Marco Polo Design-related Lesson Plans
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Illuminations: Circle Packing: Soda CansUse geometry to analyze various designs for packaging soda cans.
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EconEdLink: Did You Get the Message?Identify the basic functions and techniques of advertising.
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ReadWriteThink: Book Report Alternative: Creating a New Book CoverExplore the elements involved in book cover design.
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ReadWriteThink: Book Report Alternative: Hooking a Reader with a Book CoverInvestigate the relationship between a book's cover design and it's contents by selecting a book to read based solely on the cover design.
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Illuminations: Junior ArchitectsA four-lesson unit in which students design clubhouses and learn about measurement, scale representation, and geometry in the process.
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ReadWriteThink: Travel Brochures: Highlighting the Setting of a StoryFocus on the importance of literary settings by creating a travel brochure for a location from a recently-read text.
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ReadWriteThink: The Comic Book Show and TellExplore how comic books are made and learn terms and techniques associated with the genre.
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ReadWriteThink: Analyzing the Purpose and Meaning of Political CartoonsDevelop critical questions and evaluate political cartoons for their meaning, message, and persuasiveness.
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ReadWriteThink: Analyzing the Stylistic Choices of Political CartoonistsBecome acquainted with the terminology that describes comics and editorial cartoons and discuss how the cartoonists’ choices influence the messages that they communicate.
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Illuminations: Using Cubes and Isometric Drawings: Building Using the Front-Right-Top ViewTry your hand at drawing the front-right-top view when given a three dimensional figure built from cubes.
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EDSITEment: Color Me Happy: Color, Mood, and ToneDevelop an understanding of how artists use color to set a tone or mood.
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ArtsEdge: Making the Ordinary PopSee how Pop artists, such as Andy Warhol and Claes Oldenburg, explore the line between fine art and popular culture and challenge the traditional role of the artist.
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ReadWriteThink: Looking at Landmarks: Using a Picture Book to Guide ResearchUse a Chris Van Allsburg picture book to explore ten international landmarks.
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ReadWriteThink: Cooking up Descriptive Language: Designing Restaurant MenusLearn the descriptive phrasing used in menus by examining those from local restaurants, and create a custom menu.
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Science NetLinks: Farming: Packaging and TransportReview the packaging and transport that different foods require on the journey from the farm to the dinner table.
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ArtsEdge: Arts of the Gilded AgeLearn about the characteristics of the Gilded Age and research the fine and performing arts of the era.
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ArtsEdge: Media AwarenessDevelop an understanding of marketing and its influence.
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ArtsEdge: Three Newport Mansions of the Gilded AgeResearch the arts and culture of the Gilded Age through the architects, patrons, and mansions of Newport.
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ReadWriteThink: Writing Extraordinary Poems About Ordinary ObjectsWrite theme poems using content knowledge and sensory awareness of a familiar object.
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National Geographic Xpeditions: Sharing Your Town's HistoryDevelop awareness of the concept of historic preservation and the attributes that may contribute to a location's historical significance.
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National Geographic Xpeditions: Mapping Your State's CultureExplore culture through the arts, recreation, folklore, and cultural diversity found in your home state.
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National Geographic Xpeditions: Designing a Native Plants GardenCompare native vegetation in different parts of the United States and design a garden only using local plants.
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Science NetLinks: Paper ProductionCompare and contrast handmade and automated paper-making techniques.
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National Geographic Xpeditions: Build a Whale of a CrittercamDesign a video camera to be worn by a humpback whale.
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ArtsEdge: Castles & CornerstonesDiscover the history of castles and corresponding architectural terms through a look at the significance of castles in the time of King Arthur.
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Illuminations: Paper Quilts: Describing DesignsStudents describe folded-paper designs to each other using fractional and geometric terms.
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Illuminations: Paper Quilts: Planning and Making a Mini-QuiltExplore geometry and fractions through the design of a paper quilt.
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Illuminations: How to Bag It?Study data related to recyclable materials and develop plans to help the environment.
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Illuminations: Making Your Own Product GameCreate a game board based on products and factors.
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ArtsEdge: Discovering National ParksLearn about the role that artists have played in the creation and maintenance of America's national parks.
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Science NetLinks: Communications TechnologiesDevelop an understanding of the opportunities and problems related to communication technologies.
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EconEdLink: Widget Production: Producing More, Using LessIdentify strategies for increasing productivity and gain an understanding of how increased productivity impacts both consumers and producers.
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ArtsEdge: Creating Comic StripsCreate a comic that will express a mathematical concept.
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National Geographic Xpeditions: Regional GuidebookGain an awareness of the human and environmental factors that make places unique through a look at the features that make your home region special.
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ReadWriteThink: Creating a Classroom Newspaperhttp://www.readwritethink.org/classroom-resources/lesson-plans/creating-classroom-newspaper-249.htmlPublish a classroom newspaper by becoming acquainted with the writing, editing, newspaper reading habits, layout, and design techniques.
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ReadWriteThink: Great American Inventors: Using Nonfiction to Learn About Technology InventionsDiscover the impact three American inventors—Alexander Graham Bell, George Washington Carver, and Stephanie Kwolek—have had on American society and technology.
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ReadWriteThink: Persuasive Speaking and Invention PromotionShare your invention with a presentation that incorporates experiment results and visual communication.
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NEH EDSITEment: From the White House of Yesterday to the White House of TodayEvaluate the design considerations that go into creating a house for a President and recognize how and why James Hoban's original building has evolved into the White House we know today.
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Science NetLinks: Buoyant BoatsConstruct a boat taking into consideration the Archimedes Principle, material properties, and design constraints.
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ReadWriteThink: From Stop Signs to the Golden Arches: Environmental PrintDevelop environmental print literacy.
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Science NetLinks: Designing a Space StationAssess the technology, benefits, risks, and limitations proposed space station design plan.
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National Geographic Xpeditions: Your Special TownGain an awareness of the human and environmental factors that make places unique through a look at the features that make your hometown special.
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Science NetLinks: Grand Designs and Great FailuresUnderstand floating, sinking, density, and buoyancy and apply it to the design and testing of ships.
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National Geographic Xpeditions: Why Do We Have an American Flag?Consider how a flag represents a nation and its people.
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National Geographic Xpeditions: Ancient GreeceDesign a new subway station in Athens that includes a museum of ancient artifacts, artworks, and ruins.