Anti-Defamation League
Major League Baseball and the Negro Leagues: Correcting an Injustice
It's been a long time coming! In 2020, MLB Commissioner Robert D. Manifred, Jr. stated that "the Negro Leagues would be recognized as official major leagues." Middle schoolers investigate the history of the Negro Leagues and use evidence...
Anti-Defamation League
Emojis and Me
A lesson features the work of O'Plérou Grebet, a graphic designer who created a collection of emojis to represent his life in West Africa. Scholars explore the history and purpose of emojis, then read and discuss an article about...
Anti-Defamation League
The Gender Allowance Gap
Does the pay gap begin with allowance? That is the big question scholars answer in a lesson examining how gender affects how much money an individual earns. Class members conduct a survey to identify how the allowance is paid, take their...
Anti-Defamation League
Bellen Woodard, Identity, and “Crayon Activism”
Scholars learn about a young child turn activist and author, Bellen Woodard. Learners discuss identity, the importance of representation, and how activism makes a difference. Small groups brainstorm ways to create change and the steps to...
Anti-Defamation League
Lonnie Chavis of 'This Is Us' Writes about Racism
Scholars read and discuss an essay by 12-year-old actor Lonnie Chaves about racism, paying close attention to how racism presents itself in interpersonal and institutional ways. Learners reflect on how they experience or witness racism...
Anti-Defamation League
Job Roles without Gender Boundaries
A lesson examines gender stereotypes and how they relate to career choices. Small groups look closely at job titles, identify gender bias, and brainstorm ways to add inclusivity. Individuals reflect on their interests and future career...
Anti-Defamation League
Rosa Parks: Sources of Information
Young scholars show what they know about Rosa Parks and the incident on one of the buses in Montgomery, Alabama. Groups discuss and identify where they receive most of their information. They examine the importance of having a complete...
Anti-Defamation League
Social Justice Poetry
Learners gain insight into how songs and poems express feelings of injustice. They also learn about literary devices and types of poems and make a personal connection when they write their own free verse poems about injustice.
National Endowment for the Humanities
Women's Suffrage: Why the West First?
Eleventh graders discuss the granting of voting rights to women in several Western states. They take a stand, supported by historical evidence, as to whether or not a single theory explains why Western states were the first to grant full...
University of Minnesota
Manduca sexta: Caterpillar Dissection
Caterpillars have an amazing, yet tough job to perform in their short lives — eat much, avoid predators, and try not to let all those comments about being the unattractive stage of the life cycle get to them. How do they handle it all?...
University of Minnesota
Neuropathfinding: Kinesthetic Model
Playing follow the leader has never been so interesting! Get the class up and moving while they take on the roles of nervous system components. Through trial and error, they learn the importance of the "pioneer" growth cone that leads...
PBS
Amid Rising Economic Inequality, Does America Need a Third Reconstruction?
Young political scientists investigate the Poor People's Campaign protest held in Washington, D.C., on June 18, 2022. They research how the event was reported in various news outlets and consider their stance on whether "poverty is...
PBS
Explore Art and Movement Inspired by Jacob Lawrence’s Migration Series
Panel 58 from Jacob Lawrence's "Migration Series" of paintings provides middle schoolers with an opportunity to sharpen their observation and analytical skills. After engaging in a warm-up activity that introduces the concepts of...
PBS
History of Juneteenth and Why It’s Now a National Holiday
June 19 is now a United States federal holiday. Young historians examine the background of the first Juneteenth celebrations and why on June 15, 2021, Congress finally approved "Juneteenth National Independence Day" as a federal holiday.
K20 LEARN
Rikki-Tikki-Types of Sentences: Indicative, Imperative, Interrogative Mood
Rudyard Kipling's "Rikki-Tikki-Tavi" and a song from the musical "Hamilton" allow middle schoolers to practice using punctuation to indicate whether sentences are indicative, imperative, or interrogative.
Curated OER
Mirror Image
Why does practice make perfect? Give your class insight into procedural memory, where we learn to do new things — then continue to improve through repetition. By attempting to draw shapes while looking in a mirror, learners observe their...
K20 LEARN
Slay the Slang! Summarizing Informational Texts
Middle schoolers get hip to the jive with a lesson about slang. They closely examine examples of slang and use context clues to infer the meaning of the terms. Groups read and summarize an article about a teacher who created a Gen Z...
K20 LEARN
Summarizing and Sorting Details from an Informational Text: Identifying the Main Idea
Scholars participate in two activities that teach them to identify the main idea and key supporting details in informational text. Partners create a visual that reflects the main idea and key supporting details in an informational text...
K20 LEARN
It’s All Greek to Me: Greek and Latin Roots
Ancient Greeks and Romans have contributed far more to modern culture than mythic heroes and stunning architecture. Greek and Latin roots are the foundation of many English words. Middle schoolers engage in an activity that asks them to...
K20 LEARN
Mob Mentality and "The Outsiders": Integrating Fiction and Nonfiction
S. E. Hinton's The Outsiders allows middle schoolers to reflect on mob mentality. After reading an article and watching a video about herd mentality, class members find examples in the novel of when characters go along with the crowd and...
K20 LEARN
If I Had... Conditional and Subjunctive Sentences
Lines from popular songs are used to teach middle schoolers about conditional and subjunctive moods. Groups engage in a card sort activity to identify conditional and subjective sentences and then partners draft sentences of each type....
K20 LEARN
If You Give a Mouse a Cookie: Conditional Statements
If, then, Else is not only a basic programming language command, it is also the basis for conditional statements used in writing. Middle schoolers try to craft conditional statements with a card sort activity and then collaborate on a...
K20 LEARN
Sweet and Savory Writing: Descriptive Writing
The engagement is in the details. Young scholars learn the benefit of weaving descriptive and sensory details into the fabric of their writing through the activities in this lesson. As their hands explore items concealed in bags, a...
K20 LEARN
Is Pizza Epic? Word Choice
Remember when everything was Fantastic! Fabulous! Awesome! Iconic! A series of activities encourages young writers to move beyond these overused descriptors and instead choose a more precise language.