Rather than who done it, the mystery literary detectives have to solve as they examine the evidence found in Edgar Allan Poe's famous "The Tell-Tale Heart" is why did he do it?

Middle schoolers define what honesty means. They will discuss omission as a form of telling lies. Furthermore, they will compare and contrast to other forms of lying. In the end, they give examples of different types of lies and evaluate...

Your class won't be a bunch of squares from using this well-rounded activity! Instead, they'll be expressing thoughtful questions using the cubing strategy. The class brainstorms questions of increasing rigor about Zach's Lie in the...

Learners explore the importance of telling the truth. They read a story about honesty and sing a song. Students volunteer to sit in a speak easy chair and share their happiest moments, times when they were glad to tell the truth, and...

Eighth graders utilize a variety of reading and writing skills in completing social studies activities on "The Big Lie." students express their understanding of right and wrong actions based on the characters through a personal response...

Students participate in a discussion designed to help them discern the truth from lies. They discuss picture cards and make true and false statements regarding the information on the cards. Students also listen to various fables about...

Students read articles and write an essay about three college students who wanted to see what it felt like to get high. Students discuss legal and ethical questions of illegal drug use, and stealing medication from someone else. Students...

Learners examine and debunk historical myths, using the American Revolution as a starting point. They create and play a game of "American History: Fact or Fiction?"

A fish's size, fins, and shape can tell us a lot about them! Learners explore fish anatomy to see how species use camouflage, scales, shape, and coloration to survive. The lesson includes advanced vocabulary such as fusiform shape,...

Sediment samples from the ocean bottoms tell scientists about climate change, pollution, and changes in erosion for the area. Groups of learners focus on sediments and their movement through water. During a hands-on activity, they...

Learners explore how statistics can be interpreted in different ways.  In this probability lesson students complete a class lab activity then discuss their findings.

How do young people know the potential they possess? Middle schoolers explore their personal potential through two different activities and a class discussion. They examine where their aptitudes lie, and how they can use their gifts to...

Students analyze the author's style to learn techniques for strengthening their own writing. They re-read "Music in the Fields" and highlight images that create vivid pictures in their minds-places where Young "shows, not tells" and...

Should Pluto be considered a planet or a dwarf planet? Scholars research planets in our solar system to understand their similarities and differences. It also includes memory activities related to the order of the planets. 

Students investigate the moral obligation of telling the truth and what the implications are for not doing so. They define what a lie is and how it deviates from the truth. The skill of mending a mistake is taught to encourage students...

Learners read a short story about honesty, a character skill. They then answer comprehension questions and discuss the story with their classmates as well as study about the consequences of not telling the truth.

Students create a shadow clock. For this time lesson, students make their own shadow clock or sundial from tag board. They place it on the ground and check it every hour to mark where the shadow lies.

Students study the life and music of composer, Samuel Barber. In groups, representing trees, water, and stars they use interpretive dance to tell the story of the musical composition, 'Adagio for Strings, Op. 11' by Barber.

How does Hamlet's state of mind change over the course of Shakespeare's most famous revenge tragedy? After a close reading of Hamlet's soliloquies in Act III, scene 1 and Act IV, scene iv, class members engage in a Paideia/Socratic...

Sixth graders listen to music as they reflect on a time they told the truth without hurting anyone. Students listen to a story about a person who falls from a roof and breaks his leg. The person lies about how it happened. Students...

Students explore some of our country's founding myths and legends by participating in an online poll. For example, did George Washington really chop down a cherry tree, then confess to his father about the deed, saying, I cannot tell a lie?

Upper graders and middle schoolers engage in a lesson on community. A class discussion kicks off the lesson. Pupils share things that they do as community service after school or on weekends. They imagine an ideal community they would...

Learners describe the basic beliefs of the Puritan religion; identify the principle figures in the Salem Witch Trials;explain the events that led to the mass hysteria suffered by the town; analyze the First Amendment; and examine...

Cement comprehension skills using the strategies in this activity. After reading the story, Juan Verdades by Joe Hays, learners use context clues to answer questions, identify main ideas and details, and sequence events.