Nemours KidsHealth
HIV and AIDS: Grades 9-12
Two activities help high schoolers learn about HIV and AIDS. First, groups read and discuss articles that provide information about sexually transmitted diseases and conduct further research to gather current information. They then...
Media Smarts
The Impact of Gender Role Stereotypes
One of three lessons on gender stereotype, this resource from the Media Awareness Network discusses the violence that is inflicted on men and women as they try to live up to the stereotypes of their gender. The section on women focuses...
EngageNY
Discovering the Topic: Inferring and Confirming Using Evidence
Allow your class to figure out what they will be studying through an inquiry-based anticipatory set that involves analysis of mystery documents and practice with making inferences. The lesson plan document includes a detailed description...
Global Oneness Project
Then and Now
The devastating changes happening to the Native American inhabitants of an island off the coast of Louisiana are the topic of an informational lesson. After scholars break into groups to explore particular topics, they come back together...
University of North Carolina
Reorganizing Drafts
Poor organization often destroys an otherwise good paper. After writing a first draft, individuals consider the organization of ideas, a topic discussed in the 16th handout in the 24-part Writing the Paper series. The resource covers...
iCivics
Step 3: Become an Expert
Have you ever been called an expert before? Pupils analyze how to break down sources of information using group work and individual skills. They begin to understand the tools of becoming an expert on a topic by using subtopics and...
US Department of Commerce
Make Data Speak
Data displays are more than just a bunch of numbers. Small groups access census results and create eye-catching data displays. Teams choose a statistic and collect data points for five locations. Classmates present their infographics to...
Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
Smart Solutions: English Language Development Lessons (Theme 6)
Smart Solutions is the theme of a unit created to meet the needs of English language earners. Through a series of lessons, scholars follow a routine—move, speak, and listen— to cover topics including stores, shops, celebrations, pets,...
Media Smarts
The Newspaper Front Page
Hot off the presses! A perfect instructional activity idea for a journalism class or even a language arts class looking to incorporate some informational texts. Young writers analyze the front pages of various newspapers to determine the...
Media Smarts
Tobacco Labels
Adolescents compare and assess the efficacy of tobacco product health warning labels from around the world. In groups, they invent warnings and create labels that would be effective for teens and children. Discussion covers advertising...
EngageNY
Grade 9 ELA Module 3, Unit 2, Lesson 8
Learning about research can be as important as learning about the topic itself. As ninth graders continue their guided research projects from Temple Grandin's Animals in Translation, they discuss their possible inquiry paths with group...
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
Being the “Host” at This Party is No Fun
Discuss the symptoms and variations from infectious diseases from one person to the next. After a class discussion, small groups complete research on the topic.
Federal Trade Commission
Ad Awareness
Movie theaters, shopping malls, television, the Internet ... no matter where people go, they are inundated with advertisements. Scholars discuss the topic of ad awareness using the first of four Admongo lessons about advertising. Pupils...
Nemours KidsHealth
STDs: Grades 6-8
Many adults find it difficult to imagine that some middle schoolers are sexually active, and thus they shy away from discussing sexual activity with young people. However, misinformation and lack of information about such topics as STDs...
EngageNY
Computing Actual Lengths from a Scale Drawing
The original drawing is eight units — how big is the scale drawing? Classmates determine the scale percent between a scale drawing and an object to calculate the length of a portion of the object. They use the percent equation to find...
Film Education
Gone with the Wind Study Guide
The 1939 Oscar-winning Gone with the Wind, is the focus of an informational packet designed to be used with a viewing of the film. As part of their analysis, media students respond to a series of discussion points about the...
EngageNY
Nature of Solutions of a System of Linear Equations
If at first you cannot graph, substitute. The instructional activity introduces the substitution method as a way to solve linear systems if the point of intersection is hard to determine from a graph. The 28th installment of a 33-part...
Nemours KidsHealth
Cyberbulling: Grades 6-8
Cyberbullying is the focus of two lessons. First, scholars discuss what cyberbullying is, and examine a problem-solving approach to handling cyberbullying, then create brochures on the topic. Second, pupils discuss the effects...
K20 LEARN
HOT Questions: Creating Meaningful Questions
Scholars examine a list of questions and sort them into corresponding groups based on similarities. A gallery walk allows peers to see how their peers sorted questions and leave notes. Costa's Level of Questions is the topic of a...
Media Smarts
Movie Heroes and the Heroic Journey
An exciting twist on the study of the classical hero and the heroic quest! Using film to explore modern-day tales of heroes, the resource contains complete, ready-to-use lesson plans for as many as twelve days of instruction. Throughout...
Media Smarts
Thinking like a Citizen
Explore the influence social activism can have on important issues, and create a class full of young citizen activists. This plan calls for learners to participate in a whole class discussion and brainstorm about ways to effectively...
EngageNY
Close Reading of Bullfrog at Magnolia Circle: Predators and Prey
Reading is fantastic, especially when it's reading about bullfrogs. Kids get cozy with predator/prey relationships as they hone their information-reading skills. They start out as they read a portion of the text aloud, then they...
Baylor College
Microbes and Disease
Discuss how diseases have impacted human history. Divide your class into groups and assign each group one of the following: tuberculosis, malaria, plague, cholera, smallpox, and AIDS. They read up on, complete a concept map, and present...
Curated OER
The Conversation Box
Learners on the autism spectrum can have difficulty maintaining a two-way, reciprocal conversation. Support these students with the Conversation Box activity, in which they practice conversations with their peers using the prompts and...