To better understand early American literature, which was usually written by Puritans coming to the new world, learners pretend they have just landed on Mars. They compose a letter home describing their experiences, the new landscape,...

What happened to a murder case when the police eat the murder weapon? After reading Roald Dahl's dark and ironic short story "Lamb to the Slaughter," students write a persuasive essay to convince a jury that the wife who killed her...

Shakespeare's Macbeth (Act II, Scenes I and II) lacks explicit details of the murder of King Duncan, yet the author creates an atmosphere that allows us to visualize the event. Readers interpret the "Dagger Speech" by writing stage...

Introduce starting space scientists to the electromagnetic spectrum, expecially the portion of visible light. Teach them about wavelength and frequesncy. Then give them a roll of adding machine tape and a manila folder to make a...

A role-playing scenario has middle-schoolers imagining that they are refugees forced to flee their community and integrate into a new one. Then, some play the roles of members of the new community and the class brainstorms ideas about...

Students discuss and write about waste management to save the environment. In this environment lesson, students discuss what an alien coming to Earth would notice about the environmental needs of humans for survival. They pretend that...

Pupils read about the Alaska Gold Rush, its characters and the impact on the history of Alaska. They write a response as if they are a Klondike Stampeder in the late 1900s.

Young scholars explore economics by writing a fictitious news article. In this personal wealth lesson, students participate in a role-playing activity in which the year is 2025 and they must write an article about their extremely wealthy...

Build a historical perspective from four different points of view. Young historians take on the role of a slave-owning white person, non-slave owning white person, slave, or free African-American person and imagine what life would be...

Scientific method, linear measurements, friction, inertia. Imagine learning scientific vocabulary in an ELA class. Before researching and developing a presentation about simple machines, class members build a common, but decidedly...

Students choose a short story or book and a student takes on the role of one of the characters in the story. They complete an interview worksheet and then students question each other further about the character they are playing.

Learners practice counting sets of items by 10's.  For this counting lesson, students create flash cards that show a zero while hiding the first number in order for learners to practice counting by 10's.  Students practice...

Learners compare and constrast life in an 1830s family verses a modern family. They role play the position of a family member in 1830 while wearing traditional clothing for the time period. They write journal entries to show their daily...

After reading chapter six of Ordinary People with your class, conduct this activity with your class. Turn the lights down, put on your softest voice, and have them try to imagine that they lost a close friend. Then, encourage them to...

Mature audiences are required for this lesson on implementing health-related policies. First, they openly explore the CDC obesity page while taking notes about what they discover. Then they view a PowerPoint about the success of public...

Young scholars read Animal Farm and examine how power corrupts. They role-play situations involving power and control. They investigate corruption and abuse of power in society. They write propaganda articles and hold panel...

Students read news reports and first-person accounts of a blackout in a large city and keep weblogs or journals. They take on different roles of people who live in the city or commute there to work and then use their journal accounts to...

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.

Ninth graders brainstorm different situations in which formal English is used. Individually, they describe how people would act if they were invited to the White House for dinner and what they would do. To end the lesson, they role...

The Holocaust is the focus of this interactive poetry strategy. The classroom will be set-up to remind students of the Secret Annex, with a table, lamp, and various other props. Each participant will receive 3  Saltine crackers and...

Young scholars research about different human space explorations conducted by NASA. For this physical science lesson, students discuss why space exploration is important. They write a paper about their thoughts on continuing NASA's space...

Students discuss reasons why early europeans immigrated to North America. Working in groups, they complete Internet activities on the PBS Website. They take a simulated voyage to the new world and rercord their actions on worksheets. ...

Young scholars simulate the research process of investigating a shipwreck. In small groups, they conduct Internet research, and develop and write a proposal for excavation of the archaeological site.

Learners examine the challenges a single teenage parent faces. In groups, they research ways to positively cope with an unplanned pregnancy and design their own layette for their new baby. As a class, they discuss what it means to be...