Ambition is the keyword of a lesson that focuses on the contributions made by famous female artists. Specifically looking at European artists, Luisa Roldan and Elisabeth Louise Vigee Le Brun, scholars examine a piece of their work then...

A reading of Patrick Henry's "Speech in the Virginia Convention," Henry David Thoreau's "Civil Disobedience," and Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr.'s "Letter from Birmingham Jail" launch a discussion about the price one is willing to pay to...

Class members investigate the Jim Crow Laws, Executive Order 9066, the Chinese Exclusion Act, and the Indian Removal Act to gather information about not only the challenges encountered by diverse groups of Americans, but their...

Use the Franklin Institute's exhibition "An Inquirer's Guide to the Universe" to have students research ideas for a science fiction story. After completing their research, writers will compose science fiction stories that incorporate...

With the songs "My Hometown" by Bruce Springsteen and "Allentown" by Billy Joel, learners examine external versus internal conflict. When they have finished the first part of the lesson, they create their own poem (or song) about the...

Bruce Springsteen’s “My Hometown” and Billy Joel’s “Allentown” motivate young lyricists to craft poems about their own home town. Groups compare the two songs, identifying details, symbols, and conflicts. Individuals then picture a place...

Could you locate the Democratic Republic of Congo on a map? Scholars investigate the genocide taking place in Eastern Congo. Groups explore web-based evidence as well as the Ripples in Genocide source to take a closer look at the issue....

Here is a lesson designed to acquaint learners with two amazing forms of entertainment from the 19th century: The Cyclorama and the Moving Panorama. After seeing what these two contraptions were all about, pupils make their own version...

Students examine factors that affect conservation of art works after identifying the nine agents of deterioration. They study techniques and thought processes behind art conservation.

Examine the works of Luisa Roldan and Elisabeth Louise Vigee Le Brun. Learners view various pieces of art from each of the artists and read about their lives. They discuss the information and construct a Venn diagram, comparing the two...

Discover stories about women's history in beautiful stained glass windows. The second in a three-part series teaches scholars about a famous artistic style of stained glass windows and the influential women that used art to impact...

Picture this. Class members follow in the footsteps of W. Eugene Smith, Dorothea Lange, James Nachtwey, and Lewis Hine by creating their own photo essay about a local event or issue.

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...

Take your class on an electronic field trip to Spain! Visit Cordoba or Barcelona, and run with the bulls (virtually) in Pamplona. Groups search the Internet to find sites that permit them to explore the original Spanish-speaking country....

Students investigate the June 2004 Transit of Venus, write a screen play, and produce a movie or animation of the transit including a narration. The difference between storytelling and storyboarding is made clear in this lesson.

What should be the role of the federal government during an economic crisis? That is the question at the center of this introduction to a study of the New Deal. Class members examine letters to the state government asking for help,...

Your learners will take a trip through history as they peruse through historic digitalized newspapers, reading real articles from such historical periods in the United States as the Temperance movement...

After a grand conversation about immigration to the United States, scholars interview a family member to learn about their journey to America. They then take their new-found knowledge and apply their findings to tracking their family...

Slavery in India, Sudan, and Mauritania? What about in the United States? Groups research modern slavery in these four countries, collecting factual evidence (What), determine their feelings about this evidence (So what),...

Bert the Turtle models for viewers the 1950s Civil Defense Duck and Cover strategy that was supposed to protect citizens from a nuclear blast. After viewing the video, watchers are asked to consider the motivations of the producers of...

Expose young children to the wonderful works of author and illustrator Jan Brett using a few of her stories such as Armadillo Rodeo, The Mitten, or Daisy Comes Home through a unit study. 

According to John Betjeman, "Childhood is measured out by sounds and smells and sights, before the dark hour of reason grows." With The Boy in the Striped Pajamas film study, scholars work in small groups to discuss the quote and other...

Students gather and identify leaves for a collection. They discuss how a leaf's form reflects its adaptation to its environment. They press the leaves in a book and glue them on construction paper.