RAND Corporation
Project ALERT
Why do people use drugs? What are the consequences? The alternatives? How can young people resist the pressures to use drugs? The Project Alert drug prevention program provides middle schoolers with the information they need and the...
Novelinks
Zach’s Lie: The K-W-H-L Strategy
The attached resource is no lie! The K-W-H-L activity, which is fourth in a series of seven, serves as a pre- and post-assessment. First, pupils brainstorm what they know about a specific topic, then they list what they want to know, how...
US Institute of Peace
Organizations Working for Peace
We're all in this together! Show young scholars that peace is a process and having the support of like-minded people can make it happen. 13th in a series of 15 peace building activities, groups conduct research on a peace organization,...
PBS
Family History: Those with Lofty Ideals
Would you stand up for your beliefs, no matter the cost? Scholars investigate their own families to uncover examples of how and when someone stood up for their ideals. Using video clips, interviews, and eulogies, they come to understand...
PBS
Civil War: Blacks on the Battlefield
Imagine a war being fought to free slaves, with slaves on the front line. Scholars use primary documents, videos, and research in the second installment of a three-part series to guide their analysis of the first African-Americans on the...
PBS
Think Like a Historian: A Viewing Guide
Calling all junior detectives! Scholars use the tools of investigation to determine the causes and impacts of the American Civil War. Using viewing guides, videos, group research, and written resources, they discover what it takes to...
National Endowment for the Humanities
Women's Lives Before the Civil War
Women's lifestyles before the Civil War made a huge impact as a point of causation. Give middle schoolers the opportunity to view firsthand the lives of women before the Civil War. They analyze primary source documents, view photographs,...
National Endowment for the Humanities
Life Before the Civil War
American life before the Civil War was very different from American life today. To show this difference in a full spectrum, learners compare two communities that illustrate the differences between Northern and Southern life. Throughout...
National Endowment for the Humanities
A Debate Against Slavery
Slavery is a serious topic that can be challenging for middle schoolers to study. Young scholars can see firsthand through primary sources what occurred during that time period in the United States. The third of five lessons provides...
National Endowment for the Humanities
Chief Executives Compared: The Federalist Papers
Delve into the responsibilities of the president by looking at President Hamilton's opinion of the presidential office in his own words. The second in a three-part series, the resource also offers an interesting compare-and-contrast...
Administrative Office of the US Courts
Nomination Process
"I do solemnly swear that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States..." Scholars investigate the nomination process of Supreme Court justices when assuming office. Through examination of primary and secondary...
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
Going SmokeFree Matters: Multiunit Housing
If you smoke cigarettes in an apartment or condominium complex, the secondhand smoke can travel through walls, ventilation systems, and plumbing to your neighbors' homes. Learn more about the ways smoking can affect those living in...
Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
Person to Person: Challenge Activities (Theme 4)
The world is a big place—discover it! A series of challenge activities designed to accompany Theme 4: Person to Person encourages learners to explore the world around them. Project-based activities promote research and writing skills in...
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
Going SmokeFree Matters: In Your Home
Is secondhand smoke avoidable if you live with a smoker? Pupils look over an infographic to learn more about how secondhand smoke can travel throughout several rooms, who is more likely to be affected by smoke, and what health conditions...
PBS
Tiger of the Snows: Tenzing Norgay
Tenzing Norgay, the Sherpa man who made history when he reached the summit of Mount Everest with Sir Edmund Hillary, is the focus of an informative article. Class members read about Norgay's perspective on the way up the mountain, the...
Scholastic
Hillary Conquers Everest
If a field trip to the summit of Mount Everest isn't in your school budget, make the trek virtually! An interactive lesson allows class members to follow Sir Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay's trail up the mountain, and provides...
Australian Broadcasting Cooperation
Sherpas
Climbing Mount Everest is a dream for many mountaineers, and for a lucky few, it's a hard-fought accomplishment. Learn more about the important role Sherpas play in Mount Everest expeditions, including Sir Edmund Hillary's famous...
Howard Hughes Medical Institute
Human Impacts on Biodiversity
Have you always wanted to take your science class on an amazing field trip they will never forget? Now you can! Observe the wildlife in an African savanna through trail cameras with a five-part data analysis activity. Learners analyze...
All About Explorers
How Could They Be so Wrong?
If it's on the Internet, it must be true ... right? Introduce young Internet explorers to the importance of fact-checking through a fun web-based activity. Pairs work together to read and analyze biographies about world explorers, then...
ReadWriteThink
Scaffolding Methods for Research Paper Writing
Rome wasn't built in a day, but researchers can be with proper scaffolding. This writing unit has scholars write a research paper through scaffolding of various parts of the process. Learners begin with identifying a topic and crafting a...
ReadWriteThink
Biography Project: Research and Class Presentation
I Have A Dream ... that after the lesson, all individuals master the reading, writing, researching, listening, and speaking skills the biography project helps them develop. Martin Luther King, Jr. serves as a topic example for a model...
National Institute on Drug Abuse
Marijuana Facts for Teens
Is marijuana addictive? Can you drive under the influence of marijuana? What happens if you smoke marijuana while you're pregnant? Teenagers learn the answers to these and many more frequently asked questions in an online booklet about...
Steered Straight
Marijuana Awareness
February is Marijuana Awareness Month, and a set of interdisciplinary activities can make your class aware of the social, medical, legal, and psychological effects of marijuana. With writing prompts, research opportunities, and...
Teach Engineering
Copycat Engineers
It's often said that imitation is the sincerest form of flattery. Young engineers learn about biomimicry, which uses nature to generate engineering ideas, in the fifth lesson of nine in a Life Science unit. Working in groups, they select...