Discovery Education
Election in the News
Young people are the future voices of the country. In order to be knowledgeable about local and federal elections, future voters must first become aware. Bring an informative lesson plan to your social studies class, in which middle...
Jefferson County Schools
Teaching Persuasive Reading and Writing
With the increasing emphasis on persuasive and argumentative writing, the lessons and strategies in the sample unit are sure to prove valuable—whether you are new to or an experienced pro at teaching persuasive reading and writing.
Museum of the Moving Image
Evaluating Information: Focus on the 2008 Election
Just how true is the information contained in political ads? Determining the veracity of campaign ads from the 2008 presidential race is the focus of a lesson that introduces class members to several fact-checking resources.
EduGAINs
Introduction to the Great Depression—Canadian and World Studies
Ah, the classic business cycle model: recession, depression, recovery, prosperity. And then there was the Great Depression. Groups investigate the economic conditions that led to and social movements of the 1920s that great out of the...
Museum of Tolerance
Influence of Media
We are bombarded with media images expressly designed to influence viewers. Learning how to analyze the intended effects of these images is essential and the focus of an activity that asks viewers to use the provided questions to guide...
Laboratory for Atmospheric and Space Physics
Looking to the Future
New Horizons set forth on a mission to Pluto in 2006. Ten years later, the spacecraft is still on its way. Here, enthusiastic scholars predict what they will be like—likes, dislikes, hobbies, etc.—when New Horizons arrives at its...
EduGAINs
Data Management
Using a carousel activity, class members gain an understanding of the idea of inferences by using pictures then connecting them to mathematics. Groups discuss their individual problems prior to sharing them with the entire class....
Brown University
Following the U.S. Presidential Election
Election years provide the opportunity to evaluate news media as well as the next prospective president. High schoolers read about the same event in several different news sources, varying in type, origin, and political leaning,...
EngageNY
Evaluating Reports Based on Data from a Sample
Statistics can be manipulated to say what you want them to say. Teach your classes to be wise consumers and sort through the bias in those reports. Young statisticians study different statistical reports and analyze them for...
Bowland
Problem Page
Future mathematicians use a given graph to answer a question about age differences in relationships. Along the way, they must find the equation and inequality of given graphs.
University of Northern Iowa
Clothing
As part of an investigation of the folk traditions of their area, class members research the articles of clothing worn at earlier times, the fibers and materials, and the machinery used to produce these items. In addition, class...
Discovery Education
Make it all Better!
Discover how innovations can help your school and community. In the three-part STEM lesson, scholars learn the meaning of innovation and brainstorm innovations in their schools. They identify issues in their communities and think of...
Carolina K-12
Propaganda, Spin and Soundbite Politics
It's all about the spin! In an introduction to propaganda techniques and soundbite politics, scholars first learn about common propaganda techniques before seeing them in action in the context of the 2016 election cycle. Activities...
Advocates for Human Rights
Human Rights in the U.S.
Here's a fun, creative approach to the profoundly important issue of human rights. Young citizens do three activities, two of which involve them finding images from magazines that reflect human rights of their...
DLTK
Dolch Word List
This website provides several printable flashcards that can be used to teach sight words.
Stanford University
Beyond Vietnam
On April 4, 1967 Martin Luther King, Jr. delivered his speech "Beyond Vietnam." The controversy that followed is the focus of a three-lesson unit that asks class members to consider the political and social implications of King's...
Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History
Harriet Beecher Stowe Sends Uncle Tom’s Cabin to Victoria and Albert, 1852
Harriet Beecher Stowe's plea for abolition is not only laid plain in her acclaimed novel, Uncle Tom's Cabin, but in her written correspondence as well. High schoolers read a letter written by Stowe to Prince Albert and Queen Victoria to...
Southern Poverty Law Center
Evaluating Online Sources
All sources are pretty much the same, right? If this is how your class views the sources they use for writing or research projects, present them with a media literacy lesson on smart source evaluation. Groups examine several articles,...
Library of Congress
Uncle Tom’s Cabin and the Fugitive Slave Act
From the time of its publication, Uncle Tom's Cabin has been controversial. To better understand the debate, class members first examine a broadside decrying the Fugitive Slave Act of 1850, and then two newspaper reviews of the...
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
Youth Exposure to Advertising and E-Cigarette Use
Vaping is increasingly popular with young people. Small wonder given the marketing strategies used by the companies that produce E-cigarettes and vaping flavors like menthol, chocolate, and candy. Check out an infographic that identifies...
US Institute of Peace
Perspectives on Peace
Is peace simply the absence of war, or is there more to the story? Young social scientists define peace in the second installment of a 15-part series. Groups work together to explore cultural concepts of peace and the peacemaking process...
US Institute of Peace
Defining Conflict
Conflict is everywhere—but is it avoidable? The first activity in a series of 15 peacebuilding lessons examines the nature of conflict at home, school, and across the world. Learners develop a definition of conflict through group work...
C-SPAN
Campaign Endorsement Project
So many politicians, so many endorsements! Learn to differentiate between facts as well as the process of endorsements with an informative resource. Class members watch current endorsement videos, research candidates from three different...
Social Media Toolbox
Reporting with Social Media
What does it take to create news stories that are both informative and objective? Aspiring journalists walk the line between engagement and activism with lesson 15 of a 16-part series titled The Social Media Toolbox. Grouped pupils...