Considered an American art form, rap has its roots in places from Jamaica to the Bronx. Using a series of readings, comprehension questions, and videos, scholars explore the history of rap and its connections to the African diaspora....

During elections, headlines constantly lament the issue of low voter turnout. Help class members understand why this is such an important topic with relevant articles, a discussion of both sides of the issue, and a reflective essay. 

Students create exhibits about patriotic symbols for a living museum. They write reflective essays exploring the themes and symbols of independence and their influences on social responsibility.

Use the Peace Corps to explore a different place and different perspectives. Your class reads the personal narrative "Cross-Cultural Dialogue" by Roz Wollmering, completing an attached story frame sheet in preparation for a class...

Martin Luther King Jr.'s "Letter From Birmingham Jail" was written in response to "A Call for Unity," written by eight white ministers from Birmingham and published in the local newspaper. After reading both letters and following a list...

Should schools be permitted to punish young scholars for off-campus cyberbullying? After reading a passage that details statistics about cyberbullying and Supreme Court rulings about schools' ability to limit student speech,...

Youngsters share ideas about cultural and/or spiritual rituals by participating in a fishbowl discussion, which explores the ways rituals have changed over time. They write reflective essays about their own cultural traditions.

Create a sense of accountability among scholars with a instructional activity that focuses on making and keeping New Year's resolutions. Writers compose a five paragraph essay focused on three resolutions—promises to...

Here is a nice set of activities and discussion questions to accompany your class reading of No Pretty Pictures, a memoir of a young girl's experiences and struggle for survival during the Holocaust.

The words of Henry David Thoreau on Civil Disobedience seem particularly relevant today, as are his writings and those of other transcendental thinkers who ask what it mean to live deliberately and what are the responsibilities of...

Are you teaching Modernism to your class? Connect different areas of artistic expression in the Modernist Era. Learners read T.S. Eliot, view art by Pablo Picasso, and listen to a Modernist musical composition. This final assignment is...

Learners will share ideas about class mobility. They create a timeline that chronicles milestones in their own lives, and synthesize their learning by writing personal essays about their class status and aspirations for the future.

How important are symbols and symbolic gestures in society? Middle schoolers have an opportunity to analyze the importance of symbols on American currency with a lesson that investigates the controversies surrounding redesigning the $5,...

What strategies are most effective in changing an unjust law? Class members examine the tactics used in the Birmingham Campaign of 1963 (Project C) to achieve social justice and social transformation. After examining documents that...

Ada Limon's poem, "A New National Anthem," offers young scholars an opportunity to reflect on the significance of the US national anthem and the extent to which Key's vision applies to all Americans. After watching a video of Whitney...

Students examine the state of women'srights in Korea. In this women's issues instructional activity, students analyze the content of 3 provided articles and compose essays regarding the Korean Women's Movement.

In a single, soundly-designed class period, high schoolers define good character, think-pair-share about thought-provoking quotes on character (More options would enhance the discussion, worth searching online for other quotes to add.),...

Often our decisions are impacted by a fear of how others see us. That's the big idea in a two-day lesson that asks how false assumptions, how our fear of how others may see us, impact how we act. After watching a video about such a...

Fourth graders write about the forced Potawatomi migration. For this primary source lesson students are read journal entries from an emigrating party of Potawatomi Indians. Students reflect on the items the Indians might have taken with...

Scholars examine the first Thanksgiving through books and interviews while they complete a KWL chart. Pretending they are part of the feast, learners craft a scrapbook page that features images related to their experience. Pupils reflect...

The last instructional activity in this unit about human rights consists of a final assessment. To demonstrate the skills your class has acquired throughout this unit, they will work with a new article entitled "From Kosovo to the United...

Scholars investigate and discuss the importance of values and how they can be used to break barriers. Small groups work collaboratively to examine the text and draw inferences to answer questions. A writing assignment challenges pupils...

The German youth faced an onslaught of propaganda when they went to school, thanks to the Nazi regime led by Hitler during World War II. Pupils relate their education experiences to German youth by analyzing primary source readings,...

The Nineteenth Amendment granted women the right to vote—as long as they were white. High schoolers read articles and essays about racism in the suffrage movement and consider how intersectionality played a role in the movement. Scholars...