Did you know that the United States Constitution was adopted after many state constitutions were already in place? Young scholars examine facts about the influence of states through an informative and interesting resource. Groups then...

In his 2013 introduction to Fahrenheit 451, Neil Gaiman states, “Fiction is a lie that tells us true things, over and over.” In this extraordinary unit plan, readers "explore the power of written language to educate and...

Students read one teen's story of dealing with her best friend's anorexia to explore the dynamics of friendship relationships and the qualities needed to sustain a friendship through challenges.

Eight blank monster faces make up an activity that tasks scholars with drawing a face that corresponds to a specific emotion. Feelings include happiness, confusion, silliness, and more. 

Monsters have feelings, too! Scholars explore a variety of emotions with a festive, Halloween flair with two dice-rolling activities. The first activity prompts learners to draw and write about a monster feeling a specific emotion. The...

Would you rather have a broken phone or a broken bone? This very engaging question launches a discussion about the smart use of smartphones and screens. Young scholars watch a series of videos, complete worksheets, and engage in...

Home in on the quote on this page to explore setting, the author's and character's voices, and plot in Willa Cather's My Antonia. Pupils draw a picture of what is described in the quote, discuss the content, and make connections to their...

Introduce young philosophers to the wisdom of China's most famous thinkers with a short bio. The reading comprehension passage includes an answer key.

Even without captions, photographs can tell amazing, involved, and complex stories. Viewers analyze two photos, consider what the pictures reveal about the subjects' identity, and determine the social justice issues represented in the...

Losing isn't any fun. It is, however, a part of competing. Two activities encourage middle schoolers to consider what good sportsmanship is, how they can be a good sport, and ways to handle situations when some are acting...

Sixth graders explore how people throughout time have responded to questions regarding identity. For this The House on Mango Street lesson, 6th graders create an identity chart for a fictional character and then write personal essays...

Students explore how they connect with artwork on an emotional level through writing and the creation of an original piece of art.

Students identify human psychology by examining role-playing situations. For this homosexuality lesson, students identify what it means to be a gay or lesbian person and discuss the appropriate behavior to interacting with gay and...

Clever! Collaborative groups of environmental scientists create a museum exhibit and presentation for an energy-using activity such as heating a home or transportation. They must compare past to present use of energy for that particular...

Biology stars extract DNA samples from beef thymus and then examine its properties. They use enzymes to digest the DNA samples, and then use electrophoresis to separate fragments. Finally, they discuss methods and principles of...

In this engaging activity involving close analysis of abstract expressionist art, your class members will not only discover more about artist Friz Scholder's Native American art, but they will also have the opportunity to consider...

Probability, especially conditional probability, can be a slippery concept for young statisticians.  Statements that seem self-evident on the surface often require a daunting amount of calculations to explicate, or turn out to be...

For Learners wanting to practice verbal/linguistic intelligence, any Dr. Seuss book is an excellent text for examining rhyming words. They explore words that rhyme with bully, mean, snooty, nasty, tease, harass, hurt.

The sovereignty of U.S. Native American nations is the focus of a resource that asks class members to compare the Right to Self-Determination in the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples with a fact sheet that...

Learners read and analyze William Faulkner's novel, 'As I Lay Dying.' They define Faulkner's place in American literary history, describe Faulkner's "South" in the context of the historical South and examine the Bundren family through...

Examine the text structure of a memo with this worksheet. Eighth to twelfth graders decide if the purpose of a memo is to motivate an action or to provide information to the reader. They explore new vocabulary and make predictions prior...

"Beauty is in the eye of the beholder," is a popular phrase in our society. The lesson here puts the phrase to the test as pupils explore what truly is beautiful through a study of some Japanese folk art. A careful examination of the...

This is a strange question; but what kind of vessel would you be and why? After examining images of a large Inca jug, the class sets to writing a creative narrative that answers that very interesting question. They start by researching...

Young learners compare healthy foods to junk foods. They examine the growing process of a vegetable from a seed all the way to maturity. The book, The Magic School Bus in a Pickle is used. Some nice cross-curricular activities in math,...