Students read George Orwell's essay "Shooting an Elephant" as an analysis for the historical context. In this historical analysis lesson, students analyze the main points in the essay to identify its cultural and historical context....

Students examine U.S. policies regarding Native Americans. In this Native American history lesson, students analyze provided primary and secondary sources concerning Red Cloud, Sitting Bull, and the Dawes Act. Students use the provided...

Learners explore the concept of environmental stewardship. In this interdisciplinary instructional activity, students investigate the media response to the Gulf oil spill as they examine live streaming video, interpret data, and share...

Students use an interactive website to complete a wilderness trail adventure where they learn about Native cultures, voyagers, and the Canadian fur trade. In this interactive history lesson, students visit the wilderness classroom...

Learners discuss the history of tobacco bag stringing. In this primary documents history lesson, students closely examine photographs of families who worked stringing tobacco bags. This lesson includes discussion questions and a...

Fifth graders investigate human emotion by analyzing photographs they have taken.  In this human face activity, 5th graders collaborate in pairs to take pictures of another student while they are expressing different emotions....

Students analyze an interactive map of the Missouri Compromise to identify the regions and their relation to slavery. In this pre-civil war era lesson, students read primary source documents and research online to answer questions...

Students analyze narrative voice in William Faulkner's The Sound and the Fury. In this novel analysis instructional activity, students analyze Faulkner's writing style and the narrative voice of Benjy. Students create a reading journal...

Students complete close reading activities to analyze Edith Wharton's Ethan Frome. In this literary analysis lesson, students analyze key quotations from Ethan Frome and respond to contemporary reviews of the text. Students use textual...

Students explore Jackie Robinson's career. In this 20th century American history lesson, students complete the provided analysis questions based on the provided primary documents about Jackie Robinson. Students discuss Jackie' Robinson's...

Students read about America's participation in World War II. They study images, timelines, and other primary source documents.

Students examine the function of the immune system. They read and discuss text, complete a K-W-L chart, sequence photos of white blood cells encountering bacteria, develop an outline, and write an essay.

Young scholars examine and analyze photographs of other cultures. They answer discussion questions, identify bias and point of view in the images, conduct research on another photo, and compare and contrast two cultural images.

High schoolers examine the experiences of American prisoners of war to begin their discussion on the Holocaust. They read and view primary source documents and discuss. They discover the importance of the Holocaust as well.

Students use mixed media to create personal expression on canvas art supplies bag, design three-dimensional model of their ideal studio space, write character sketch of Robert Harris using images of him, letter he wrote, and his art work...

Students create a one-page family newsletter about a selected person in their family. They bring in a photo or use a digital camera to take a picture of their selected family member, and use a newsletter template to write and publish...

Young scholars explore the celebrations of different cultures, comparing and contrasting what is unique to them. Students explore different ways to celebrate those holidays. They construct a personalized alter to demonstrate one aspect...

Students research the fight for voting rights. In this women's history lesson plan, students analyze primary sources to develop an understanding of the strategies employed by the suffragists to gain voting rights.

Fourth graders identify primary source items in the study of their families. They relate the importance of primary source materials in understanding history and events of the past.

Students explore the histories of American patriotic emblems and examine ways in which patriotic artwork uses these emblems to reflect the ideals that they embody. They find a common or popular patriotic image and design a modern...

Learners analyze the epic poem form and its roots in oral tradition. For this epic poetry lesson, students research the epic hero cycle and recognize the pattern of events and elements. Learners analyze the patterns embedded in the stories.

To sign or not to sign? That is the question facing readers of the 1807 bill proposing an end to the slave trade. After a close reading of excerpts from the bill, readers are asked to advise Thomas Jefferson either to sign or reject the...

At a depth of 3,000 m in the ocean, the pressure is 300 times that at sea level! In the activity, individuals predict what will happen to Styrofoam cups submerged 3,000 meters into the ocean. They then convert these units to soccer...

Students explore Edward Curtis' photos of a Native American ritual and practice documenting their own religious rituals. In this photography analysis lesson, students analyze an Native American ritual in Curtis' photo. Students discuss...