Why are so many inherited diseases more prevalent in populations of specified races? Scholars learn about pedigrees and genetics using a reading, an animation, primary sourced letters, a short video, a biography, a guided practice...

How did the struggle for Civil Rights during the 1950s transform American society and politics? Why are American schools integrated today? Class members explore these essential questions by examining a series of primary and secondary...

Making decisions about things like what to do after high school can be a challenge. So many factors are involved. The decision-making worksheet in this resource helps to simplify the process by asking individuals to fill in a matrix for...

Behaviors are often based on assumptions. That's the big idea in the third lesson of a series of critical think resources. Through a series of worksheets, learners examine the conscious and heretofore unconscious assumptions that...

In other words. Scholars practice using paraphrasing and quotes. They partner in pairs to write a paraphrase for an information text strip. Individuals then use their skills to paraphrase information from the text Fire Ants.

Let's ask an expert. Scholars divide into groups to research and become experts on either ants or butterflies. Learners use task cards and text on their topic to complete a note catcher. At the end, they share their information with a...

Using the Jigsaw protocol, scholars study chunks of text from a speech given by former US presidents following a devastating 2010 earthquake in Haiti. As they read the speech in small groups, they build background knowledge and share...

Even magicians can't make energy disappear. In a discussion-based lesson, young scientists learn about energy forms and conversions. They see how energy is neither created nor destroyed; it just changes forms. This is the 11th...

Young scholars examine the concepts of power and authority as they begin learning about government in this elementary social studies lesson. Through a series of readings, discussions, and problem solving activities, children...

Here is a great secondary source reading that includes the primary ideas and philosophies of the famed Enlightenment philosophers: Thomas Hobbes, John Locke, Charles Montesquieu, and Jean-Jacques Rousseau. In additional to discussing...

Introduce pupils to the two types of reasoning, inductive and deductive. Classmates work in pairs or small groups to learn the difference between the two and apply these reasonings to develop valid conclusions. 

How is federal policy established? To gain insight into this complex and often messy process, class members read an article that uses information on attempts to establish public policy in immigration to illustrate the role proposed...

If there is a conditional statement, then there is a hypothesis and conclusion. Pupils learn how to identify the parts of conditional statements. Class members continue to work with conditional statements and rewrite them in their many...

Creating an environment where learners feel both educated and empowered challenges any teacher when discussing a sometimes bleak topic. A respectful resource provides them with the details and permits them to make a plan of action....

Look carefully. Scholars practice observing and recording the natural world around them by looking out a window or viewing an image. Learners discuss how their experience compares to that of Meg Lowman in The Most Beautiful Roof in the...

Readers continue to learn how natural resources are important to Canada's economy. They read, annotate, and answer text-dependent questions about Natural Resources and the Canadian Economy. They then discuss key terms in the text.

Scholars watch Developing a Vital Resource for Canadians and the World to learn about the supplement potash that helps plants grow. They watch the video several times, completing a note catcher to record key ideas along the way....

It's time to put the plan into practice. Using their plans from the previous activity, scholars create multimedia and visual displays for their opinion speeches. Next, they watch videos of speeches and use a presentation rubric to...

Stop ... grammar time! Pupils complete worksheets to practice using the correct verb tense and identify correlative conjunctions. Next, scholars apply their new grammar skills to edit their draft opinion speeches.

Did the United States Constitution uphold the institution of slavery, or did it help to destroy it? Young historians study Article 4, Section 2, Clause 3 of the Constitution and evaluate the rights of slaveowners as they compared to...

For the end-of-unit assessment, scholars engage in small group Socratic seminars to connect the lyrics of two songs to texts they read and studied. They discuss how the songs "Ain't Gonna Let Nobody Turn Me Around" and "Lift Every Voice...

A study of how public perception is both reflected and influenced by film and television, this instructional activity helps students develop an awareness of audience as well as a critical view of media. Depictions of police in television...

Your class is asked to use inverse operations to solve eleven equations for unknown variables or to rearrange formulas to highlight a quantity of interest. By using the same reasoning as solving one- and two-step equations, algebra...

You shouldn't miss out on an opportunity to review should, shouldn't, ought to, had better, and had better not! Elementary and middle schoolers view a slideshow presentation that focuses on usage rules and examples for...