Building Evidence-Based Arguments: Grade 9
High schoolers investigate the dilemma of a proportional response with a lesson about the history of terrorism and militant extremists in the United States. As they examine memos from the FBI and speeches from President Bush and Obama,...
Odell Education
Making Evidence-Based Claims: Grade 8
American women have been working toward equal rights since the ink dried on the Declaration of Independence. Focused on the words and actions of Sojourner Truth, Shirley Chisholm, and Venus Williams, a language arts lesson takes eighth...
C3 Teachers
Women’s Rights: What Does It Mean to Be Equal?
A guided-inquiry lesson asks seventh graders to research the compelling question, "What does it mean to be equal?" Guided by three supporting questions, researchers complete three formative performance tasks and gather evidence from...
C3 Teachers
Murder of Emmett Till: Is It Ever Too Late for Justice?
The murder of Emmett Till is the focus of a guided inquiry that asks scholars to research the events, the trial, recent attempts to reopen the case and the effect of the murder on people today.
Core Knowledge Foundation
A History of the United States
This 262-page Core Knowledge teacher guide presents an overview of the two-volume History of the United States program designed for middle schoolers. The guide includes information about the learning strategies used, a pacing guide, the...
C3 Teachers
Black Women Writers: What Gets Black Women Heard?
Zora Neal Hurston, Toni Morrison, and Maya Angelou are featured in a guided inquiry unit. High schoolers research the lives and works of these and other Black women writers and craft an argument, using evidence from their research, to...
C3 Teachers
Uncle Tom’s Cabin: Can Words Lead to War?
"Words, words, words." Despite Hamlet's opinion, words can be significant. In this inquiry lesson, middle schoolers learn how the words in Harriet Beecher Stowe's Uncle Tom's Cabin, in the view of many, lead to the American Civil War. To...
C3 Teachers
2020 Protests: Is There Anything New about the 2020 Protests?
Are marches and protests an effective form of resistance? That is the question high schoolers seek to answer in this inquiry lesson as they compare the 2020 protests to historical ones. Researchers use Venn Diagrams to compare images...
C3 Teachers
Celebrity Social Responsibility: Does Celebrity Require Social Responsibility?
Is much required of those to whom much is given? That's the central question asked of middle schoolers in this lesson. Scholars consider the actions of Tommie Smith and John Carlos, Colin Kaepernick, Lady Gaga, and others who have taken...
Curated OER
Changemakers Lesson Plans
Teens and tweens are invited to become changemakers in a five-lesson unit, asking them to investigate and share what they have learned about exemplary, contemporary Native Americans. They gather facts about their research subject, record...
Film Foundation
To Kill a Mockingbird: The Filmmaking Process
"I'll just wait for the movie version." How often have you heard that line? Transform passive viewers into active readers of visual images with an understanding of the three stages of the filmmaking process. This 28-packet packet is...
Film Foundation
To Kill a Mockingbird: Historical and Cultural Context
As part of their study of the film adaptation of To Kill A Mockingbird, class members analyze how Robert Mulligan uses the film lens to depict the historical period and social issues presented in Harper Lee's novel. A superior resource...
Academy of American Poets
Women in Poetry
Imagine linking poetry to technology! Thirty-three lessons comprise a 6-week "Women in Poetry" unit for high schoolers. Class members research women poets, learn how to respond electronically to discussions, write their poems, create web...
Mental Health Literacy
Mental Health and High School Curriculum Guide - Version 3
A 171-page curriculum provides educators with the information they need to help and support high schoolers' mental health. The curriculum targets five domains: learning how to maintain good mental health, learning about mental disorders...
Trinity University
I Didn’t Know that was Poetry
Poetry or prose? That is the question facing middle schoolers as they begin a month-long poetry unit by examining the characteristics that differentiate poetry and prose writing. Pupils learn about poetic devices and different types of...
Trinity University
The Shakespearean Sonnet
Looking for a great lesson to teach your class everything they need to know about Shakespearean sonnets? Here's such a lesson. "Sonnet #18" launches a study of the Shakespearean sonnet. Scholars watch two Prezi presentations that provide...
Roald Dahl
The BFG Lesson Plans
A 55-page unit examines the novel, The BFG, by Roald Dahl. Six lessons pay close attention to friendship, dreams, and believing themes while analyzing interesting characters, writing creative vocabulary, smilies, metaphors, an exciting...
Roald Dahl
Roald Dahl Matilda Lesson Plans
Fifty eye-catching pages contain six lessons about Roald Dahl's novel, Matilda. Each lesson has a theme and covers a different subject—literacy, social-emotional learning, science, and geography. Scholars analyze characters, examine...
PBS
Teacher Planning Kits for New School Routines | End of Year
Support your end-of-year instruction with planning kits from PBS. Five planning kits are provided: Special Lessons and Collections; Planning Sheets for Pre-K through 5 and 6-12; Summer Bonus Resources; and Relevant Professional Learning...
Academy of American Poets
Noticing Poetry
Introduce scholars to the "I Notice" method, a different approach to studying poetry. Instructors first model the noticing method by identifying words and images that appeal on the sonic level, the ideational level, the sensory level,...
Vaquera Films
Wonder Women - The Untold Story of American Superheroines: Middle School Curriculum Guide
Women in power are the focus of a three-module unit that employs comic books to bring home the importance of equality and proficient media literacy skills. In module one, scholars examine gender roles in media—boosting media literacy and...
UNICEF
Self and Interpersonal Relationships Theme Unit
A key goal of social-emotional learning is to help young people develop healthy attitudes towards themselves and others. A 173-page curriculum guide provides step-by-step lessons that are richly detailed, carefully scaffolded, and...
New York City Department of Education
Grade 8 Science: Genetic Modification of Organisms
Genetic modification is a hot topic in the science and political world. A complete unit gives learners an opportunity to research genetic modification, play an interactive genetic engineering simulation, and interact with the information...
Echoes & Reflections
Jewish Resistance
Resistance to the Holocaust took on many forms. Learners explore the passive and active resistance of Jewish people who continued their practices and observances, as well as organized resistance against the evils of the Nazis. An...