Why is it important to preserve historical documents and artifacts? Examine the role of primary source documents and the availability of these documents on the Internet. Middle and high schoolers write a journal about the nature of...

Involve your readers in finding works of literary genius. Have each individual write down compelling sentences that they read or hear, whether in a newspaper, advertisement, book, movie, song, or any other place! Once each person has a...

Working in groups, young historians review a war poem written by Stephen Crane. After reviewing the poem, they present an oral interpretation of the poem and hold a panel discussion about their analysis. The panel is made up of five or...

The question of how to balance Fourth Amendment Rights with national security concerns becomes critical in an age of planned terrorist attacks, election interference, and fake news. Get young social scientists involved in the debate with...

Balancing a budget—the bane of many people's existence! Yet, its' something that must be done, especially in government systems. The resource, fourth in a seven-part series exploring local government, focuses on various exercises that...

The United States Immigration Policy is incredibly complex. To gain a deeper understanding of the criteria, quotas, preferences, and categories of immigrants admitted to the US, class members engage in a role playing activity that...

Drama is ever-present in our daily lives and eloquently depicted on stage. Middle schoolers practice writing scenes based on different prompts and frameworks, and then perform those creative scenes for their classmates. The...

Students become curators and museum reviewers for an online gallery using a selected group of primary sources on Mexican migrant workers. They share and reflect on their own and each other's ideas though participation in an on-line...

Learners investigate child safety by viewing an educational video. In this Internet privacy lesson, students view a short film based on children giving personal information out on the web. Learners answer discussion questions after...

Many of your class members will have heard of Executive Order 9066 and the Japanese internment camps of World War II. Some may even recognize the terms “Issei” and “Nisei,” but few will have heard of Enemy Alien Hearing Boards, of the...

With the explosion of social media sites, with online threats and cyber bullying, issues of freedom of speech have taken on a whole new aspect. Elonis v. U.S. represents the first time the Supreme Court has considered whether or not...

Are the earth's oceans really just giant batteries, waiting for their energy to be harnessed? Middle school mechanical engineers will be shocked by the amazing amount of energy that forms around them after diving into part four of a...

What is a soliloquy, and who is Julius Caesar? Explore soliloquies with this lesson that gets your kids up and moving! Learners line up, facing each other. Then they read the soliloquy (one side reads one line, and the other side reads...

What is spam mail? Discuss examples of spam mail and read about the "Can Spam Act." After reading the New York Times article attached, brainstorm why the act hasn't had much impact yet. Several discussion questions are listed. 

Collective story writing is a great way to reinforce the concept of story elements and collaborative learning. Young writers discuss story elements such as, setting, character, action, climax, conclusion, foreshadowing, dialogue, and...

Have your music lovers examine song lyrics and identify the poetry elements or tools used by a lyricist. They review the song individually before working in groups to discuss what they discovered about the song's narrator or character...

In groups of four, pupils brainstorm about seafood. They view the Monterey Bay Aquarium Seafood Watch website to examine the problems caused by the seafood industry. Learners are then brought back together to discuss what they...

If your class loves movies, this lesson is sure to interest them. After discussing the purpose and structure of movie reviews, young writers compose a movie review and discuss why people may read a review before they go see a film. The...

Despite passing the Equality Act in 2010 covering many groups, gender inequality in Great Britain remains. Scholars investigate the concept of equality with a presentation, discussion, and hands-on timeline activities. The seventh lesson...

Twelfth graders, who teach GED classes, investigate online discussion groups about math instruction. They use handouts as guidelines for exporing the Websites and answer questions based on their findings. Upon completion of the...

After reading and discussing Love Medicine by Louise Erdrich, pupils compare/contrast the concept/theme of love within several multiple pieces of literature. They must support their claims with textual evidence. In addition, they analyze...

Students analyze the Gwendolyn Brooks use of enjambment in her poem "We Real Cool." In this poetry analysis activity, students define common poetic devices and the examples of enjambment in the poem. Students discuss the poem and write...

Turn your classroom into a music studio as groups work together to determine why music sounds different when performed live versus a recording. After listening to some different music, each group picks a poem, creates a recording, and...

Working in groups, learners create a mnemonic device, give an oral presentation, and create a pictorial representation of the correct sequence of the planets and asteroid belt from the sun. An assessment rubric is included in the...