When it comes to writing effective arguments, writers must do more than simply make a claim, counterarguments must be considered. Aspiring writers analyze counterarguments in editorials, and then learn how to write counterarguments in...

Young scientists investigate the scientific concepts and principles that help make common toys such as hula hoops, yo-yos, slinkies, and silly putty work. As a class, they read "Backyard Rocket Science, Served Wet" to get a look behind...

Social Studies and role-playing can go hand in hand. Learners use supporting evidence found in primary and secondary source material to develop a character from the Five Points neighborhood in the 1850s. Each student takes on the role of...

Explore narrative writing by participating in a role-playing activity. In this perspective lesson, learners define first and third person in writing and discuss how it changes the mood of the reader. The first activity has pupils write...

Lead your class in a discussion about how they believe money influences politics. After reading "Go Ahead, Try to Stop K Street" from the New York Times, they evaluate the claims in the article about the current lobbyist scandal in...

Refuse to alienate your scientific-minded young scholars during your creative writing unit. Learners explore how literary writing can reflect observable fact, and be based in actual science. The links include examples of fiction and...

Tap into the wisdom and knowledge of older members of the community with this New York Times plan. To warm up, learners write about and discuss advice they have been given. After reading "The Life Report," an op-ed column that asks older...

Students read a Japanese Noh play and discuss its structure and traditional characters. They choose a short myth and write a Noh play based on it.

Have your class conduct research to learn all they can about simple machines. They use the web, take notes from a video, write a script, then make a film describing various simple machines found in real life. These videos are then...

Middle schoolers realize that play is an important part of life and in the effort to staying healthy. They explore the role of play in society. In addition, they illustrate listening and speaking strategies for different purposes that...

It's all in the numbers! Create a mathematical model to analyze a number game and develop a winning strategy. Using a given numerical pattern, scholars write an expression to model the scenario. They then interpret the pattern of the...

Why did Vietnam POWs and their families receive more media attention than POWs in previous wars?  To answer this question, class members view artifacts, read articles, and engage in class discussion. Individuals then assume the...

What goes in must come out! Learners play with a function machine to determine the correct function. They enter input values and watch as the machine produces the output.

Students watch various interpretations of Shakespeare's Macbeth in film. In groups, they examine the setting, characters, music and sequence. They compare and contrast the various films and discuss the differences. They write an essay on...

What do Sherlock Holmes and geometry have in common? Why, it is a matter of deductive reasoning as the class learns how to justify each step of a problem. Pupils then present a known fact to ensure that their decision is correct.

Young scholars learn about how robots are programmed to play games. They then construct robot applications (basic computer codes) for playing tic-tac-toe comprised of if-then logic sequences. Students then compete in teams using their...

Students use coordinates in a table to write equations. In this algebra lesson, students discuss rate of change as it relates to slope and x and y values. They plot the points from a table to graph their lines and write an equation for...

Learners investigate body systems by participating in a role-play activity. Third, fourth, and fifth graders pretend that they are an organ or system of the human body, and they must write a letter to the body "corporation" discussing...

Over several days, learners communicate and defend an argument regarding environmental justice issues in Chester, PA. After discussing the issue and viewing a video about the location of several toxic waste facilities in Chester, they...

Students explore communication by participating in a role playing lesson. In this media analysis lesson, students answer surveys about their own television watching habits and compare them to the rest of the class. Students complete...

Think outside the box - and think about education beyond the classroom walls - with a resource that has your critical thinkers watching a video about a nursery in Scotland that lets youngsters roam wild in a forest....

Students explore language arts by reading a children's story in class. In this three tier vocabulary lesson, students read the book Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs and identify the specific use for several vocabulary words. Students...

Students investigate sentence construction in fiction.  In this sentence construction lesson, students examine examples of fiction work and discover why sentences are a certain length.  Students create their own passages...

Help your pupils find a pattern of direct variation. Young scholars use input-output pairs to find a constant of variation and then write the equation. As they build their equations, the interactive lesson provides feedback.