Students explore disease and its relationship to history and literature. They investigate issues that range from early biological warfare and historical disease treatments, to observing today's race for the cure against current emerging...

Students explore how class is represented in the media by developing ideas for television pilots that deal with class issues. They compile short lists of television characters from working, middle and upper classes.

Help your teenagers learn to plan ahead before making a decision. With hypothetical examples and an online format, this could be a good addition to a language arts, teen issues, or health class. The format itself is not very...

Fourth graders read the story Alexander, Who Used to Be Rich Last Sunday and discuss money issues. In this money lesson plan, 4th graders create a budget.

The Scarlet Letter is the anchor text in a four-week unit that examines Hawthorne's novel through the lens of the intolerances found in a supposed civilized society. In addition to their reading, class members watch clips from...

Although the work Americans do has changed over time, the plight of the American worker has largely remained the same. Facilitate a class discussion aboutAmerican workers using Henry Wadsworth Longfellow's "The Village Blacksmith" and...

Augment your unit on Carl Hiaasen's Hoot with a series of activities about the environment, civil disobedience, making an impact in the world, and growing up. A list of literary concepts and themes helps you to write your lessons to...

Students take a "field trip" with the teacher through the school then draw a diagram of what they saw. They bring the maps to the computer lab where they create electronic maps using the software program Neighborhood Map Machine.

Middle schoolers use census records to research and compare the population and economies in two counties within the same valley (Franklin Country Pennsylvania (North) and Augusta County, Virginia (South) in the pre Civil War era.

Eighth graders analyze primary source documents emphasizing young people in factory labor (mill workers during 1840-1860). They study hours of labor, ages of laborers, reasons for working, and working conditions. They write a poem or song.

Fifth graders discuss concepts of diversity, culture, and prejudice, gain understanding of harm caused by prejudice, and demonstrate ability to think critically and a desire to act morally.

Eighth graders discuss early school memories. They assess hopes and aspirations in greater detail and discover the importance of education as one of the shapes of our 'selves'. They observe parents' reactions to children growing up...

Learners become familiar with the ways slaves reacted to educating themselves.  In this postbellum and freeman lesson, students complete readings from chapters in the book Up From Slavery.  Learners write about the...

Students examine Native American dolls. They discover the connections between the dolls and the Native American culture and customs. They also use maps to locate the position of different tribes.

Learners comprehend that Mexico is a country. They identify two types of regions in Mexico. Students comprehend that many people in Mexico speak Spanish. They use three Spainsh words. Studnents begin to relate simple words with...

Students analyze political cartoons. For this colonial America lesson, students examine the provided political cartoons and respond to analytical questions about each of them.

Middle schoolers explore the role of protest songs. In this early American history lesson, students research the acts passed by the British that angered colonists. Middle schoolers then listen to protest songs from contemporary American...

Students read about children from other communities. They describe ways in which members of other communities meet one another's needs and design a Venn diagram that compares and contrasts their own way of living to another culture.

Pupils research symbols from Texas history and make selections for quarter designs. In addition, they include written explanations to accompany their drawings. Coin designs cultural background and visually represent patriotism and pride.

Students examine the impact of the media on various wars, especially the Iraq and Vietnam wars. By examining cartoons and popular music as primary sources, they suggest motivations for the conflicts and propose reasons for public...

Students identify some common themes involving the Latino immigrant experience as conveyed through a variety of media, explore issues of identity in some examples of poetry written by Latinos and learn some basic poetry reading strategies.

Young scholars recognize persuasive techniques, think criticaly about the messages contained in various media, and discuss controversial issues in constructive ways. They analyze the deeper messages contained in children's literature,...