Tumbling tumbleweeds! Scholars work with video clips, primary and secondary documents, and song lyrics to uncover life in the Old West. They examine song's lyrics to uncover myths told in the 1930s about life in the Wild West. 

With the entire class spread around the playing area, set a timer and have kids run, skip, hop, or jump around the area. When the timer stops, yell out a number. The students must form a group of that number, and whomever doesn't have a...

Immaculate, accumulation, dissipation. Vocabulary drawn from chapter 16 of James McBride's memoir, The Color of Water, can prove to be challenge for readers. To help kids understand the meaning of these words and what they add to the...

Imagine the challenge of trying to trace your family genealogy if no records were kept of births and deaths. Where would you look for information? What types of documents could provide you with the information you seek? History...

When oil spills happen, how is the oil cleaned up? Pupils of polymer science discover an amazing substance that turns oil into a solid during a microscale experiment. Individuals observe oil or paraffin before and after addition of the...

How did the 2017 eclipse look in Los Angeles—or Chicago? Experience both views, plus many more, using a lesson from PBS's Space series for middle schoolers. Scholars follow the movements of the sun, moon, and Earth during the most recent...

Budding poets choose a topic for a sensory-filled poem. Authors describe that topic using detailed language based on the five senses. Then, switch the senses to create a fanciful poem intended to add a touch of fun to the objective. 

Follow along as Stella Stardust interviews the sun. A fun and informative interview provides scholars with information about the sun. 

Who determines the Seven Wonders of the World, and what criteria is used to evaluate these locations? Discover the efforts to promote cultural diversity and preserve man-made monuments during the world's first-ever global vote in 2007 to...

Young lawyers put Goldilocks on trial as they develop an understanding of the legal system in the final lesson of this five-part series. After learning about key terms relating to litigation, students are assigned roles and reading...

Who doesn't enjoy an engaging scavenger hunt? Here, scholars listen to, and discuss, the informative text, Where is my Continent? by Robin Nelson. They then explore the seven continents and four major oceans using...

Who else had a dream other than Martin Luther King, Jr.? Pupils explore civil rights leaders in a fourth lesson out of a series of five about people who paved the way to freedom for African Americans. The inquiry-based unit has your...

Kids get artistic as they explore the impact of art materials, sculpture, and performance. They discuss the work of Janine Antoni and then create a performance piece that reflects social or global issues they feel strongly about. The end...

The bowhead whale of the Arctic region is of great importance to the people that live there. Your class will brainstorm all they know about this wonderful whale and create an informational video, which they will share with the children...

“It was a miracle.” Basil Heatter’s “The Long Night of the Little Boats,” which details the miraculous rescue of the British army from the shores of Dunkirk in 1940, is featured in a series of exercises that ask class members to read,...

To conclude a study of Upton Sinclair's The Jungle, groups create a multi-media magazine in which they investigate one aspect of the foods industry. The packet details the requirements for the project, and includes rubrics for...

Abraham Lincoln's face may only be worth one cent, but the online reading passage and questions about his life are an invaluable resource. Pupils read a passage about Lincoln's experience with the Illinois Legislature, earning his law...

Do the places you have lived influence what you write? Class members research the lives of writers and look for how places these writers have lived might have influenced their writings. 

Safety first! Safety first! A short video and a PowerPoint presentation introduce job seekers to child labor law awareness, safety standards, and ways to reduce workplace injuries. Class members first take a short workplace...

Help young writers with the daunting prospect of a five-paragraph essay. Using William Golding's Lord of the Flies, learners work through a short process to shore up their brainstorming and prepare to write a longer essay.

Follow up a reading of The Giraffe and the Pelly and Me by Roald Dahl with this collaborative lesson on teamwork. Starting with a fun team game, learners go on to investigate examples of teamwork in the story before...

Though beautiful, William Shakespeare's prose can be inhibiting for learners who are new to his works. A activity based on The Tempest guides high schoolers through the paraphrasing process, including noting the subjects and verbs...

Introduce your class to map projections and coordinates, the basics for the work done in a GIS, with an activity that uses Google Earth to challenge learners to think about the earth's shape. 

What would be your class's ideal world 30 years in the future? What about 100 years? Use a series of activities to discuss globalization, sustainability, scientific contributions to society, and the global community of which your...