Explore the Great Depression! Discover the challenges people experienced during the time period. Learners investigate photographs from the Dust Bowl and WWII era and create a story line about the photographs, writing a newspaper article...

What would you ask a presidential candidate if you had the chance? Bring politics to your language arts classroom with this lesson plan, in which young readers brainstorm questions they would have liked the presidential candidates to...

Students practice problem solving skills by asking questions and participating in a design challenge. In this asking questions lesson, students work in pairs to ask questions to design a solution for a difficult personal problem....

How many treats do you buy each week? Learners investigate diets and how the media tricks consumers into purchasing unhealthy snacks. They will investigate the designs and logos affiliated with cereal boxes and identify specific phrases...

Students locate, access and listen to a variety of radio and audio samples found on the Internet. They discuss the material in small groups and identify areas of interest for further discussion.

Twelfth graders explore Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury. In this reading and writing lesson, 12th graders read the book and think of five books to save from the fire. Students write an essay explaining why they'd save them. The essay...

Why did the Populist Party fail to ally itself with African American farmers? To answer this essential question, class members investigate the Populist Era (188-1900) and read an article written by Tom Watson, a Populist leader.

Select an article that explores people of another culture. After reading it as a class, distribute copies of this worksheet. It asks for a brief summary, encourages readers to make text-to-self connections, and asks learners to identify...

Help young readers learn to read and interpret complex text independently. Teach young children to ask interpretive questions and use the text itself to answer them. Use art, word play and drama to provide a deeper understanding of...

Have your middle and high schoolers analyze instances of celebrities using racial slurs or making prejudiced comments in public. After reading an article, they consider the roots and effects of prejudice and bias. As a class, they...

The First and Second Amendments remain some of the most famous, even to this day. Learners read about several clauses from the US Constitution through a variety of captivating activities including before and after reading, group work,...

Engage your class in a class discussion examining and defend different sides of an argument about whether the Environmental Protection Agency should have the legal authority to regulate carbon dioxide emissions. They will have to...

What are the current trends in divorce? What contributes to this? Examine celebrity relationship trends and how they relate to the general public with this discussion lesson. Middle schoolers analyze the results of a Census Bureau study...

Elementary schoolers observe and apply a variety of reading comprehension strategies. They silently read a passage out of their science textbook, and discuss answering the who, what, where, when, and how of the text. In small groups they...

Examine stories with a moral in a character development instructional activity. The class reads a short story written by Benjamin Franklin in which he pays too much for a toy whistle. Individuals then make text-to-self connections and...

Readers make personal connections to Saturday Market by Patricia Grossman and answer comprehension questions while reading the book. Comparing and contrasting the different characters in a Venn diagram leads to a kinesthetic...

The sixth lesson plan in this Bullfrog at Magnolia Circle unit assesses your third graders' ability to read and understand informational text. The included assessment asks learners to take notes about the main idea and supporting...

A letter addressed to President Roosevelt and another addressed to Eleanor Roosevelt offer insight not only into these two amazing historical figures, but also into the struggles people faced during the Great Depression. 

Sexual harassment and sexual violence are by no means new issues. What has changed is the role of social media in these issues. This powerful and troubling lesson uses a specific rape case to launch research into a discussion of the...

Left-to-right, left-to-right, that's the way we read and write! Watch this short video clip and teach your young learners this chant before they start writing! 

A New Order in Europe calls for a new lesson plan! This third plan in a series of four sequential lessons encourages high schoolers to read primary sources about the development of the New Order and follow up their knowledge with a...

Pain and suffering do not have to be inevitable in a study of Crime and Punishment. A carefully scaffolded lesson introduces readers to the divided natures of the characters in Fyodor Dostoevsky's complex novel. Groups use the...

Young scholars research the social context of Elizabethan England for Shakespeare's "Hamlet". They identify cultural influences on the play focusing on the theme of revenge and then analyze and compare film interpretations of the play.

What is the cost of change? Roberto Guerra's photo essay "La Carretera: Life and Change Along Peru's Interoceanic Highway" asks viewers to consider the impacts of the 1,600 mile-long highway through Peru and Brazil that connects Pacific...