US House of Representatives
A Picture is Worth a Thousand Words
Groups select a photograph from one of the four eras of African Americans in Congress and develop a five-minute presentation that provides background information about the image as well as its historical significance. The class compares...
Curated OER
Season Worksheet #5
Sunrise, sunset, swiftly fly the years! Your earth scientists can also fly through a year of daylight data. They analyze a graph and then answer five multiple choice questions about the rising and setting of the sun, the total number of...
Main Memory Network
Longfellow's "The Village Blacksmith" and Whitman's "Song of Myself"
Although the work Americans do has changed over time, the plight of the American worker has largely remained the same. Facilitate a class discussion aboutAmerican workers using Henry Wadsworth Longfellow's "The Village Blacksmith" and...
Curated OER
"Big Three" Bailouts
What does your class think about big business bailouts by the U.S. Government? Find out with this activity, where learners analyze a political cartoon comparing the "Big Three" automakers with the Greek Myth of Sisyphus. Background...
Curated OER
Writing a Book Review
Introduce literary analysis, writing skills, and purposeful reading with a book review. Pupils answer five questions that ask about plot, characters, language used, story elements, and the main character. This is a wonderful way to start...
US National Archives
WWII: Western Europe 1939-45 – Invasion
Without the benefit of history, Western Europe in the 1940's had no idea what was about to befall them. Class members use primary sources, including political cartoons, videos, and internal documents, to analyze how much of a threat...
Franklin D. Roosevelt Presidential Library & Museum
Pearl Harbor Activity #4: Who is the Audience?
Young historians use the prompts on a worksheet to analyze President Roosevelt's "Day of Infamy" speech. They identify the intended audience for the speech, the devices FDR used to persuade his audience, the responses promoted, and the...
Academy of American Poets
Teach This Poem: “Making History” by Marilyn Nelson
What makes an event newsworthy, worth a reference in a news magazine or textbook? Who decides? These are questions Marilyn Nelson asks readers of her poem "Making History" to consider. To begin, class members list details they notice in...
Curated OER
Variations in Living Things
Biology beginners observe traits in a collection of plant parts to realize the tremendous amount of genetic variation within a species. They consider rules of nature and discuss what would happen if they changed. They also examine data...
Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
Convert Customary Units of Length
Sports fans will really enjoy this unit conversion assignment. A table of standard measurements for football-related equipment is presented as the data for solving six word problems. For all of the problems, players will need to convert...
Curated OER
The Nobel Prize in Chemistry 2003 - Information for the Public
An information-packed eight-page article detailing the history of understanding active transport across cell membranes makes up the bulk of this handout. Two pages of reading comprehension and critical-thinking questions follow. The...
Illustrative Mathematics
The High School Gym
Learners apply critical thinking skills as they analyze data about the temperature inside a gymnasium during a school assembly. The focus is on representing temperature as a function of time and interpreting input and output values...
University of North Carolina
Roles & Powers of the President
Here is a fantastic, comprehensive resource on the roles and powers assigned to the president of the United States. It includes several critical thinking exercises and engaging activities, from cartoon analysis and the opportunity to...
Library of Congress
Treasure Island
For 30 years, Long John Silver has sailed the seas. An eBook version of Treasure Island introduces readers to the tales Long John Silver has to tell. This 1883 version of the text includes an introduction to encourage critical...
Newseum
Battle for the Bill of Rights: Ultimate Survivor Amendment Game
To understand the importance of the wording of the articles of the First Amendment (freedom of religion, freedom of speech and the press, and freedom to assembly and petition), teams argue before a jury for draft amendments of one...
University of Kansas
Newspaper in the Classroom
Newspapers aren't only for reading—they're for learning skills, too! A journalism unit provides three lessons each for primary, intermediate, and secondary grades. Lessons include objectives, materials, vocabulary, and procedure, and...
Curated OER
The Rest Cure: Gender in Medicine and Literature
Read and discuss "The Yellow Wall-Paper" and the gender issues that the story brings up. Use articles from the time period to analyze, complete with specific discussion questions. After two days, scholars write an essay based on topics...
Media Smarts
Selling Obesity
Learners examine health issues that are associated with our fast food culture, and the advertising of it. They begin with a snack-food survey to assess their own eating habits. Pupils are encouraged to think critically throughout the...
Curated OER
Pick a Pet
Learners design informational materials to educate people on the importance of matching a new pet to the family's lifestyle and living arrangements. Students use critical thinking skills to make a decision on the appropriate choice for a...
Curated OER
The Function Machine
Fourth graders solve division problems by practicing on function machine.
Curated OER
The Tell - Tale Heart
Learners read The Tell Tale Heart and practice critical analysis while reflecting on its underlying meanings. In this reading activity, students make predictions, monitor their own comprehension and adjust their reading accordingly....
Curated OER
The Inca Empire: Fact of Opinion
Supplement a lesson on the Inca with this worksheet. Highlighted are 2 image documents which are analyzed to answer 5 fact or opinion questions. Pupils need to provide examples and evidence to support their answers.
Curated OER
Violence Prevention
Compare and contrast the ideologies of Malcolm X and Martin Luther King, Jr. Middle schoolers conduct research regarding civil rights and rhetorical strategies used in political speechs. They examine the strategies that both men employed...
Curated OER
Everyday Marvels
Students consider the meaning of innovation and analyze the design of objects. In this object design lesson, students examine revolutionary objects and their design. Students complete discussion activities for objects like Band-Aids,...