To prepare for literature circles featuring historical novels, students research the decades of the 1930s to the 1990s and share their information using Prezi, a web application for creating multimedia presentations.
Blending the Past with Today's Technology: Using Prezi to Prepare for Historical Fiction
Grades
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Vote for Me! Making Presidential Commercials Using Avatars
6 - 12
Lesson Plan
| Standard Lesson
After researching political platforms of past presidents through primary sources and other resources, students create commercials for these presidents using Voki, an online web tool that produces speaking avatars.
Grades
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Sí, Se Puede: Making a Difference, One Letter at a Time
6 - 8
Lesson Plan
| Standard Lesson
After reading the book ¡Si, Se Puede!/Yes, We Can!: Janitor Strike in L.A., students learn about labor unions, strikes, and organizing for change. Students interview staff members in their school to learn about their daily work life, and write persuasive advocacy letters.
Grades
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Power of Picture Books, The: Using Content Area Literature in Middle School
5 - 9
Professional Library
| Book
Featuring descriptions and activities for fifty exceptional titles, Mary Jo Fresch and Peggy Harkins offer a wealth of ideas for harnessing the power of picture books to improve reading and writing in the content areas.
Grades
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RAFT Writing Template
5 - 12
Printout
| Writing Starter
Students can utilize this printout to organize their writing as they learn to use the RAFT strategy. This printout enables students to clearly define their role, audience, format, and topic for writing.
Grades
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Seed Discussion Organizer
5 - 12
Printout
| Graphic Organizer
Students can utilize this printout to organize their thoughts as a new concept or content is introduced through a Seed Discussion. This printout readies students to acquire new knowledge by organizing what they know and what they're prepared to learn.
Grades
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Introducing New Content with Seed Discussions
Grades
5 - 12
Strategy Guide
In this strategy guide, you'll learn how to elicit ideas and conversation about new concepts or content by effectively holding a Seed Discussion in your classroom.
Grades
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Brainstorming and Reviewing Using the Carousel Strategy
Grades
5 - 12
Strategy Guide
This strategy guide introduces Carousel Brainstorming, also known as Rotating Review, and offers suggestions to implement this technique in your classroom for brainstorming about new topics or reviewing learned information.
Grades
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Using the RAFT Writing Strategy
Grades
5 - 12
Strategy Guide
This strategy guide introduces the RAFT technique and offers practical ideas for using this technique to teach students to experiment with various perspectives in their writing.
Grades
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Finding Solutions to Food Waste: Persuasion in a Digital World
7 - 9
Lesson Plan
| Unit
Using various reading strategies and resources, students explore the issue of food waste. They also create persuasive arguments and blog posts examining this topic.
Grades
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Fighting Injustice by Studying Lessons of the Past
6 - 8
Lesson Plan
| Unit
Social injustice occurs every day all over the world. In this lesson, students research a few historical examples of social injustice, including the Holocaust, the Trail of Tears, and Japanese internment.
Grades
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Get ready for National Bullying Prevention Month!
1 - 12
Calendar Activity
| Holiday & School Celebration
Students create a poster to enter into a poster contest that educates others about issues surrounding bullying.
Grades
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In 1939, Marian Anderson was denied permission to sing at Constitution Hall.
7 - 12
Calendar Activity
| Historical Figure & Event
Students view Eleanor Roosevelt's resignation letter to the DAR in response to Andersen being denied permission to sing. Students write a letter to a newspaper editor about social injustice.
Grades
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Black Beauty author Anna Sewell was born in 1820.
3 - 12
Calendar Activity
| Author & Text
Through Sewell's novel, students explore the cruelty to animals and extend the discussion to current events, eventually presenting the information.
Grades
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The Barbie doll was unveiled in 1959.
7 - 12
Calendar Activity
| Historical Figure & Event
Students explore body image and advertising through an activity where they bring in pictures from magazines that they read and discuss gender representations in the media.
Grades
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Actor Sidney Poitier was born in 1924.
3 - 12
Calendar Activity
| Historical Figure & Event
Students do a journal entry about barriers that have been broken,such as age, race, and gender, that might impede them in the future, and how they can break through those barriers.
Grades
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Jackie Robinson was born on this day in 1919.
7 - 12
Calendar Activity
| Historical Figure & Event
Students read messages sent to the White House from Jackie Robinson and discuss his role as an athlete and a civil rights activist, as well as the role of athletes in society.
Grades
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In 1929, Martin Luther King, Jr. was born on this day.
7 - 12
Calendar Activity
| Historical Figure & Event
Students study Martin Luther King Jr.'s "I Have a Dream" speech and work in groups to create a mural that depicts Dr. King's vision of peace.
Grades
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Faith Ringgold was born on October 8, 1930.
5 - 12
Calendar Activity
| Author & Text
Students use Ringgold's books as a springboard for a discussion of race, gender, and civil rights, and then write and illustrate original picture books on these topics.
Grades
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Charles Lindbergh began his transatlantic flight in 1927.
3 - 12
Calendar Activity
| Historical Figure & Event
Students consider what is meant by the phrase "Human Hero," think of people who fit into the category, and read a biography of a selected hero.