Fifth graders will learn about various perspectives around events. They will need to take on the perspectives of various key people during the September 11 attack. Then they will write in their journals about the incident. They read...

It's all about perspective. Scholars view a note from the author in Eight Days. They determine the gist and discuss what they can learn about the author's background based on the note. They then complete a fishbowl activity in...

Students read excerpts from Peter Hessler's River Town: Two Years on the Yangtze and discuss his difficulties in learning the language, cultural clashes and how cultural perceptions shape our understanding of the world.

As part of a case study of U.S. immigration during the first part of the 20th century, class members examine a variety of primary sources that present multiple perspectives of the responses of those in favor of immigration and those...

Scholars take another look at Japan's Fourteen-Part Message. They then take turns adding ideas to sentence starters to create ideas about the different perspectives of government. To finish, groups mix and mingle to share their sentences...

The Boston Massacre may be an iconic event in American history, but perhaps the British soldiers had another point of view. Using primary sources, including reports from Boston newspapers and secondary sources from the British...

Examine the different perspectives on the future of United States Navy bombing exercises taking place on Vieques, Puerto Rico with this lesson from The New York Times. Here, young learners read "Islanders to Vote on Vieques Bomb Drills,"...

The topic of this lesson focuses on whether or not Obama was able to convincingly defend his choice of choosing Rick Warren to deliver the invocation at his inauguration. This is considered a controversial or hot topic because it...

Kids consider revolution as a basis for creativity, art, and storytelling. After reading an excerpt from the book, Persepolis, learners choose one event from any world revolution to write about. They storyboard the event focusing on...

How does culture shape perspective? Pupils consider the question as they read an excerpt from Laurence Yep's autobiography, The Lost Garden. Using a graphic organizer, they gather textual evidence and make inferences about the author's...

Explore point of view and more with a Common Core-designed instructional activity. Learners experience different points of view by representing one of two characters from Esperanza Rising during a partner discussion. They must use...

It's all about perspective! Using the resource, scholars read a third excerpt from Laurence Yep's autobiography, The Lost Garden. As they read, individuals complete graphic organizers using clues from the text to infer the author's...

Everyone's perspective of the past is different. A thought-provoking unit gives young academics the opportunity to explore their perspectives on history and their neighborhoods. Based on the work of Howard Zinn, each lesson explores...

Put it in a picture. Scholars complete the worksheet Illustrating a Scene Showing Perspective by completing a drawing to show the perspective they gained about Florida from the text Flush. The whole group carries out a critique of the...

What does "freedom of speech" mean to your class, especially in the context of Internet communications? In round-table discussion format, middle and high schoolers address the issues discussed in "State Legislatures Across U.S. Plan to...

Secondary schoolers investigate the debate surrounding the current sexual abuse crisis in the Catholic Church with this New York Times lesson. Through discussions and written reflection, they explore their own thoughts and opinions on...

Is laughter really the best medicine? Middle and high schoolers discuss the truth behind this adage by reading and discussing a New York Times article about Dr. Patch Adams. They participate in a round-table debate in response to...

After analyzing newspaper articles portraying different perspectives of the explosion of the Battleship USS Maine, your young historians will take a stand on which position is the most believable in both discussion and writing.

Middle and high schoolers are walking into a world rife with strong political viewpoints and vocal opinions. Help to prepare them for controversial discussions with a lesson plan in which they choose, research, and learn more about a...

Perspective is everything. Using a graphic organizer, pupils determine Laurence Yep's perspective of the police in his novel Dragonwings. Additionally, scholars complete anchor charts to identify connotative language in the text.

Students debate the causes of the American Revolution. In this American history lesson, students conduct research to determine how bias and perspective have made their way into historical documents. Students compose essays...

Sixth graders brainstorm the reasons authors write, and they list their responses on the board. Students discuss each purpose they have listed.Students work independently to read the selection  "Tarantulas and Typhoid" by...

After class members brainstorm a list of current social and political issues, groups each select a different topic from the list to research. Teams create a portfolio of at least 10 examples of stories about their issue, stories that...

To launch a unit study of the concept of diversity in World Literature, class members compare Chinua Achebe's essay, "An Image of Africa: Racism in Conrad's Heart of Darkness" and Richard Rodriguez's essay, "The Chinese in All of...