Explore connections within and between informational texts with this lesson about encyclopedia articles. Middle schoolers write encyclopedia articles focusing on topics in American history. They discuss how to determine credibility...

This is a fantastic resource designed for learners to envision what it was like for the three million African-Americans who migrated to urban industrial centers of the northern United States between 1910 and 1940. After reading a...

What do Johann Sebastian Bach and Miles Davis have in common? Much more than class members might imagine. The comparison of these two famous composers is just one lesson in a unit that investigates many facets of the music industry...

General music students learn about the history of popular American music by creating and performing a one-act musical. After researching and creating an American Musical timeline, class members write a song with lyrics using Jam Studio,...

Considering a unit study of American Musical Theatre? What better way to start than at the very beginning. Eight pairs of cards provide class members with background information about the genre from 1893 through 2004. The cards are...

Breaking the rules isn't always a bad thing, sometimes it pushes the boundaries of the imagination. Young art enthusiasts examine the Kevin Red Star piece, Knows Her Medicine Crow Indian. They analyze how the artist broke rules...

The poems of Walt Whitman and Emily Dickinson are the focus of a unit that asks readers to consider how an artist's life and changes in society influences his or her work. After careful study of Whitman's and Dickinson's perspectives on...

Engage 12th graders in a series of activities focused on public trust and ethics in US Government. They view a series of videos, hold a class debate, and compose a short essay. Note: Suggested videos are listed but are not available...

Start a lesson on poetic voice with a peer to peer discussion on what characterizes the strength in the voice with which a writer chooses to express himself/herself. In pairs, readers are tasked with reading and creating T-charts for...

A lesson looks at the Pilgrims and Wampanoag tribe during the first Thanksgiving. Scholars compare and contrast information presented by an online activity then discuss their findings. Learners examine the two group's daily routines and...

Groups research participatory democracies and compare the role and rights of citizens in ancient history with those in recent U.S. history. Guided by a series of questions, individuals compose a persuasive essay in which they discuss the...

Duke Ellington, jazz, and jive kick-off a fun and creative lesson on responding emotionally to music. The class will learn about jive talk used in the 1920s and the life and music of Duke Ellington. They'll listen to a selection of his...

What were the virtues and values that helped form America? Pupils watch and discuss a video, read biographies of early Americans, chart the differences between early American religious movements, write journals and letters, draw, and...

Learners comprehend that people who who direct and fight wars are real people who make observations and have feelings. They comprehend the conditions under which the American Revolution was fought during the period 1777 until July 1778...

Challenge young mathematicians' ability to compose and decompose shapes with this fun geometry puzzle. The goal is simple, locate all of the rectangles shown in a picture of three overlapping rectangles. Perform this activity as a whole...

Carl Sandburg composed poetry that conveyed a time and place in American Literature and history. Learners identify the literary techniques he uses to describe the historical and cultural context of living in Chicago. They define the...

Historical accounts of various events have proven to differ depending on the point of view of the person documenting the event. Learners read and analyze two first person accounts of acts of slave resistance seen at a southern...

Students debate the causes of the American Revolution. In this American history lesson, students conduct research to determine how bias and perspective have made their way into historical documents. Students compose essays...

Should voting in the United States be compulsory? In 2004, fewer than 60 percent of eligible voters cast ballots in the American national elections. After reviewing arguments for and against compulsory voting, your young citizens will...

A three-minute exercise warms-up scholars' writing abilities in order to follow a writing process that ends in an essay. The essay's topic is a barrier and the values used to break it. Four steps include choosing a topic,...

Make a study of good and evil by examining a short legend. After reading, learners compose their own stories and participate in a class discussion about the text, the characters, and the message of the reading.

Twelfth graders read lyrics for "My Hometown" and complete a worksheet to identify setting and tone in the song. For this Romanticism lesson, 12th graders read Lines Composed a Few Miles Above Tintern Abbey by Wordsworth and discuss...

Many educators focus on the civil rights movement as it occurred after Rosa Parks incited the bus boycott. Extend the understanding of the fight for civil rights in the United States with this post-WWII lesson plan. Learners examine and...

Students investigate historical figures and how they play a role in tourism by reading and discussing the article "When Robin Hood Supped, Was it Yorkshire Pudding?" In groups, students investigate issues related in the article in...