Middle schoolers aren't too young to feel strongly about politics, social issues, consumer rights, or environmental problems. Demonstrate the first steps toward social change with a project about action-oriented writing. Eighth...

Encourage your young citizens to make a difference. Using Tyson Miller's Dream of a Nation: Inspiring Ideas for a Better America as a starting point, class members watch documentaries, investigate issues, and then write letters to...

Although not a complete lesson plan, this set of emotionally powerful texts could be used in a variety of lessons. From The New York Times' Learning Network site, the resource includes a poem, an excerpt from a New York Times article and...

Students conduct background research about a Pacific Rim country to develop a premise for a documentary film about the fate of traditional fishing industries in the area.

Students identify American geography by participating in a national parks activity. In this road trip activity, students view the Ken Burns documentary "National Parks" and identify the importance of automobiles in the park system....

Agnes Varda’s autobiographical “The Beaches of Agnes,” models for young filmmakers the cinematic self-portrait. Far from “old and plump,” Varda is a giant of filmmaking and will inspire your pupils. After watching a clip of this famous...

How do meteorologists differentiate between droughts and dry spells? Introduce the concepts of weather forecasting and prediction with an insightful research-based lesson from the K20 series. Partners synthesize individual research from...

How far have California's Channel islands moved? What was the rate of this movement? Class members first examine data that shows the age of the Hawaiian island chain and the average speed of the Pacific Plate. They then watch West...

Students read and discuss an online article as they consider what makes a center of activity in a city or town. They produce a documentary film of the hub of activity in their school.

Students explore world geography by viewing a documentary film in class. In this national parks instructional activity, students view the Ken Burns documentary about the subject and identify the contributions of individuals in support of...

Students investigate the history of Las Vegas through conducting interviews.  In this oral history lesson plan, students locate and speak with older residents of Las Vegas in order to gain a better understanding of the city....

Young scholars examine the journey of the Ballou Marching Band. In this America's Promise lesson, students read about Colin Powell and examine the history of America's Promise. Young scholars explore the Five Points of the program and...

Students brainstorm what they believe makes a good reality TV show. Students compile a set of attributes that they feel distinguishes the best of the reality TV shows from the others. Using the attributes that the class agrees determine...

Students explore the contributions of philanthropists. For this philanthropy lesson, students watch "The Gift of All: A Community of Givers." Students then read biographies of philanthropists and create PowerPoint presentations about the...

Students investigate the types of footwear worn during ten periods of history.  In this secondary, art/math/social studies lesson, students view documentaries and popular films to study the time periods.  Students research the...

Students explore the importance of images in telling a story in film, analyze movie clips and identify some visual cues that help them explain the story; students work collaboratively to storyboard a passage from a book and present them...

Students explore and document historic elements of Horatio's journey by creating a fictitious journal in Jackson's voice.

Students explore social issues that are meaningful to them and create documentaries in which they share their information, thoughts and impressions.

High schoolers are introduced to the characteristics of documentaries and making films. Individually, they write their own proposal for an idea of a documentary making sure to identify the point of view of which it is going to be...

Fifth graders become familiar with the role of African Americans during WWII.  In this WWII instructional activity, 5th graders watch a newsreel and discuss its use as a primary source.  Students answer questions about the...

Students investigate World Water Day in relation to clean water that should be used responsibly. They create lists of ten things they use water for and compare their answers in small groups. They research a documentary for World Water...

Students observe and evaluate evidence of Alaska Native cultural symbols and artifacts. They research historical data from a variety of primary resources, including the Harriman expedition journals, related web sites, oral accounts,...

Students view a documentary about the Iraqi insurgency. They discuss the documentary and comment on what they feel the United State's response should be in a debate format.

Learners observe a documentary on "Escuela" to explore the life and education of migrant families. After discussing the related topics in the movie, students share their conclusions migrant farmworkers. Using the Internet and other...