College Prep Lesson Plans

Students explore the proposed Affordability in Higher Education Act. They synthesize their knowledge by acting as lobbyists representing different special interest groups with opposing perspectives on the proposed bill.

Students study the history of women's colleges and determine what Wellesley and similar colleges have to offer. They discuss the struggle of women to obtain higher education in the United States and the chronology of and the debates about women's higher education.

Students create campaign materials to encourage the passage of legislation supporting higher education for immigrant minors. They produce flyers, brochures, pins and a voter presentation for a school fair. To prepare the materials they research Senate and House legislation, and meet with local leaders.

Young scholars share opinions about the levels of education needed for specific jobs. They participate in a fishbowl discussion about access to education for students at different income levels and interview an adult about career preparation.

Students role play being members of the historical committee for Higher Education Consortium which has decided to publish a set of brochures about women's colleges. They divide into small groups and choose a college from the list to create a tri-fold brochure.

Students examine college costs in different states. In this college cost lesson, students create a table and determine the average cost of college for the states listed. They organize the data into measurement categories. Students create a histogram, analyze the data, and explain the graph.

Students explore the history of education and race in the United States. By researching Supreme Court cases dealing with race and education, students examine the ways in which these cases have reflected changing social and cultural norms.

U.S. immigration is the focus of a unit on social justice. Integrated into the content of a school year, young historians read a variety of texts to learn about four waves of immigration that have occurred over time in the U.S. An emphasis on perspective, cultural values, and character education weaves throughout. 

Students research the lives and terms of US Presidents and enter the information into a database. They explore using a query to obtain information from a database.

Using technology skills and software from Microsoft, middle schoolers can make a variety of videos and presentations from this thorough list of topics. Mathematics, geography, language arts, history, and science lessons prompt young filmmakers to employ their talents in various projects.