Lesson Plan
Carolina K-12

Who the People? Representative Democracy in North Carolina and Congress

For Teachers 8th - 12th
Our elected officials are supposed to represent us, but what does it mean when they aren't like us? Budding citizens explore the demographic makeup of the US Congress, the role of money in political elections, and the Citizens United...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

We the People: The Citizen and the Constitution: The American Revolution

For Teachers 5th - 8th
The contributions of African-Americans to the American Revolution are the focus of this Social Studies and language arts lesson plan. After reading and discussing Linda Crotta Brennan’s The Black Regiment of the American Revolution,...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

The Gay '80s, '90s and '00s

For Teachers 6th - 12th
After reading and discussing a news article from the New York Times regarding gay and lesbian issues of the last thirty years, students engage in several activities to explore current events. They create a timeline, either electronically...
Lesson Plan
K20 LEARN

Poetry as Social Justice: Reading and Writing Poetry

For Teachers 9th
Words can be a powerful tool in the hands of a poet. Class members examine a poem written by Ross Gay in response to the death of Eric Garner and a news report of the same death. They then read an article about the death of Tamir Rice...
Unit Plan
American Press Institute

High Five: Media Literacy and Newspapers

For Teachers 6th - 12th Standards
Teach the five different types of media with the first of three in a media literacy unit. Learners create and propose a final newspaper project, which must address information covered throughout the unit. 
Worksheet
Curated OER

Social Studies Current Event Worksheet

For Students 7th - 12th
Who, what, when, where, why, and how. This current events activity uses the traditional news article format and asks reviewers to record information included in a self-selected, current events article. Class members then use the...
Interactive
American University

Factitious

For Students 5th - 12th Standards
Truth or factitious? Users of an engaging interactive test their ability to identify whether an article is real or fake news.
Interactive
NOAA

Investigating Sea Level Using Real Data

For Students 6th - 8th Standards
The news reports on rising sea level, but how do scientists measure this rise? Scholars use NOAA data including maps, apps, and images to work through five levels of activities related to sea level. Each level in the series adds a new...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Revised: Adventures in Earth Day: Why Do We Care About Our Environment? - Biology Teaching Thesis

For Teachers 6th - 8th
To describe the ecological and aesthetic importance of the Potomac River, Middle schoolers name the ways in which the river's values are jeopardized and explain the purpose of Earth Day. They write a response to a newspaper article in a...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Fire Fight

For Teachers 9th - 12th
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...
Handout
Scholastic

Heads Up: Real News About Drugs and Your Body

For Students 7th - 12th Standards
What's the difference between medical marijuana and marijuana bought on the street? Not much. High schoolers learn more about marijuana with an informational booklet that focuses on the medical uses of THC, how marijuana affects the...
Unit Plan
Kent State University

Teaching Ethics in Scholastic Journalism

For Teachers 9th - 12th
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...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Propaganda

For Teachers 9th - 12th Standards
How does word choice affect the reading of a text? Compare two headlines that were written about the same event. Is one biased? Discuss how word choice often reveals the author's feelings about a topic. Then look at different techniques...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Private Property Vs. the Public Good: the Problem of Eminent Domain

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Young scholars view video The Electric Valley, discuss film clips and review news articles and other documents pertaining to eminent domain, prepare declarative statement on issue that has pro or con side, and present case to opposing...
Lesson Plan
NPR

Journalism Lesson Plan

For Students 5th - 8th Standards
Honor women in journalism with an online exhibit called Women with a Deadline. Class members demonstrate their understanding of the topic in a final assessment by writing a newspaper article on the information they learned in...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

The Juvenile Death Penalty

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Sensitive material is discussed in this lesson. Please review to ensure that the content is suitable for your class. The topic is the Eighth Amendment and how the U.S. Supreme Court makes determinations about what constitutes cruel and...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

About Life: The Photographs of Dorothea Lange Going to the Promised Land

For Teachers 8th - 12th Standards
To better understand the migrant experience during the Great Depression, pupils analyze two primary resources: photographs by Dorothea Lange and a U.S. Map that shows the Dust Bowl. They compare and contrast Lange's images to Steinbeck's...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

In Cold Blood: A During Reading Activity

For Teachers 11th - 12th
Following the method used by Truman Capote, class members research a major character from his novel, In Cold Blood, and then conduct an interview with that character. The resulting research is used to craft a newspaper article about the...
Lesson Plan
Personal Genetics Education Project

Genetics, Jobs and Your Rights

For Teachers 9th - 12th Standards
Your class will read an overview of the Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act, passed in 2008 and address the question of whether or not genetic information should be used to influence our career paths. In jigsaw style, they then are...
Lesson Plan
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The New York Times

Understanding the Mathematics of the Fiscal Cliff

For Teachers 9th - 12th Standards
What exactly is the fiscal cliff? What are the effects of changing income tax rates and payroll tax rates? Your learners will begin by reading news articles and examining graphs illustrating the "Bush tax cuts" of 2001 and 2003. They...
Activity
101 Questions

2010 Guatemalan Sinkhole

For Teachers 9th - 12th Standards
Dig deep into a lesson studying volume. Learners view images of a Guatemalan sinkhole that seems too big to be true! Their task is to determine the amount of material needed to fill the hole using information from news articles and videos.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

The Boston Tea Party: Costume Optional?

For Teachers 6th - 8th
Students investigate the events of the Boston Tea Party. They read and analyze first-hand accounts, answer discussion questions, develop a chart of facts, and create a newspaper article, letter, or factual report.
Lesson Plan
NASA

Using Models in Climate Change Research

For Teachers 6th - 12th
Explore models through the relevant lens of climate change! Investigators watch a video about using models and their application for evaluating temperature data and climate change. Scientists read an article on climate change and answer...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Front Page News

For Teachers 3rd - 5th
Students collect and analyze the front pages of various newspapers and perform research on the Titantic tragedy. They choose a name for their newspaper, a headline, gather photographs, and write a front page article. Using computer...

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