Kids age 13 and older are asked to read the provided Times article and background information in order to construct a thoughtful blog response to Obama's first Oval Office speech. They work to address each of the related critical...

“. . .different men often see the same subject in different lights. . .” but the great orator Patrick Henry used all the skills at his command to craft a speech to convince listeners to see things as he did--that liberty was worth dying...

Learning to craft quality questions is a skill that can be taught. Class members use the Question Formulation Technique to learn how to create and refine both closed-ended and open-ended questions. They then view West of the West's...

A simple text analysis lesson plan, language learners transfer, order, and group information so that it is presentable. No apparent link to the five required worksheets.

After listening to President Franklin D. Roosevelt's "Day of Infamy" speech, young historians research information about the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, possible motives for the attack, and the consequences of the attack. Scholars...

Learners explore the U.S. Constitution. In this First Amendment lesson, students examine Norman Rockwell's "Freedom of Speech" and analyze the five freedoms listed in the amendment.

The United States—specifically John F. Kennedy—played a large role during the Cuban Missile Crisis. A history resource poses questions that encourage critical thinking as well as in-depth analysis of images from the time period.

Students develop a strategy for furthering the First Amendment interest and knowledge in the school through posters, school-wide announcements, speakers, contests and more during the rest of the school year. Student research about free...

Students create a instructional activity to present to the rest of the class about current laws, including expressing killing the president as a joke. Students research past events and current laws. Students present to the class using...

Students read background about Don Imus and his comments about the Rutgers women's basketball team. They explore current interpretation of the First Amendment, including that of commercial speech. Students present the findings to class...

"Congress shall make no law . . . abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press;. . ." Why is this guarantee of free speech and a free press the First Amendment to the US Constitution? Why are these rights so essential to a...

Where do anti-immigrants myths come from, and how can they be refuted? Learners critically analyze media reports and how to identify reliable sources. After studying a timeline that details the history of US nativism, groups research the...

In this Robert Mugabe and Hugo Chavez worksheet, students read the article, answer true and false questions, complete synonym matching, complete phrase matching, complete a gap fill, answer short answer questions, answer discussion...

Students determine how free press principles can be compromised. For this global studies lesson, students read an article titled "Free and Independent Press." Students respond to discussion questions regarding the article.

Pupils use communicative activity strategy, Go, Ask and Tell, or more traditional whole text comprehension activity to read, discuss and explore issues in article, Free Speech Comes at a Price, by Hugh Mackay.

Class members investigate the role media should play in a healthy democracy. As part of this study, groups analyze political advertising, use FactCheck to assess not only the veracity of but the persuasions techniques used in candidates'...

Pupils broaden knowledge about all the 50 states. They combine their knowledge about states with their knowledge about parts of speech to create grammatically correct sentences that describe the characteristics of the states.

Students work together in groups to identify new vocabulary words. They read a story about the new Maori King in New Zealand and answer questions. They also examine reported speech in the article.

The legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr's life and message is just as important today as it was in his lifetime. Introduce elementary learners to the movement for civil rights with a timeline of Dr. King's life, as well as...

Free speech, privacy, and cyberbullying are the focus of a series of activities that prompt class members to engage in discussions about these interrelated topics. They view a segment from PBS’s series on bullying, read...

Read this interesting background information regarding the presidential election of 2008. Your class will read the provided passages and then answer four critical thinking questions that require them to consider the reading and what they...

There are a lot of different ways a learner could respond to this New York Times article discussing the effects of modern culture on childhood. After reading the article, pupils construct a thoughtful blog post. The guiding questions...

While the French Revolution could be considered inspired by the American Revolution, it created thorny problems for the new United States. Should the United States get involved and be drawn into a European drama? Was the US strong...