Imagine the challenge of trying to trace your family genealogy if no records were kept of births and deaths. Where would you look for information? What types of documents could provide you with the information you seek? History...

It's easy to criticize those in power until you're sitting at their desk, faced with the same decisions. A history lesson prompts secondary learners to research the Roosevelt presidencies through the lens of leadership and...

Imagine if Sigmund Freud or Charles Darwin had a Facebook page. As part of a study of major historical figures in the field of psychology, class members are assigned a psychologist and design a mock Facebook page that includes...

It's important to protect yourself online. An online game has pupils imagine themselves as cybersecurity specialists at a social networking company. They learn about ways to protect data online through a series of challenges.

Imagine being on the front line of the Civil War —from the front porch of your own house. Scholars use visual evidence from primary and secondary sources to analyze the impact of the Civil War on all Americans. They examine the research...

Imagine being forced against your will behind barbed wire for doing nothing but being yourself. Scholars investigate the impact Japanese-American internment camps had during World War II. Through video and archival evidence, they create...

Imagine being a writer, inventor, businessman, and the founding father of an entire nation! Pupils analyze the life and activities of Benjamin Franklin. Primary documents, videos, and paintings open up the world of Franklin to young...

Imagine the task of designing a national memorial for a former slave, orator, editor, and abolitionist! Scholars research and analyze the impact of the life of Frederick Douglass. Incorporating primary and secondary sources as well as...

Imagine hearing someone claim an event like the Holocaust never happened. Pupils use audio podcasts and reading passages to dive into the lives of those impacted by the Holocaust of World War II. Using the information they gather, class...

Imagine being a child forced from your home and into a concentration camp during World War II. Scholars prepare for a visit to the United States Holocaust Museum by researching the children of the horrible event. They analyze...

Imagine breaking out of prison only to continue to go back in to get others out. Welcome to the life of Harriet Tubman. Scholars research her amazing life and her impact on abolition in the United States. Using primary and secondary...

Imagine teaching yourself to read and write—do you think you could do it? Scholars analyze how Booker T. Washington went from a slave learning to read to a leading educator in the United States. Using video clips, speeches, and primary...

Imagine a war being fought to free slaves, with slaves on the front line. Scholars use primary documents, videos, and research in the second installment of a three-part series to guide their analysis of the first African-Americans on the...

Imagine an eight year old spindle boy working barefoot in a factory in the late 1800s. Scholars research the industrial period in American history in the 14th lesson of a 22-part series that explores the country's background. Groups...

Imagine a tool that magically engages readers in the classroom. A handbook for Indiana educators doesn't guarantee success, but it does offer a variety of strategies for teachers to try. The handbook opens with research-based theory...

Imagine a world built of triangles. A performance task asks scholars to consider just that. They use their knowledge of special segments of a triangle to make decisions about the area of triangular plots of land.

Imagine being an ex-slave after the Civil War and not understanding if you were considered a citizen of the United States. Scholars analyze the early Supreme Court battles in civil rights cases and especially the Fourteenth Amendment....

Imagine a race to complete a puzzle where each person has the same 50 pieces, knows they are missing other pieces, and must figure out how everything fits together. The winner gets fame, listed in books for years to come, and a financial...

Don't judge a book—or a toy—by its cover. Omri, a main character in The Indian in the Cupboard, quickly judged his plastic toy figures as boring. However, once placed in the cupboard, Omri's toys became something he never imagined....

Are there secret worlds? The four children in The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe answer the imaginative question when they discover a magical land in a wardrobe. Scholars read the first chapter to match vocabulary words and...

Imagine sitting down with representatives of your school to write a new student handbook. What arguments would ensue? How would compromises be made to finish the project? Scholars research the Constitutional Convention using a directory...

What happens when change you imagined, the change you were promised, is slow in coming or doesn't happen at all? What do you do with the frustration and disenchantment? Class members watch two clips from the Ken Burns: Jackie Robinson...

A mouse on a motorcycle—what could possibly go wrong? Using the novel study that accompanies Beverly Cleary's The Mouse and the Motorcycle, pupils complete a brief vocabulary activity and then answer questions about the text. Next,...

More than half the world's population eats rice as a daily staple ... imagine if that rice could prevent illness. Scientists genetically engineered rice to include vitamin A for just that purpose. However, room for debate still exists....