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Deep Impact
How can acknowledging opposing viewpoints reinforce one's argument? Use this New York Times activity to study consumerism and the environmental impact of new products. After reading the article "Whether a Hummer or a Hybrid, the Big...
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Critically Surfing the Web
The New York Times article “Online Diary,” launches this study of websites and how to assess them. Richly detailed, the lesson includes warm-up activities, procedures, journal prompts, discussion questions, and links to valuable...
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Don't Believe the Type: Internet Ethics
What is Internet fraud? Explore Internet ethics and engage in a collaborative discussion. In order to create a Guide to Internet Honesty, learners read and discuss the article "A Beautiful Life, A Tragic Death, a Fraud Exposed." Then...
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Rebuilding and Recovering
What does it mean to rebuild and recover after a major event? Your class will explore this theme while they discuss and discover the events surrounding September 11. They will also look at other examples and then create art pieces that...
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That's Moor Like It!
How do modern adaptations of Shakespearean plays relate to their original source material? Middle and high schoolers focus on Shakespeare's play Othello and its screen adaptation "O" to explore how modern film adaptations of Shakespeare...
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Prosecution or Persecution
Investigate the future of the presidency in the wake of the House of Representatives' vote to impeach President Clinton. The class brainstorms both sides of the argument, reads and discusses an article, then analyzes and writes a journal...
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Local Motives
Investigate current local elections across the United States with this New York Times reading lesson. Using informational text, middle and high schoolers research local elections and create their own news reports about what they...
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Not Just the Facts
Encourage your learners to explore the differences between hard news and news analysis. They outline a complex news analysis about the upcoming presidential election, then endeavor to write an analysis of the same topic, using local...
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Be That As It Maya
Creative projects are a great way to engage your class and can be a fun way to assess mastery! Learners create brochures and postcards that might have been created by and for travelers to ancient Mayan cities. They read and discuss the...
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Showdown on the Frontier
Especially critical following a series of shootings in schools, theaters, and religious buildings, it's safe to say that we need to evaluate the current laws on gun control. Eighth graders read a New York Times article in order to better...
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Asking the Questions and Questioning the Answers
What would you ask a presidential candidate if you had the chance? Bring politics to your language arts classroom with this instructional activity, in which young readers brainstorm questions they would have liked the presidential...
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Creating Compassionate Communities
Have you ever lost someone? Middle and high school learners journal about a time they experienced the loss of someone through death, divorce, moving, or another type of change. They share their responses and discuss an article relating...
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Fire Fight
While somewhat dated (students write letters to President George W. Bush about the Iraq War), this lesson could be a good way to reinforce rhetorical reading and critical thinking. Students examine information regarding Operation Iraqi...
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The Play's the Thing
Young scholars describe to a partner theater experiences they have had in their lives that were memorable, and analyze why. They study about one director's original artistic choices for staging Shakespeare by reading and discussing...
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Science in the Court Room
Share their opinions on the use of DNA databases in criminal investigations. After reading an article, they evaluate the pros and cons of the databases and work in groups to answer discussion questions. They write a letter to a state...
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The Economics of Information
Create an expert guide to local businesses in this instructional activity. Through research, young readers consider their local businesses and the services they provide, paying attention to any conflicting information they might find....
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Who is Mark Zuckerberg?: Reading Informational Text
This New York Times "Learning Network" exercise provides 10 questions that apply to an article about Mark Zuckerberg. It poses key journalistic questions like, who, what, why, where, how, and when. This resource provides a nice, short...
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Nov. 8, 1960 | Kennedy Is Elected President
Using the presidential election of 1960 as background information, learners consider the push of electoral reform. They read about the events and issues surrounding President Kennedy's win in 1960 and compare them to the same issues...
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Student Opinion: What Teacher Do You Appreciate?
This online resource is composed of a writing sample about teacher appreciation and a writing prompt for learners. You could use this as an in-class journal activity or you could have class members post their responses on the New...
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By Heart
To memorize, or not to memorize: that is the question. Whether 'tis nobler to suffer the fear and anguish of committing a poem to memory, to endure the heartache, to shuffle off this fear, and face the stares of classmates with the hue...
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Prisoner in One's Own Home
Examine the internment of Japanese-Americans during World War II. After reading an article from the New York Times and exploring the author's word choice, young readers find the central idea in the text and work on researching...
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The Scoop on Local Business
How do local businesses support their state or regional economy? The New York Times has prepared another great instructional activity for your class. They begin by listing products grown or manufactured in their state or region then...
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Technical Merits
What is technical knowledge? The class explores what technical knowledge might mean to an Olympic athlete. They catalog the different types of information that athletes would need to compete in various Winter Olympic sports and develop...
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Create a Public Opinion Survey: The Middle East in the News
Though the discrete content here is a pair of New York Times articles about a 1998 military strike on Iraq and the coincident impeachment by the House of Representatives of then-President Clinton, this detailed plan for creating,...