After researching issues involving panthers, middle schoolers practice writing persuasive letters.  They  become familiar with a controversial issue related to panthers and write their position on the issue. This lesson...

This is a true gem. This PowerPoint is well-organized, has bullet points you control (which gives you time for discussion), has sound effects, and covers several aspects of American industrialization after 1900. The presentation begins...

Promote healthy lifestyles with an interactive that provides young learners with healthy nutrition and exercise messages. Class members plug their height and weight information into an online body mass index calculator, and hear positive...

Which of the following can you survive without for the longest time: water, food, or a positive mental attitude? The answer may surprise you. Guide learners of all ages through games, activities, and discussions about surviving in the...

Do you have good ethics? How about good morals? Scholars investigate the role business ethics, morals, and values play in society. Through role play, group work, and readings, they uncover the basis behind the importance of being...

Pupils explore fair play. In this character education lesson, students examine being fair in decision-making as they participate in role plays and read The Zax.

Developing close personal and romantic relationships requires its own set of skills. This session focuses on helping teens develop behaviors and strategies for dealing with romantic relationships, rather than on sharing personal...

Who would win an election between Napoleon and Julius Caesar? Group your class up to analyze and discuss which of their given choices would make the best presidential candidate, given specific criteria. The potential candidate list...

"What are Henry's options?" "What do you think Henry will do?" To better understand the central conflict for the main character in Robert Cormier's Tunes for Bears to Dance to, class members engage in a compare-and-contrast activity that...

In this illustrations in text worksheet, studetnts view illustration in texts on specific pages and answer mutliple choice questions about them. Students complete 8 problems.

Group members take on roles to create a positive classroom community. Learners perform their role—leader, recorder, presenter, timekeeper, encourager, and collector—in preparation for a formal presentation of their positive thinking...

Inspired by magazine photos, your young writers hone word choices to create a meaningful haiku. Charged with brainstorming 100 words associated with a photo of their choosing, they whittle their list to the top 10%, make three sentences...

Given the two-sentence skeleton of a news story about a car theft/joy ride, budding writers create their own version of the story varying diction and sentence structure to heighten interest and complexity in their writing. Resource...

Who helps our community run smoothly? Read a short passage about community members and helpers. After kids finish the passage, they answer five short questions on the other side of the page.

"What my father had anticipated was now actually happening." The Chosen explores the complicated relationships between parents and their children. Readers make personal connections to Chiam Potok's story, set in Brooklyn's Hasidic...

Having a debate doesn't mean you're fighting. Introduce middle schoolers to debate with a resource which distinguishes between an quarrel and a debate, describes the debate process and format, and presents some possible debate topics.

Flip a coin to determine whether the probability of heads is one-half. Pupils use simulated data to find the experimental probability of flipping a coin. Participants compare the long run relative frequency with the known theoretical...

Students explore ways to promote safe driving on prom night. In this driver education lesson, students interview people about driving on prom night. Students design a poster with their researched quotes and discuss the topic in the...

Students explore business practices by creating a portfolio in class. In this business writing instructional activity, students identify the causes for a businesses success and failure before deciding on a business they would like to...

Sixth graders access a database to search for desired information, using "and" or "or" connectors where necessary. They choose a connector and search a prepared database of European countries to locate which countries border certain...

Students experience what it is like to be a responsible citizen through a monthly budget through using a variety of research skills. They apply collected data in a decision making exercise and present the final product in a clear and...

Students examine how he world eats breakfast. In this food choices lesson, students work in groups to list breakfast foods and their ingredients and find goods and consumers on the list. The, students use the Internet to complete a...

Students study the importance of ethical guidelines in professional decisions. They examine legal situations to determine appropriate behavior based on ethical standards.

Students examine tobacco advertisements.  In this smoking advertisements lesson, students read old magazine or newspaper ads to determine their purpose and influence.  Students also discuss how to make responsible health...