The city of Los Angeles' 1979 Special Order 40 states: "LAPD officers shall not initiate police action with the objective of discovering the alien status of a person." After reading a fact sheet that details the history of Special Order...

Picture this. Class members follow in the footsteps of W. Eugene Smith, Dorothea Lange, James Nachtwey, and Lewis Hine by creating their own photo essay about a local event or issue.

Everyone knows that George Washington was the first president, but do your scholars know why that was so important? The lesson plan, the third in a sequence of three, allows learners to understand how George Washington set a precedent...

Young readers travel back to the time of the dinosaurs in this literature unit based on the story Dinosaurs Before Dark. Intended for use with upper-elementary special education students, this resource provides reading...

A speaker, a message, an audience. After analyzing these elements in Queen Elizabeth's speech to the troops at Tilbury, groups analyze how other speakers use an awareness of events, and their audience to craft their arguments....

After watching West of the West's documentary The Lone Woman of San Nicolas Island, class members imagine how Juana Maria/Karana may have felt about living alone on the island for 18 years and craft a blackout poem or a narrative in...

Take some time to focus on Christopher Columbus, his three ships, the purpose of his voyage, and the new land he discovered. Pay special attention to the included additional materials, they are the real value in this resource.

Students identify specific passages in the Monroe Doctrine to events in early U.S. diplomacy.

Explore concepts of audience, purpose and symbols in this activity from Media Smarts that asks students to consider all the functions of music. Through a series of discussions and activities, your class will brainstorm possible functions...

The deaths of Michael Brown, Eric Garner, and Tamir Rice, and the protests that followed the 2014 shootings, are the focus of a current-events activity that asks class members to brainstorm and research possible strategies to address the...

The Road to Peace introduces learners to the concept of transitional justice, a process where nations examine the causes of conflict, identify abuses, and use this information to develop a plan to transition to a society that upholds...

What are the origins of el Dia de los Muertos, and how is this tradition observed in contemporary celebrations? With a variety of lesson plans and suggested hands-on activities, here is an excellent resource to reference as you...

Is social media the best way to convey news in your school? Young journalists dig deep into the social media question in the second of 16 lessons from The Social Media Toolbox. After learning about the relationship between social media...

Body decoration has been practiced for years and years, and it is often associated with a culturally significant event. To celebrate Harmony Day, children discuss the Hindu custom of henna or hand painting. They brainstorm ways people...

Before honoring courageous veterans, get to know more about who they are and why November 11th is a special day. Scholars obtain such information through a read aloud of Eve Bunting's The Wall, grand conversation, and...

Lynchings, race riots, and Jim Crow laws were just a few examples of antagonism that African Americans faced after Emancipation. Class groups investigate these and other events, and prepare a presentation to inform the class about...

Students explain teen involvement in integrating society, and determine programs for teens in different organizations.

Students test water for a least one chemical characteristic. They hypothesize how a storm event might change the chemical characteristics of a stream. Students collect water samples and use the chemical test to test the water.

Challenge young scholars with a counting-themed series of activities. Your counters will write invitations to a feast, create books about dinner parties and animals, design posters, draw pictures of their favorite peaceful places,...

Can there be peace in Cambodia? Immerse your class in a realistic negotiation setting during a riveting simulation. Learners assume the roles of key players in a group sparring with an opposing group to try to achieve peace in the midst...

Eighth graders read the Diary of Anne Frank. In this novel reading lesson, 8th graders read and analyze the story. Students do online activities and create a newspaper giving a summary of three major events in the story. Students answer...

Students share ideas about keeping things safe, then read a news article about a huge vault built to store billions of seeds. For this current events lesson, the teacher introduces the article with a discussion and vocabulary activity,...

Eleventh graders discover the poetry of Langston Hughes. In this social issues lesson plan, 11th graders experience the views of Langston Hughes. Students read Hughes' poetry and discuss the basic theme. Students evaluate the political,...

The first lesson of a five-lesson unit designed for eighth graders has class members reading and watching a video of Edgar Allen Poe's narrative poem, "The Raven." They then craft their narrative poem, illustrate it, and share their work...