How can social media help or hinder civil dialogue? How can information shared on social media be verified? As the investigation of media reports of the events surrounding the shooting of Michael Brown continues, class members read...

Scholars investigate news literacy in the twenty-first century. They use technology, legal decisions, writings, and digital privacy to analyze the topic. Using what they learned, a group assignment looks into both the challenges and...

How does media convey different messages? Use this lesson to explore media by identifying and analyzing selected images. Middle schoolers analyze a poster and discuss the intended meaning of the imagery and how it makes them feel. They...

Students compare/contrast the media messages they see in two different communities in their city. They list the elements of art and the principles of design in the photographs they have taken in those two different communities. They...

What is happening to print media? Use this political cartoon analysis handout to facilitate pupil exploration of the online-media takeover and the decline of newspapers. Background information gives them context, and 3 talking points...

Designed to support a study of women's suffrage in the United States, a primary source document set from the Library of Congress includes images, song sheets, articles, statistical documents, political cartoon, and audio recordings...

What is sponsored content? Who produces sponsored content? Why? Is it fair or unfair? What are the privacy implications for consumers? To answer these questions, class members view a model screencast before crafting their own that...

What tools do archaeologists and anthropologist use to learned about what life was like in the past. After watching West of The West's documentary Once Upon a Time that details how scientists use artifacts to establish a...

Events in recent years have underscored the importance of a free and independent press in a democracy. Young journalists engage in lessons about the function of journalism in a democratic society, practice the steps of Bok's Ethical...

Ezell Blair, Jr., David Richmond, Franklin McCain and Joseph McNeil changed history. Their sit-in at the lunch counter of the Woolworths in Greensboro, North Carolina on February 1, 1960 became a model for the nonviolent protests that...

High schoolers watch a video clip discussing the story about the mayor and answer the following: What kind of people should be role models for students today +++ Are they politicians and government employees, movie stars, or professional...

Synthesizing information from a PBS documentary Ralph Bunche: An American Odyssey, its companion website, and several other resources (links to which are provided), high schoolers evaluate whether Bunche did all he could to advance the...

Help young researchers find credible sources online. Modeling with a Google search for information about Shakespeare’s Macbeth, use a computer projector or Smart Board to show class members how weak the top three search results are....

You'll C-E-R a difference in classroom achievement after using a helpful lesson. Designed for economics, civics, government, and US history classes, participants practice using the CER model to craft arguments about primary and secondary...

History sleuths read articles for and against Uncle Tom's Cabin, examine visual images, print responses, and multi-media tomitudes to better understand the impact of Harriet Beecher Stowe's novel on American culture prior to...

Why did the United States choose to invade Cuba in 1898? As part of a 3-day lesson, your young historians will first develop working hypotheses to answer this question, then work with a variety of historical primary source documents that...

Fourth graders review and complete evaluating information quality. In groups, they research the diversity of the numerous Native American tribes in Montana. They complete a worksheet on evaluating sources on the Internet and share...

Using internet research, high schoolers compute the costs of different models of card. They discuss the advantages/disadvantages of purchasing a new car versus a used car, the cost of car insurance, and the best way to finance their...

Students identify the elements of natural disasters and gain an understanding on how the media influences people's responses to disasters. In this natural disaster lesson plan, students study the impact of natural disasters, and the...

Artists working in different media often explore the same themes—to model how these same themes weave their way through different forms of artistic expression, scholars analyze images by Dorothea Lange, identifying key themes in her...

While purchasing insurance and estate planning may seem like a rather irrelevant topic for high school students, introducing this concept now can help your learners develop a solid foundation of financial literacy that will...

Alexander Hamilton serves as a model in a lesson plan that asks young political scientists to consider the strengths and weaknesses of six different leadership styles. They read a brief overview of Hamilton's activities before, during,...

Students create a system to approach news articles. They analyze media content for main ideas and overall themes and summarize key points. Students draw upon personal experiences to build on ideas presented in news articles.

Should the excavation of what is believed to be the cave of the Lone Woman of San Nicholas Island be allowed to continue? As a practice exercise designed to prepare pupils for a timed writing exam, individuals read two Los Angeles...