Students evaluate how important it can be to speak a language other than their own. They analyze the role language plays in bridging cultural differences and compare their reasons and see if the class can reach a consensus on the...

Close your colonial America unit with a performance-based assessment. Class members will show their proficiency in several skills including using details to back up inferences, determining the meaning of words in context,...

Students examine the importance of speaking more than one language. They read and discuss an account written by a Peace Corps teacher in Ukraine, answer discussion questions, and discuss why English is taught in Ukraine.

Young scholars read an article on the English language. In this ESL lesson, students explore the meaning of the term 'diplomatic English,' then complete several activities centered around the article.  Activities include vocabulary,...

Students examine the use of imagery to hold a reader's attention in an excerpt from John Deever's memoir "Mr. John and the Day of Knowledge". They are introduced to background information about the Ukraine and create original imagery.

The Electoral College's role in elections is sometimes confusing and controversial. Pupils use a debate topics website to research the pros and cons of the practice to debate whether the United States should still use the Electoral...

William Bell's Forbidden City is used as the basis of a study of China, Chinese culture and government, and especially of the events in Tiananmen Square in 1989. Class members select a topic for Internet research and then prepare a...

The topic of gun control is vast, controversial, and difficult to introduce to students. This gem of a resource covers both sides of the issue and provides topic background, various multimedia and print resources, analysis questions, and...

Students explore how consumers have become as proficient in computer technology as specialists were a decade ago. They create and conduct a test to determine the proficiencies of people in their school community.

Make a study of the First Amendment and its relationship to freedom. Pupils rewrite the amendment and discuss the central idea before focusing on a specific phrase. After discussing, class members write a journal entry about the included...

Use Langston Hughes's poem, "Words Like Freedom," to explore the concepts of freedom and liberty. Learners read the poem, determine the theme, and use the provided graphic organizer to examine the connotative and denotative meanings of...

Students gain an understanding of some of the challenges the U.S. faced at its birth. They are asked to compose a report on the state of the nation in 1790 (addressed to President George Washington), which includes a narrative, maps and...

Students explore and locate "The Stans" in Central Asia to create, write and illustrate maps, graphs and charts to organize geographic information. They analyze the historical and physical characteristics of Central Asia via graphic...

Historical fiction novels give readers a chance to step into someone else's shoes. An educator's guide from Penguin Common Core Lesson Plans provides resources to accompany three historical fiction novels written by Ruta Sepetys: Between...

Does the use of standardized testing improve American education? Scholars dive into the issue as they prepare to discuss the debate topic with their classmates. After reviewing the pros and cons, they watch videos to help them arrive at...

In this reading comprehension learning exercise, students read an article about 19th century American presidents. They answer ten multiple choice questions about the article. Each question asks students to identify one of four...

Ninth graders identify and recognize characteristics of nonfiction in literary works, explore language and culture of Gullah people, compare and contrast purposes of spirituals and quilts in terms of their relationships to escape from...

Students define vocabulary words prior to reading "The Most Dangerous Game" in this interactive language arts lesson that effectively integrates technology. This lesson requires internet access, a mobile computer lab, and an instant...

First graders take a look at schools of the past and present, and try to conjure an idea of what schools of the future will look like. After taking a walk around their own school and taking note of the buildings and the things that are...

If you could travel anywhere in the United States, where would you go? Use this question to interest your fourth, fifth, and sixth graders as they experiment with Mapquest or other direction-based resources. They choose where they'd like...

Learners research a location of their choice using the internet. They list the characteristics of the location and why they chose it as their ideal vacation spot. Using maps, they pinpoint their destination and trace their route. They...

Students use the internet to research the location of their summer vacation trip. Given the demographics, they plot the location on a world map. They create a brochure using the information they collected. Using PowerPoint, they develop...

Young scholars differentiate among and explain various levels of economic development around the world. They see that levels of economic development vary greatly in different countries according to many different measures.

Young scholars examine the different characteristics of culture and write about a hypothetical culture of their own.