After researching issues involving panthers, middle schoolers practice writing persuasive letters.  They  become familiar with a controversial issue related to panthers and write their position on the issue. This lesson...

Team work can produce great results. Your class will analyze the design, news content, and demographic profiles of local alternative newsweeklies. They then design and write articles for their own community working together as editorial...

Examine the different perspectives on the future of United States Navy bombing exercises taking place on Vieques, Puerto Rico with this lesson from The New York Times. Here, young learners read "Islanders to Vote on Vieques Bomb Drills,"...

Have your young television viewers discuss popular shows among their peers. After choosing one show to analyze, middle and high schoolers read about the 2007-2008 network television lineup with the New York Times article "Gauging...

Young scholars access the Library of Congress's collection of Broadsides (printed material with news, entertainment, advertisements, etc.) and explore their impact on events leading up to the Revolutionary War. They create a timeline...

Do you need to review animal cell structure? Investigate the ways in which different types of cells interact in a common human reflex. Your young scholars can explore the functions of stem cells, consider various illnesses and assess...

Have your class create their own art exhibit. Learners study the exchange of artwork between the Louvre in Paris and two American art museums, and create an introductory exhibit featuring European and American art from the Renaissance...

Have your class explore the representation of water in Canadian art. This instructional activity has learners investigate the representation of water in a variety of art forms. They focus on their personal feelings about art and the...

Redecorate a classroom on a budget. Middle schoolers rebuild a classroom after a disaster. They conduct Internet research to determine construction supplies needed and the most cost effective way to reach the predetermined results. They...

Learners will work together in groups to gather information about careers in oceanography. They discover the need to have a diverse group of people on a team and then share their information with the class. Web links and materials are...

What is considered news vs. propaganda? Learners will discuss objectivity and press responsibility while exploring these two concepts. They work in small groups to explore the article in-depth, guided by reading comprehension and...

Examine popular language and slang and how they have changed over the course of American history. Conduct Internet research, use an online interactive Colonial House website to translate 17th century language into 21st century language,...

Help empower your class by learning about the editorial section of the newspaper. They will have the option to also write to a politician. The goal is to teach students how to speak-up and express their opinions on important issues....

Jazz, Blue Grass, Hip Hop, Swing. Gospel, R&B, Ragtime, Disco. So many music genres born in the USA. After reading an article about the fate of New Orlean's Jazz after Hurricane Katrina, class members investigate the life cycles of...

Explore the inception and evolution of hip-hop music as a springboard for writing music reviews and researching other genres of music. Learners will read and discuss the Times' article, From Underground Music to Fashion Statement to then...

Dispel the many myths and misunderstandings for teens regarding pregnancy. Health young scholars discuss the reproductive system, how conception occurs, and review new information through an excellent in-class game. Some wonderful...

Students examine the primary controllable and uncontrollable factors that put one at greater risk for developing heart disease. Through discussion, research, physical tests, and questionnaires they determine whether or not they are at...

Discuss personal ideas about science and how a filmmaker can employ the arts to promote science. After reading an article, young scientists will discover how James Cameron is trying to interest people in the oceans. In groups, they will...

The zombies have invaded! Only a few safe regions remain, and class members must decide where they and the remaining world refugees should flee. After researching the cultures and creating poster presentations of various parts of the...

Why is voting so important, anyway? Learn more about the importance of exercising a right for which many men and women marched, fought, and legislated with an interactive timeline activity.

Debates around immigration in the news are not new, but they are a defining feature of the Hispanic American experience throughout the twentieth century. Looking through the lens of Hispanic Americans in Congress, class members explore...

Bilingual education, voting rights, and Congressional redistricting come up often in the news. Explore these topics from another view—the perspectives of Hispanic members of Congress. Activities include an article with comprehension and...

To be Puerto Rican, in the words of one politician, is to be "foreign in a domestic sense." Young historians consider the American role in colonialism and its impacts on Hispanic Americans through the first part of the twentieth century...

From the Louisiana Purchase to the Spanish-American War, the history of the United States is intertwined with the story of Hispanic Americans. Using an article about Hispanics in Congress during the 1800s, learners research their lives...