financial statements from the district and study how money is spent now. They interview the superintendent, school board members and/or the district's financial officer.
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Marketing to Teens: Gotta Have It! Designer & Brand Names
Advertisers want us to believe we would be accepted if we wore the right clothes or owned the right stuff. This assumption forms the heart of an exploration of the impact of advertising on teenagers. A safe classroom environment would...
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Newport Weather Project
Learners study weather and climate patterns using computer and Internet resources. They collect temperature information and share it with other classes via e-mail using graphs
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Crazy Laws: There Must Have Been a Good Reason?
Students study the reasons for the passage of some "crazy" laws and illustrate one of them. They examine how current laws may seem outdated in 50 years.
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Create a Research Book
Students use the internet to research the production of manuscripts and books. Using this information, they create a research book full of tips to research effectively. They share their new book with the class after organizing the material.
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The Civil War: Up Close and Personal
Students take an in depth look at different aspects of the Civil War. Using primary source documents, they discover that people who lived during the war are not so different from them. They read about the experience of a Confederate...
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Friday Forum (Day 4)
Have your young speakers participate in a discussion/debate with their whole class on their prepared argument. They listen and analyze other student's arguments and refute arguments using logic and not emotion.