How do events reported in mainstream newspapers, on television news, blog posts, and social network sites differ? Ask your class to investigate the way the same news item is presented in the many information sources available. Groups...

With Mount Everest as the motivator, your earth science class learns about topographic maps. Begin by showing a film clip from The Wildest Dream: Conquest of Everest, featuring fearsome virtual imagery of a path up world's tallest...

How can a photographer use images to represent a topic? Over the course of three days, learners discuss various photographs and practice their picture-taking skills with an outdoor, panoramic photography session. They use the images...

Green roofs aren't just eco-friendly — they are literally green with trees. Groups learn about the concept of green roofs in order to be able to design one. The groups design a 5,000-square-foot green roof for a fictional apartment row...

Does your class know their planets? Implement an activity that has them describing the solar system, identifying properties of the planets, and placing them in order from their distance from the sun.

Tweet all about it! Junior journalists explore the Twittersphere to determine its effectiveness as a news broadcasting tool in the 12th installment of the 16-part Social Media Toolbox. Participants follow and record their observations of...

Students give examples to indicate how voting participation changed in the first half of the 19th century, and make connections between changes in voting participation and the results of the election of 1828.

Students examine the impact of the Great Depression. In this Great Depression lesson plan, students research employment opportunities during the era. Students determine how they may have been able to survive the economic depression if...

Learners examine why people move from one country or area to another. Using photographs, they analyze the culture and lifestyles of people pictured in the image. They research and explain the daily experiences of the settlers to...

Fourth graders assess primary sources to analyze the effects plantation life and slavery had on Colonial Virginia. They study the issues of slavery, rural life, movements, colonization and revolution. Each student makes predictions,...

Students examine how visual artists tell stories with their work. In this visual art lesson, students study two of Dorothea Lange's photographs to find elements of art and narrative content, use descriptive language when discussing...

Fourth graders observe various photographs by Dorothea Lange and write reflections in a journal. In this photography lesson plan, 4th graders interpret photographs and do a variety of writing responses to the photographs they observe.

Students investigate the history of peoples in the western United States. To accomplish this Students use photographs as images that capture the context of different cultures. Then they write reflections about each culture.

Students explore who has photographed war and why. They examine Mathew Brady's process for photgraphing the Civil War. Students investigate how photographic equipment has changed and improved through time. They analyze primary source war...

First graders take a look at schools of the past and present, and try to conjure an idea of what schools of the future will look like. After taking a walk around their own school and taking note of the buildings and the things that are...

Eleventh graders explore Jazz in America. They examine greats in Jazz, such as Duke Ellington. They are also to discuss the cultural implications of the music itself.

Students conduct research in order to use primary and secondary sources. They interpret and analyze information from textbooks and nonfiction books for young adults, as well as reference materials, audio and media presentations, oral...

Students use the internet to research a recent Blue Angels plane crash. As a class, they list the various ways journalists list the facts of an incident and which one is most effective given different scenerios. They write a story on...

Where to begin? With the vocational education that provides the skills necessary to gain economic security or with a Liberal Arts education? As part of a study of leaders of the civil rights movement, class members compare and...

Learners differentiate among and explain various levels of economic development around the world. They see that levels of economic development vary greatly in different countries according to many different measures.

Eighth graders conduct a "Length of Day Symposium." They complete a variety of activities and explorations regarding the earth's rotation, its revolution around the sun and the cyclic changes in climate and energy distribution on the...

Students explore the debate between intelligent design and Darwinism. They research both topics by accessing primary sources. Students interview school administrators to determine what its science curriculum is and the timeline for any...

Fourth graders explore the characteristics of organisms and how these influence their ability to survive in particular habitats. Students perform experiments with types of bird beaks and graph their results. Students explore familiar...

Young scholars research patterns of immigration throughout American history. The focus is on the process of how immigrants came through Ellis Island. Students reflect upon the topic to develop critical thinking skills.