Every piece matters. A creative lesson provides an opportunity for scholars to create murals or posters that represent their views on social justice. Academics work on smaller posters or pieces of a mural that will ultimately be...

No one is too young to create a masterpiece. Elementary artists delve into the topic of social justice with original artwork. Scholars keep journals to reflect on their experiences before putting paintbrush to paper. Final artwork is...

Feel the healing effects of nature. Individuals learn about the benefits of nature using imagery. They begin by defining words to express how they feel emotionally and then practice using those words with hands-on activities. Once they...

You have the power! Scholars learn that they have power of the pen in their writing. After reading and viewing various sources about standardized testing, they express their own opinions about the testing by writing letters to the...

Know that feeling when walking into a spider's web? Feel it from the other end! Scholars learn about the body parts of a spider and the specific spiders known as orb-weavers. Groups play a game to figure out how a spider finds its food...

The class studies the soil food web that includes earthworms and conduct four experiments using the crawly critters. Individuals determine whether earthworms are sensitive to light, touch, temperature, and acid.

Celebrate superwomen during Women's History Month with a instructional activity that showcases a variety of female role models. Following a whole-class discussion on superheroes, role models, respect, and admiration, scholars listen to...

Teach the class about the predecessor to Declaration of Independence—the Virginia Declaration of Rights. Using the foundational documents, scholars examine the two writings to consider how they are similar and how they are different. A...

When Ruby Bridges entered an all-white school in New Orleans in 1960, she also entered history. Scholars consider what the experience must have been like for the young girl using two books that document her experience as well as a double...

While the Spanish claimed to bring civilization to California indigenous peoples, in reality, they also brought violence and forced assimilation to European values. Primary sources, such as the reports of Catholic priests and Europeans...

Feeling stuck? Want to energize the class? Use activities such as quizzes and fill-in-the-blank worksheets to get class members' attention with a year's worth of holiday celebrations. From Mother's Day to Robert Burns's birthday,...

Ambition is the keyword of a lesson that focuses on the contributions made by famous female artists. Specifically looking at European artists, Luisa Roldan and Elisabeth Louise Vigee Le Brun, scholars examine a piece of their work then...

Learn how to correctly analyze and score a written performance task. Example work shows annotated think alouds for grading. Teachers also have access to graphic organizers for helping writers succeed,

Academics explore the topic of life in California Missions for Native Americas. Class members complete a research activity, respond to writing prompts, and engage in hands-on-activities to learn who lived in the missions and what life...

Ever feel disengaged? Let's talk about it! Learning how to create podcast lessons in the classroom fully engages scholars and educators. Participants learn how to conduct simple podcast lessons, then evolve into creating more complex,...

An assessment sheds light on scholars' ability to read, gather evidence, and draft an original written composition. Learners read an informative text twice before taking notes and discussing their thoughts and textual evidence with a...

An assessment challenges scholars to read an informative text then respond with an explanatory essay. The exam begins as participants read a text passage twice then take notes, making sure to jot down key details. Following the...

A performance task challenges scholars to read an informational text then respond with an explanatory essay. The exam begins with an independent reading of Seeing Eye to Eye by Leslie Hall. A second reading follows with the...

A three-day assessment challenges scholars to read a passage from an informational text then complete two activities that lead to a writing assignment. Day one and two begin as readers independently read a passage and tag the most...

A two-day assessment challenges scholars to read an excerpt from the story, Bud Not Buddy by Christopher Paul Curtis then complete a series of exercises in preparation for a writing assignment. Day one includes an independent...

An assessment takes a close look at the story, Tuck Everlasting by Natalie Babbitt, and tests writing abilities. Over the course of two days, scholars read an excerpt, answer questions on a learning exercise pertaining to the...

A two-part assessment challenges scholars to gather information from reading then write an opinion piece. In part one, learners read, take notes, and answer text-related questions. In part two, participants use their new-found knowledge...

Martin Luther King, Jr. led the movement that came to define civil rights in 20th century America. Reinforce class members' knowledge of terms like segregation, tolerance, and peaceful  with a crossword puzzle.

Reinforce key terms surrounding Martin Luther King, Jr. with a helpful online word search. Class members choose a small (easier) or big (harder) version and search for words like freedom, leader, and equality.