How are elections really run and won? Learn about special interest groups, super PACs, and lobbyists with an engaging lesson about the caucus process. Young voters research specific interest groups and analyze their part in previous and...

Does the influence of interest groups harm a political system? Your class members will analyze the role of interest groups in American politics, as well as consider the effect of perspective, bias, loyalty, and the...

After considering the role that gasoline plays in our lives and our dependence on it as a society, learners participate in a reading activity discussing why oil prices are increasing. They will then simulate being members of a committee...

Selecting a "power book" and engaging in a structured class discussion are the learning targets for this fourth lesson plan in a larger unit. It is designed as a beginning of the year unit for establishing norms and routines in the...

Get your class ready to read with this anticipatory set for Running Out of Time. Small groups each consider one thought-provoking statement. After each group comes to a consensus, the whole class participates in sharing ideas and voting...

Intended as a follow up to the Protecting Your Drinking Water activity, young environmentalists use their assessment of the a hypothetical town's water supply to debate the installation of underground chemical storage tanks. With...

When school and community leaders are at odds, what's a young person to do? Grouped pupils examine the details of a difficult situation during the 10th in a series of 12 leadership activities. Presented with a decline in community...

Is the secret to success turning an interest into a career? Eleventh graders explore the occupation-interest connection in a career education instructional activity. Individuals first take an interest inventory and then create a...

Everyone should take an interest in the fate of wild cats. A thorough lesson explores the habitat changes of native North American wild cats and asks learners to make connections to human development. They consider the implications of...

Everyone has different preferences when it comes to food. Kids discuss the foods they like and dislike in a series of activities that include magazine cut-outs, singing a song about cheese, playing a group game, and reading a short story...

Money motivates! Help young bankers understand how math plays a part in investing. Give learners math practice while instilling real-world financial literacy skills.

Kindergarteners study beginning letter sounds in this interactive plan. They will match picture cards to the letter sound that each image begins with. After working together as a whole group, pupils participate in a game in which they...

Once learners are ready to choose a bank, how do they make a smart decision for their financial needs? Scholars help each other by jigsawing the research in groups. After introducing checking and savings accounts with the attached...

Learners explore the characteristics of logarithmic functions and their relationship to exponential functions. Using the subscriber website Explorelearning.com, pupils observe changes in the input variable and its effect on the graph of...

Much like the methods of group work, the writers of the Federalist Papers worked together to advocate for their viewpoints against the anti-federalists. The resource enables learners to break into small groups and conduct research before...

Are our oceans really suffering due to the choices humans make? The sixth and final installment in the volume of activities challenges research groups to tackle one of six major topics that impact ocean health. After getting to the...

After completing an interest survey, peers group together based on similar likes. They work collaboratively to create a poster that highlights their interests. Groups share their finished products with the class. 

S.E. Hinton's The Outsiders is the anchor text in a unit that asks readers to reflect on their own identity, their place in their family, in groups with which they identify, and in school. 

So many US Constitution clauses, so little time. The 17th installment in a 20-part series teaches pupils about the Third, Fourth, and Fifth Amendments. Learning through activities such as group work, connecting to current events, and...

If I want to build up my heart, where should I start? Science scholars use statistics in a sports physiology setting during an insightful experiment. Groups measure resting and active heart rates and develop a scatter plot that shows the...

Use the list-group-label strategy to introduce your class to In the Time of the Butterflies by Julia Alvarez. The teacher begins by writing a word on the board (dictatorship is suggested here), and then the kids write as many words...

Let the journey begin! Fifth graders take their first steps down the road of self-discovery during the first of five career and college readiness lesson plans. After taking an interests inventory, groups create a graphic representation...

Get in touch with your sense of self! The fifth and final instructional activity in a series of college and career lessons for fifth graders reinforces the relationship between interests and career choices. Pupils play a scenario-driven...

As an introduction to monetary policy, groups investigate and evaluate the effectiveness of current monetary and fiscal policies on promoting full employment, price stability, and economic performance. They then apply monetary tools...