Neither rain nor snow nor heat nor gloom may keep postal workers from delivering the mail, but is their livelihood sustainable? A question about the USPS makes up one of the three items in a series of free-response questions from the...

When it comes to testing, practice makes perfect. A set of free-response questions from the AP® English Language and Composition exam help writers prepare for the test. Three different prompts cover topics such as monolingual English...

Many schools have honor codes, but scholars do not always choose to follow them. As part of a series of free-response questions from the AP® English Language and Composition Exam, learners discuss the benefits or disadvantages of honor...

Mammals can be carnivores, omnivores, and herbivores, but what about locavores? A set of free-response questions from the 2011 AP® English Language and Composition exam introduces test-takers to the term, which describes people who try...

Strong writers support their points with direct evidence and details. A series of free-response questions from the 2011 AP® English Language and Composition exam require the use of details to obtain a good score. The first prompt...

Although the United States observes Daylight Savings Time, many countries decided against it. A free-response question, part of a set of sample questions from the 2010 AP® English Language and Composition exam, has writers consider the...

Looking to stretch the minds of your scholars? The 2007 AP® English Language and Composition Free-Response Questions offer readers the opportunity to respond to reading at a higher level than many other high school resources. Writers...

World War II left the British desperate for help in any form—including in the form of a magician! High schooler conduct research on Jasper Maskelyne, a stage magician who used his talents to deceive the Germans on the war front, before...

Was Joseph Stalin desperate or exaggerating the USSR's need for assistance on the Eastern Front in 1942? History students examine two differing opinions on Stalin's position and the reality of the Eastern Front just three years before...

Is Hester Prynne a virtuous woman? To conclude a unit study of Nathaniel Hawthorne's The Scarlet Letter class members craft an argument essay in which they use the standards listed in Proverbs 31 from the Bible to judge Hester's virtues.

What is the biggest issue facing young people today? Class members consider the question—along with other provocative pieces from the New York Times—and then try to write their own arguments and back them up with evidence. Once complete,...

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...

Aliens have taken over the United States! Citizens can only keep two rights laid out in the first 10 amendments of the Constitution and must figure out which ones are best. Young scholars research the importance of each amendment and key...

Susan B. Anthony's speech "Is It a Crime for Women to Vote?" takes center stage in a lesson plan that asks class members to consider how they might respond to what they consider an unjust law. Groups work through the speech paragraph by...

Each presidential election year, the debate about the electoral college rages. Michael C. Maibach's "A Defense of the Electoral College" offers young political scientists an opportunity to examine a reasoned argument for why the...

Check the label! That's the big idea in a lesson about using the nutrition facts on food labels rather than advertising hype to make healthy choices about what to eat. After reading background articles and learning how to read nutrition...

Four lessons make up a unit focused on writing persuasive essays. Each unit builds on the last, ultimately taking pupils through the writing process. Scholars make a claim, create an argument, debate both sides, then state their opinion....

Before the Civil Rights Movement was in full swing, FDR's executive order helped promote fair employment. The activity uses primary documents to explore FDR's executive order to help minorities gain equal employment and pay during the...

Recognize risky behaviors and avoid them! That's the big idea behind two activities designed to teach middle schoolers to think critically about online safety. After reading background articles about protecting online identity,...

Coldhearted snob or warm and caring? A series of activities prepares scholars to evaluate the main character in Jane Austen's Emma. To begin, class members compare the gender expectations for women in Regency England and those of today....

A curriculum guide for Jane Eyre focuses on Charlotte Bronte's portrayal of women. Readers engage in three activities that prepare them for an essay in which they argue whether the novel is a work of female rebellion or affirms...

Five lessons make up a curriculum guide to The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. Readers find examples of Twain's use of irony, closely examine Huck's colloquial language, as well as his sense of morality, and identify themes in the novel....

A Tale of Two Cities is the core text for five lessons in a Curriculum Guide for Charles Dickens' famous novel. To begin, scholars examine Dickens' use of anaphora in the first line of the novel. Next, they compare the point of view in a...

Introduce ELA scholars to the basics of literary criticism with a 41-slide presentation that identifies eight different approaches to critical analysis. Each approach is defined, and advantages and disadvantages are listed. Also included...