Literacy Design Collaborative
In Pursuit of Happiness
What ideas and philosophies guided the Transcendentalist movement in America? Scholars explore the topic, reading texts by Ralph Waldo Emerson and Henry David Thoreau. Additionally, they write essays comparing the authors' structural...
Concord Consortium
Perfect Ten
How many ways can you make 10? Class members tackle three problems to find all possible ways three numbers add to be 10. The first is with positive integers, secondly with non-negative integers, and finally with real numbers. Pupils also...
Concord Consortium
People and Places
Graph growth in the US. Given population and area data for the United States for a period of 200 years, class members create graphs to interpret the growth over time. Graphs include population, area, population density, and population...
Concord Consortium
Parameters and Clusters II
Let's give parameters a second try. Scholars take a second look at a system of linear equations that involve a parameter. Using their knowledge of solutions of systems of linear equations, learners describe the solution to the system as...
Concord Consortium
Parameters and Clusters I
Chase the traveling solution. Pupils analyze the solutions to a system of linear equations as the parameter in one equation changes. Scholars then use graphs to illustrate their analyses.
Concord Consortium
Painted Stage
Find the area as it slides. Pupils derive an equation to find the painted area of a section of a trapezoidal-shaped stage The section depends upon the sliding distance the edge of the painted section is from a vertex of the trapezoid....
Concord Consortium
Outward Bound
Just how far can I see? The short assessment question uses the Pythagorean Theorem to find the distance to the horizon from a given altitude. Scholars use the relationship of a tangent segment and the radius of a circle to find the...
National WWII Museum
On Leave in Paris: Maps as Primary Sources
Primary sources—even those that seem mundane—offer a window into those who experienced history. Using a Red Cross map offered to soldiers stationed in Paris after World War II alongside worksheet questions, scholars consider what life...
Simon & Schuster
Les Miserables Classroom Activities
Modern readers apply classic themes to Victor Hugo's masterpiece, Les Miserables. After they discuss tricky vocabulary and plot elements from the novel, class members compare Hugo's written work to a stage or film adaptation of the musical.
Shakespeare Globe Trust
Macbeth
Why do characters do what they do? Scholars use the resource to explore character motivation in Shakespeare's tragedy Macbeth. Additionally, they discover pictures, interviews, and videos from the Deutsche Bank production of the play.
Shakespeare Globe Trust
A Midsummer Night's Dream
Do most people resemble Titania, the fairy queen; Puck, the mischief-maker; or someone else? Pupils take a fun quiz to find out which character they are most like from Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream. They also explore a weekly...
Shakespeare Globe Trust
Othello
Emilia mocks Bianca, who is in a relationship with Cassio, who attacks Montano. Using the resource, learners explore profiles of the characters from Shakespeare's Othello. They also read a scene-by-scene synopsis and follow a weekly blog...
Shakespeare Globe Trust
Much Ado About Nothing
Love, deception, witty bante—that's much ado about a lot! As learners navigate the resource, they view an interactive character map and read character biographies from Shakespeare's Much Ado About Nothing. Pupils also listen to...
National Endowment for the Humanities
Lu Shih — The Couplets of T’ang
Writing poetry in ancient China was the modern equivalent of sending a greeting card. Scholars learn about the ancient Chinese poetic form called the lu shih. They read about the context of poetry during the T'ang Dynasty and complete a...
Beverly Hills High School
French Revolution Word Bank
Vive la résistance! Provide young historians with a list of important people and events during the French Revolution and Napoleonic periods.
Beverly Hills High School
The French Revolution
Aspiring filmmakers and budding historians alike will love a storyboard project on the French Revolution. Learners plan a Hollywood blockbuster, complete with script and full storyboards, that cover important events of the French...
Beverly Hills High School
Napoleon: What Would You Do?
Begin a study of Napoleon Bonaparte and the French Revolution by presenting class members with 10 situations that Napoleon would face as he rose to power. Individuals select one of three options for each scenario that represents what...
American Battle Monuments Commission
Honoring Service, Achievements, and Sacrifice: A WWI Virtual Field Trip
The largest offensive in United States military history comes alive in a online interactive resource. Young historians explore the Meuse Argonne battlefield and scour the landscape for evidence from the battle. They then use primary...
US National Archives
WWII: The Pacific 1939-45 – Japan and the Atom Bomb
Though the scientists who developed the atom bomb did not believe it should be used to end World War II, American President Harry S. Truman and British Prime Minister Winston Churchill were of like mind in their decision to drop the bomb...
US National Archives
WWII: The Pacific 1939-45 – Iwo Jima
Of the images that have permeated history to define American courage, perseverance, and patriotism, the 1945 photograph of United States Marines raising the flag at Iwo Jima is one of the most well known. After researching the pivotal...
US National Archives
WWII: The Pacific 1939-45 – Pearl Harbor
Though December 7th, 1941 was a day "which would live in infamy," World War II had provided many infamous days, events, battles, and atrocities in the years before. So why were American forces so surprised when Japan attacked Pearl...
US National Archives
WWII: The Atlantic 1939-45 – Battle of the Atlantic
The most dangerous line of attack during World War II wasn't the German planes soaring above Britain, but the U-Boats cutting off their supplies of food and equipment. Learners research the Battle of the Atlantic, the German campaign to...
US National Archives
WWII: Asia 1939-45 – Singapore
The fall of Singapore in World War II was shocking news for the Allied forces—but why? High schoolers explore primary source documents and videos to determine why February 15, 1942 was a wake-up call to the British Empire and its allies...
College Board
Calculus at the Battle of Trafalgar
All's fair in math and war. Scholars examine the Battle of Trafalgar using calculus. They set up and solve a system of differential equations to determine the number of ships remaining in each fleet over time.