Excerpts from an 1898 speech by civil rights activist Mary Church Terrell offers young scholars an opportunity to investigate how Black American women fought for civil rights long before Rosa Parks and the civil rights movement of the...

Maya Angelou's poem, "Still I Rise", offers young scholars an opportunity to consider how poets use literary devices to create powerful messages. After a close reading and discussion of the poem, class members reflect on how they can...

Ada Limon's poem, "A New National Anthem," offers young scholars an opportunity to reflect on the significance of the US national anthem and the extent to which Key's vision applies to all Americans. After watching a video of Whitney...

What makes an event newsworthy, worth a reference in a news magazine or textbook? Who decides? These are questions Marilyn Nelson asks readers of her poem "Making History" to consider. To begin, class members list details they notice in...

Tracy K. Smith's erasure poem "Declaration" challenges scholars to use their noticing skills to make connections between an engraving entitled "The Declaration of Independence" and Smith's poem. Class members record observations and...

Build young scholars' confidence in analyzing art and poetry with a lesson that first asks pupils to list details they notice in Edouard Vuillard's painting "Garden at Vaucresson" and then to describe how the painting makes them feel....

A lesson about Kamilah Aisha Moon's poem "Imagine" asks young scholars to imagine, "What would happen if...?" If Dr. Martin Luther King's dream became a reality. If Renisha McBride was a white girl and crashed her car in a black...

The vaulted ceiling of the Old South Meeting House has heard many voices. Young scholars read an excerpt about its importance in American history and then do a close reading January Gill O'Neil's poem, "Old South Meeting House." After...

Class members come together to study Amanda Gorman's poem "New Day's Lyric." After a close reading of the poem, learners watch a video of Gorman reading her poem, and then craft additional lines for the poem where they offer suggestions...

Phillis Wheatley's poem, "On Being Brought from Africa to America" is the focus of a lesson that asks readers to consider how the poem is a critique of slavery. Groups comprise a list of words and phrases they notice as well as questions...

Langston Hughes' "Theme for English B" is featured in a instructional activity that asks pupils to first read a biography of Hughes and list things about his life they think are important. The class then reads the poem and compares what...

Disrespect can be as subtle as a frown or a turn of a head. To prepare for a study of Toi Derricote's poem "The Weakness" class members create wordless skits that demonstrate subtle or not so subtle signs of disrespect. After a...

Young journalists use the E.S.C.A.P.E. (evidence, source, context, audience, purpose, and execution) strategy to evaluate historical and contemporary examples of bias in the news. The class then uses the provided discussion questions to...

In theory, news reports should be fair and unbiased. Young journalists test this theory by selecting a current news story covered by various media outlets about the President of the United States. They then locate and analyze five...

Young journalists search for two examples of news stories, either published or online, that use anonymous or unnamed sources. They then consider the possible motives for why the sources remain unidentified, the types of stories that use...

Propaganda is often used to shape public opinion. Scholars investigate the persuasive techniques used by the pro- and anti-suffrage movements. Groups compare how these devices were used during the suffrage movement with how the same...

Marilyn Nelson's poem, "1905," asks young scholars to compare and contrast George Washington Carver and Albert Einstein. After studying images of the two scientists and listing their observations, class members listen to several readings...

To begin this lesson, class members examine Antonius Hockelmann's painting "Tree Flowers II," record elements of the painting that they notice, and share their observations with a partner. Next, pupils do a close reading of Jericho...

Why does Charles Dickens have Ebenezer go from scrooge to light-hearted and generous? From "Bah, humbug!" to "God Bless Us, Every One!" After rereading Dickens' preface to A Christmas Carol, learners analyze quotations from the tale that...

Readers learn how to use both direct and indirect characterization clues provided by Charles Dickens to understand the complexity of Ebenezer Scrooge's character. Scholars collect evidence of comments Scrooge hears, how he responds to...

Class members meet the original scrooge, the Dickens character whose name has become synonymous with a cold-hearted, tight-fisted, miser. Using the provided worksheet, readers closely examine context clues to determine the meanings of...

Civics scholars are challenged to determine what it means to be a good citizen. Class members select three adults in their lives and interview them to discover what the term "good citizen" means to each of these people. The class then...

What's the dress code? Scholars read brief texts about school uniforms and discuss opinions for and against them. Pupils then work with a partner to role play a conversation about school uniforms. 

Scholars work in pairs to describe their homes and draw a picture of their partner's home. Next, individuals discuss their ideal home in small groups and follow up their discussion with a written description.