Hip Hop? Country? Punk? R and B? So many styles. Young song writers consider the emotional effects of various style options before selecting the style best suited to the emotions they want to express in their song. The sixth in a...

True! Poe's "The Tell-Tale Heart" makes readers nervous. But how? Young scholars create a drawing while listening to a reading of Poe's eerie tale to understand how writers create the mood of their stories and what their writing style...

Introduce someday scientists to ideas and explanations about how the world around us works by showing this cute cartoon. In it, Mia and Sam discuss what scientific theory is, and how it is important in discovering scientific laws making...

How do you read a frame? How do you read a shot? Here's a resource that shows viewers how to read films. As part of the study, class members examine the camera angles, lighting, movement, and cinematic point of view in Mr. Smith Goes to...

A 20-page guide is a must-have for any instructor, seasoned veteran, or first year-teacher, using Arthur Miller's The Crucible as an anchor text. The guide begins with extensive background information about Miller and the McCarthy era...

When in the course of a course on historic American events, it becomes necessary for learners to examine, with decent respect, the Declaration of Independence, it becomes evident that there are six separate and equal parts of that...

In an age of fake news and photoshopped images, it is vital that 21st century learners development the skills they need to evaluate mass media and assess its validity. A great way to launch such a study is with a carefully crafted...

Balance scales create a strong visual of how an individual prioritizes one's self alongside their commitments to the community, school, and home. Scholars complete a graphic organizer then discuss their findings with their peers. A...

A close examination of John Gast's painting "American Progress" launches a study of the concept of Manifest Destiny used to justify United States' policy of westward expansion. Young historians read statements from persons with different...

Women and children played key roles during the Civil War, even if their voices are often lost in history. By studying letters and personal testimony from them, budding historians get a glimpse into the day-to-day life of civilians during...

In this, the third in a series of four resources that use Robert Wise's 1951 version of The Day The Earth Stood Still as the core text, young film makers examine the language of film including shot composition, camera angle, lighting,...

The second interactive in a series of 10 introduces young scholars to character archetypes, archetypal plot patterns, and archetypal motifs, including the use of color. Learners read passages explaining the term and study examples from...

Ah, the dreaded college application essay. Here's a unique approach to crafting a powerful personal essay. Class members read The Autobiography of Malcolm X and Leslie Marmon Silko's Yellow Woman and a Beauty of the Spirit, analyze the...

Introduce young musicians to the history of and different styles of music with an inquiry-based learning activity that asks them to play detectives to determine the similarities and differences among the sheet music found at a series of...

Beginning with an exercise of favoritism to engage learners, progressing through image and primary source analysis of the Nineteenth Amendment and the Seneca Falls Declaration, and culminating in a look at a political cartoon called...

The articles and images in the June 1964 edition of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference Newsletter detail the events in St. Augustine that were instrumental in the passing of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. The stirring...

Sometimes saying I'm sorry just doesn't cut it. Scholars examine a series of apology poems, songs, and stories and consider each speaker's regrets. Using what they have learned, they analyze James Hurst's short story, "The Scarlet Ibis,"...

What do a colt and a boy in a tree have in common? More than might be first apparent. The fourth interactive in a series of ten introduces readers to intertextuality, the process of using abstract thinking to consider how one text...

Here's a great resource for your curriculum library. The 240-page packet, organized into units by topics, includes sample lesson plans, links to primary and secondary source documents, worksheets, activities, and sample assessments.

Much has been made of the differences between Martin Luther King, Jr. and Malcolm X. But was there any common ground between them? Class members reconsider what they think they know about these two civil rights leaders with...

Your class will read an overview of the Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act, passed in 2008 and address the question of whether or not genetic information should be used to influence our career paths. In jigsaw style, they then are...

The poems of Walt Whitman and Emily Dickinson are the focus of a unit that asks readers to consider how an artist's life and changes in society influences his or her work. After careful study of Whitman's and Dickinson's perspectives on...

Honor the great poet, Shel Silverstein with eighteen activities and lessons showcasing his collection of poems from the book, Every Thing On It. Activities challenge scholars to rhyme words, make inferences, recite a poem, and...

What does your posture say about you? How can it affect the outcome of conflict resolution or negotiation? Show scholars the importance of nonverbal communication during the sixth in a series of 15 peacebuilding lessons. Learners work...