Who is Herman Melville? Read and discuss "Bartleby the Scrivener: A Story of Wall-street." Then, discuss the film adaptations of Melville's work and translate a passage of the text into modern-day English. Discussion questions are...

Working in groups, middle and high schoolers describe and discuss photographs depicting working conditions experienced by child laborers in the 19th century. They then write a persuasive paragraph supporting an amendment to regulate the...

Young scholars demonstrate their knowledge of geography with this fun, collaborative social studies project. Working in small groups, students develop their very own countries, writing descriptions...

Learners research links concerning early factory labor, child labor in today's world, and diseases on young laborers. They work on a loom, analyze a mill bell schedule, read a mill girl's diary, and write a poem or song exhibiting empathy.

Learners investigate energy consumption by researching wattage.  For this electricity lesson, students discuss how electricity works and gets transferred to our electronic devices through generators and circuits.  Learners...

Did you know that people, known as computers, performed the complex calculations that are now done by electronic computers? Three of these human computers, Katherine Johnson, Christine Darden, and Melba Roy Mouton are featured in a...

High schoolers examine working conditions during the Industrial boom. In this Industrialization lesson, students analyze primary sources in order to chart the responsibilities of workers in industrial jobs.

Students conduct research on four fast food restaurants to determine where they might apply for a job. They conduct research on hourly rate, working conditions, and benefits, construct a spreadsheet with a graph, and present their...

Students explore the concept of atoms and how they combine to form molecules and compounds. In pairs, they read an article on how atoms work and discuss the main points. They draw atoms and write a paragraph about their elements.

Fourth graders examine the life of Mother Teresa and her contributions to humanitarian services. They listen to a guest speaker, listen to a teacher-led lecture, write an essay, complete journal entries, and participate in a service...

Students consider their own notions of poverty, examine the life of a woman classified as "working poor" from a variety of perspectives, and present their findings to the class. Then, students synthesize their knowledge in a paper.

Students assess the many benefits and drawbacks of reproducing works of art, such as sculpture and paintings, on CD-ROMs and on the Internet, as well as explore art history via these computer technologies.

Students read and discuss "Prosperity Extends Its Reach, but Not Far Enough to Benefit All," and examine the difficulty, for the working poor, in making ends meet, and propose philanthropic solutions.

Consider to possibility of starting a business as a way to examine the concept of entrepreneurship. Learners develop and analyze feasibility studies, marketing strategies, proposals, and local census data all needed when starting a small...

The best part about this resource is that you've got four wonderful activities to choose from. Each of the projects can work together or on its own to help learners understand the history of math and how it can be seen every day. In...

Third graders use the Internet to research a specific dinosaur. They work in pairs and individually to browse dinosaur websites, take notes on pertinent information, write, edit and illustrate reports. They post their work.

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...

Young scientists investigate the scientific concepts and principles that help make common toys such as hula hoops, yo-yos, slinkies, and silly putty work. As a class, they read "Backyard Rocket Science, Served Wet" to get a look behind...

Study the impact and possible outcomes of the Exxon-Mobil merger in your language arts, social studies, or economics class. Secondary learners evaluate a series of graphs, write a paragraph interpreting the data, and engage in class...

A fun lesson plan that utilizes toys and persuasion! After reading the article, which was written in 2005, pull some advertisements for toys currently being sold. These will be more relevant to your middle and high schoolers. What toy is...

Students investigate the link between technology and abuse among teens. They research dating abuse when cell phones or the Internet are involved. Working as a team of reporters, photographers, graphic artists, and page designers, they...

Begin this instructional activity by estimating the cost of a college education and comparing it to actual data. After reading an article, high school seniors discuss the processes of the college loan corporations. They listen to a...

Learn about dichotomous keys, plant identification, and how to care for the planet with a lesson that includes several hands-on and innovative activities. Kids go on a plant scavenger hunt and classify the plants that they find...

Students consider ways animals help human beings with certain chores, then research more specific tasks dogs are trained to do. They create a help wanted ad enumerating the traits a dog should have before applying for a particular position.