What was it like to fit into a certain class with no choice in the matter? Learners experience the caste system in a role-play activity, work individually on handouts to enhance their learning, and participate in an evaluation activity...

To gain an understanding of what it was like to live under India's caste system, class members engage in a role-playing activity that assigns group members to four different groups, each with different rules for behavior.

In his article about color-blind casting entitled, "Willy Loman Is Lost, Still Looking for Stimulus Plan and Some Dignity," Charles Isherwood quotes August Wilson as saying,  "To mount an all-black production of a 'Death of a...

“There is no story that is not true, . . .” And uncovering the truths in Things Fall Apart is the focus of a 68-page resource packet designed to provide instructors with a wealth of materials that enhance understanding of Chinua Achebe’s...

Susan B. Anthony was willing to break the law to gain voting rights for women. Young historians investigate Anthony's willingness to go to jail to draw attention to the suffrage movement. They read and discuss primary source documents to...

Explore how the Civil War impacted the Civil Rights Movement. Class members complete a series of projects for a unit that uses a layered curriculum approach to learning. 

"Have respect for the dead!" Scholars investigate how science and religion often clash. As they look into the laws of science and the laws of religion, the legal ramifications at the federal level of both play into an argument they...

During a political campaign, you can hardly turn around without encountering an endorsement or attack on a candidate. High schoolers examine the ways that negative advertisement, positive advertisements, and everything in between can...

While wisdom may not be communicated, knowledge of sentence structures certainly can. Teach young grammarians the power of syntax with a lesson that uses Herman Hesse's Siddhartha as a mentor text. Learners first rewrite captions for an...

To end the silence on mental illness, groups research a mental illness. They then create a scene-by-scene script, cast parts, and record a video that details the symptoms, causes, and treatment of the disorder. They also include what...

With the help of this teacher's guide, it won't take 12 nights for scholars to complete their study of William Shakespeare's romantic comedy about twins Viola and Sebastian. Pompous prigs, he shes, fatuous fools, and lovelorn lovers...

Ponyboy, Johnny, Winston, and Darry come alive in a lesson that focuses on the details S. E. Hinton uses to characterize the Greasers and the Socials. The class first observes the actors' words; the thoughts revealed their effect on...

A fossil is worth a thousand words! Individuals craft their own amber fossil of an insect in addition to molds and casts of seashells. A third activity takes the lesson a notch higher: Learners measure stride lengths between tracks and...

As learners watch a video on voting, they take notes on a worksheet that lists various voting topics, including electoral and popular votes, early voting, and exit polling. Then, young people research the Internet for their state's...

Life in the Florida swamps after the Civil War comes alive in the 1946 film adaptation of Majorie Kinnan Rawlings’s The Yearling. The film of this powerful coming-of-age story, filled with love and loss, can be used with or without a...

Your class will learn what it means to take a random sample of a population and to draw inferences from the information gained. In part a, of the exercise, you discuss with your class how young scholars during a class election can be...

West of the West's documentary Arlington Springs Man introduces viewers to the remarkable finds on Santa Rosa Island. Archaeologist have discovered on this small island that is part of the Channel island chain, human and pygmy mammoth...

A lever comes in handy when scholars build a launcher for a ping-pong ball. They test the launcher and redesign it to send the ball higher or to accommodate a tennis ball. This is the third lesson in a five-part unit.

Can your class help the people of Nepal? Scholars take an in-depth look into the social injustices and struggling economy of a country in turmoil during a multi-day role-playing exercise. After reviewing information on the problems...

Susan B. Anthony's speech "Is It a Crime for Women to Vote?" takes center stage in a lesson that asks class members to consider how they might respond to what they consider an unjust law. Groups work through the speech paragraph by...

Sor Juana, considered one of the first feminist writers and a great Latin American poet, is the topic and inspiration for this excellent lesson. Use the introduction, guiding questions, and learning objectives to lead your class into a...

The documentary, The Legendary King of San Miguel Island, introduces the fascinating tale of Herb Lester, his family, and their life on San Miguel Island. Viewers have an opportunity to expand their study of the island and of...

Ready for an educational movie day? Use a resource based on the movie Whale Rider to learn more about the Maori culture. Class members answer a variety of questions and listen to music from the soundtrack to further analyze and...

In part two of an election simulation, pupils practice actually casting their votes in a simulated polling place in order to prepare for this real-world democratic experience.