Does a ban on vending machines infringe on student rights, or do school officials have an obligation to monitor foods sold on school grounds? Your class members will explore the educational, health, and financial issues related to...

Here is an engaging and creative project to do with your ESL learners in preparation for back to school night. A digital camera is used to photograph each pupil, and everyone completes a short writing assignment that goes along with...

This detailed lesson plan from New York Times' The Learning Network centers around Carroll Academy and its girl's basketball team. Learners compare their school to Carroll Academy, read anywhere from 1 to 5 engaging articles about the...

To better understand the significance and history of the American School for the Deaf, hearing-impaired learners conduct research, hold discussions, and write a play. The lesson spans three class periods and allows the class to explore...

The East LA School walkouts are the focus of a lesson plan that looks at the importance of an education that honors the culture of all learners. Class members watch videos and read an article on the LA student demands to gather...

Help young people become excited to participate in politics. High school historians participate in an engaging lesson focused on ways for youth to become involved in government. Scholars review articles, videos, and essential vocabulary...

Teach young scholars how to determine the theme of a story, an insight the author wants to share with readers, with a lesson that uses Guy de Maupassant's "The Necklace" as an anchor text. Learners examine the internal and external...

Paul Langan's novel The Bully is the core text in a six-session unit plan that engages high schoolers in an in-depth examination of bullying and its effects on bullies, victims, and bystanders. The richly textured and carefully...

The engaging story Rain School is further explored in the third lesson of a larger unit that explicitly teaches close reading skills by answering questions whose answers can only be found inside the text. Through teacher...

Should schools serve soda to students? Learners read an artlcle that argues against the sale of soda in schools and engage in a class discussion. They then complete a short assessment to check for comprehension and reflect on the...

Here’s a great teacher resource - thirty-five writing prompts designed for high school writers. Categories include cause and effect, definition, expository/informative, persuasive, how to, descriptive, narrative, biographical narrative,...

Students discuss ways to get involved in activities at school. In groups, they brainstorm a list of qualities of a person who is engaged in civics and how they can become involved in activities at school related to government. They...

Fifth graders engage in a lesson that is concerned with the transition to middle school with the help of the school counselor. They are taught about the requirements of changing to different classes throughout the day and practice...

Various Muslim holidays and their meanings are researched and your students will predict whether or not they should be recognized on the New York City school calendar.  An extension could be to write a letter to the Mayor about...

Everyone's heard the popular slogan reduce, reuse, recycle, but there may be a better way to talk about sustainability. Using the second lesson from the five-part WE Are Innovators—High School Modules series, learners explore issues...

Discuss as a class some problems that you would like to see changed in your school or community, and then take action! After your young citizens determine the appropriate steps they should take to accomplish their objectives, they will...

Thirty percent of energy used by schools is used inefficiently! Part two in the series of 12 has groups perform energy audits of their schools as part of the Cool Schools Challenge. Each group is assigned a specific room, performs the...

Drive or take the school bus? Class members determine the amount each student would have to pay in a carpool situation. They then evaluate  the cost in a set of provided examples. I think I'd rather take the school...

Japanese architecture is rich in symbolism and culture. Critical thinkers engage in three activities intended to expose them to the beauty of Japan. They read through the book, Praise of Shadows by Junichiro Tanizaki and watch the...

Enhance a unit on historical fiction with an engaging writing lesson. Learners bring the Industrial Era to life as they compose their own historical fiction pieces based on primary source images of Pittsburgh steel workers. 

Art and music have been vehicles for statements of civil unrest for hundreds of years. Upper graders critically analyze several pop songs or music movements from the 1980s that exemplify politically charged motives. They...

The phrase, "You sold out" has been thrown around among musicians that have lent their talents to the corporate world. Here, the class engages in an interesting discussion on how musicians make a living and the influence of commercialism...

Citizens in the modern world can't imagine making the same social choices made by many Germans in the 1920s and 1930s, but they don't realize that they actually do it every day by ostracizing others. A case study of middle schoolers...

What is oral tradition, and what unique tool did the Native Americans of the Northern Great Plains use to help them remember their complex histories? Through pictograph analysis, discussion, research, and an engaging hands-on activity,...