Students learn about the life and music of John Lennon, write a short story from their lives integrating lyrics from some of their favorite songs, and create a class book of stories.
Songs of Our Lives: Using Lyrics to Write Stories
Grades
|
"America the Beautiful": Using Music and Art to Develop Vocabulary
K - 2
Lesson Plan
| Unit
Students engage in a rich study of vocabulary words from the song "America the Beautiful," using music and art.
Grades
|
Audio Broadcasts and Podcasts: Oral Storytelling and Dramatization
9 - 12
Lesson Plan
| Unit
After exploring Orson Welles' 1938 broadcast of H. G. Wells' War of the Worlds, students create their own audio dramatization of a text they have read.
Grades
|
Copyright Infringement or Not? The Debate over Downloading Music
9 - 12
Lesson Plan
| Unit
This lesson takes advantage of students' interest in music and audio sharing. Students investigate multiple perspectives in the music downloading debate and develop a persuasive argument for a classroom debate.
Grades
|
Building Vietnam War Scavenger Hunts through Web-Based Inquiry
9 - 12
Lesson Plan
| Standard Lesson
Students research the effects of the Vietnam war on a specific group of people who were involved. They then create Internet scavenger hunts to share with the class.
Grades
|
Blending the Past with Today's Technology: Using Prezi to Prepare for Historical Fiction
6 - 10
Lesson Plan
| Standard Lesson
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.
Grades
|
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
|
Book Report Alternative: Getting Acquainted with Farcebook
7 - 12
Lesson Plan
| Standard Lesson
In this alternative to the traditional book report, students report on their novel choices using Facebook-like pages.
Grades
|
A Tale of a Few Text Messages: A Character Study of A Tale of Two Cities
9 - 12
Lesson Plan
| Standard Lesson
Students use A Tale of Two Cities to explore relationships, plot points, character traits, and background by writing text messages between characters within the novel.
Grades
|
Glogging About Natural Disasters
5 - 8
Lesson Plan
| Standard Lesson
After researching various natural disasters, students share their findings with each other using glogs, or through poster presentations.
Grades
|
Huge Mistakes that Led to Catastrophe: Learning about Human-made Disasters throughout History
5 - 8
Lesson Plan
| Standard Lesson
After researching various human-made disasters such as the BP oil spill, the sinking of the Titanic, and the Great Chicago Fire, students share their research in oral presentations. Then students pair up to compare and contrast their disasters using the Venn Diagram Student Interactive or the Venn diagram Mobile App.
Grades
|
Engaging Students with Library of Congress Primary Sources in the ELA Classroom Quick-Reference Guide (QRG)
3 - 12
Printout
|
Quick-Reference Guide (QRG) focused on "Engaging Students with Library of Congress Primary Sources in the ELA Classroom."
Grades
|
Rosa Parks was born on this day in 1913.
K - 12
Calendar Activity
| Historical Figure & Event
Rosa Parks was committed to the struggle for social justice and human rights until her death, inspiring millions of people around the world. Today, we celebrate her!
Grades
|
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
|
Technology That Powers Up Learning
5 - 8
Professional Library
| Journal
By designing lessons to activate prior knowledge and linking these activities to reading and writing, teachers found that students were more engaged, that they learned more material more quickly, and that they more willingly incorporated reading into their lives.
Grades
|
Tim O'Brien in the Classroom: "This too is true: Stories can save us"
9 - 12
Professional Library
| Book
As part of the NCTE High School Literature Series, Tim O'Brien in the Classroom focuses on opportunities for classroom discussion and writing assignments, including lessons, open-ended prompts, and student writing samples.
Grades
|
Teaching with Zooming Slideshows through Prezi
Grades
6 - 12
Strategy Guide
Through Prezi, a web application, students create "zooming" presentations for various purposes, such as presenting research, defending an opinion, or sharing a digital story.
Grades
|
Bringing Lessons to Life with Animoto
Grades
5 - 12
Strategy Guide
Using Animoto, a free Web 2.0 tool, students can develop short digital videos that include music, photos, video clips, and text as well as share their creations electronically.
Grades
|
Technology and Copyright Law: A "Futurespective"
6 - 8
Lesson Plan
| Standard Lesson
Students research and report on instances of how copyright laws have adapted to encompass new technologies. They write articles predicting copyright issues that may arise with new and future technologies.