Family is a wonderful subject for little learners to get excited about. Family is also the theme for a social studies unit that uses literacy standards throughout. The guide outlines approximately three weeks of instruction and breaks...

Middle schoolers aren't too young to feel strongly about politics, social issues, consumer rights, or environmental problems. Demonstrate the first steps toward social change with a project about action-oriented writing. Eighth...

This six-week unit encompasses all subjects with a focus study on world history and the development of ancient civilizations. As gifted and talented students dive into the interesting yet challenging topic of Egypt, they...

What rights are guaranteed to students? Do they align with the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which was approved by the United Nations in 1948? Middle and high schoolers present persuasive arguments about the rights they believe...

The lesson guides young academics through the steps in producing a 10-page research paper on any topic in American history. Historians begin by formulating a thesis and gathering resources, then move on to creating an outline, and end...

What makes a community? How communities differ? Young scholars research different types of communities, small rural towns, and large crowded cities. They respond to writing prompts, and write essays in groups to understand the wide...

Does the lens of history portray George Washington as a good leader? A three-lesson unit looks at Washington's early military career as the commander of the Virginia Regiment, his role in the fight for independence...

Class members investigate The Indian Removal Act of 1830, U.S. Theft of Mexican Territory Timeline, and President Abraham Lincoln’s letter to Horace Greeley, 1862, and then conduct a mock trial of each of these documents to determine...

A rich series of activities introduces learners to the concept of culture by closely examining the behaviors, practices, and art of three distinct peoples: the Highland Maya of Guatemala, the Hmong of China and Southeast...

How did the founding of the American colonies lead to a revolution? Use the essential question and sample activities to guide learners through a series of history lessons. Additionally, the packet includes effective strategies to...

Lorenzo de Zavala and José Antonio Navarro were both native Mexicans and leaders of the Texas Revolution, but with different backgrounds and careers. Compare and contrast the two influential men with a research assignment in which...

Artists, musicians, and dramatists have long been the leaders in the quest for social justice. To gain an understanding of the power of the arts to address social issues, class members listen to a reading of Drew Daywalt's The Day the...

What is the cost of change? Roberto Guerra's photo essay "La Carretera: Life and Change Along Peru's Interoceanic Highway" asks viewers to consider the impacts of the 1,600 mile-long highway through Peru and Brazil that connects Pacific...

Class members investigate the Jim Crow Laws, Executive Order 9066, the Chinese Exclusion Act, and the Indian Removal Act to gather information about not only the challenges encountered by diverse groups of Americans, but their...

Science, social studies, language arts, and art classes work together with administrators to produce a permanent, ceramic tile wall mural to install at their school. 

Entitled American Studies, this small unit covers various topics related to the study of the United States. Learners warm up by creating a dictionary of democracy, then dive into three different lessons focused on government, famous...

Help middle schoolers conduct Internet research and develop a working definition for the discipline of social studies. From a list of websites, they develop classification skills and differentiate between primary and secondary sources....

Travel back in American history to the era of slavery and abolition. After reading about the Underground Railroad, young historians examine a painting depicting the event, and write a narrative from the point of view of a person in the...

Upper graders view a series of films that depict rituals or celebrations as they occur in different cultural settings. They conduct a cultural investigation about one culture, brainstorm and research objects that have cultural or...

The Mexican-American war marked a significant moment in United States history, as well as in the history of American media. The mid-nineteenth century saw the introduction of the Penny Press, which provided many American citizens with...

Upper graders use the potter's wheel to make Japanese style tea cups, which they will use in a Japanese style tea ceremony. They hone their sculpting techniques while exploring Japanese cultural and the history of tea. There are two...

More space, in this case, means more status. Kids consider the status assigned to Tlingits via house partition. They discuss a carved piece that shows household space partitioned by status. They then write their own clan stories and draw...

We take a steady shower stream and clean drinking water for granted, but in many countries around the world, the lack of water or a clean water supply is responsible for higher sickness and death rates. Taking a closer look at the water...

How is religious freedom connected to the conflict between China and Tibet? After reading an online passage of background information, your learners will divide into groups and both read and view an interview with the Dalai Lama. They...