The Salvadori Curriculum: Language Arts

Each lesson plan is in PDF format. Select the lesson title to open the file.

Design Writes - You have designed an ergonomic chair [in the Sit Right lesson] and want to make sure that no one copies your ideas. Your challenge is to write a patent application for your chair in which you describe the chair in detail and explain what makes it unique or innovative.

Mind's Eye - Your challenge is to design and build a model of a stage set for a passage selected from a book that either you or the class is reading. Imagine that your class will be performing a play based on the book or story you are reading. What things will you include in your set to give the audience a clear picture of where the scene is taking place? How will you communicate the feeling of the scene?

Not One Size Fits All - You come across and use hundreds of products during a typical school day. These can include items within the classroom, the cafeteria, the gym, the library, etc. Are there any items that you use on a regular basis that you feel are inadequate, uncomfortable, dangerous, or just somehow unsatisfactory? Can you think of any way to modify those items to make them better? Or can you come up with an idea for an entirely new object that would fulfill the same purpose, but do it better? Be creative! Your invention can be a really cool sophisticated gadget, or a simple gizmo no one has thought of before. You can combine two items into one, like making a stapler/flashlight, or design something fully automated: what would a self-sharpening pencil look like? Or better yet, how about a homework machine?

The Stories These Walls Could Tell - Imagine that the walls of your school had eyes, ears and a mouth. If these walls could talk what would they say? Uncover a story within these walls. Write and produce a radio program that creatively expresses a story about your school building and its occupants. Bring the school building to life and write the story from the building’s point of view.

Virtual Poetry - Construct a visual or concrete poem that describes your concept of "home."