War brings a whole new set of ethical dilemmas. From deciding whether to enlist in a segregated and racist Army to whether to sacrifice civilian lives to prepare for a critical D-Day invasion, leaders during World War II faced many...

Did he die for a cause, or was he crazy? Although the resource discusses John Brown and West Virginia history, many historical figures have the same reputation. Teach learners about different perspectives and highlight the importance of...

The allure of true crime television shows often leads to intrigue of the criminal justice system. Using a six-unit curriculum, learners explore criminology and the justice system in the United States. Topics include the police, trial...

What are the three most important items for survival? Readers of Viktor Frankl's Man's Search for Meaning, ponder this question individually and share their list with a group, that must then reach consensus on the three most...

Be on the right side of history. Scholars first learn about polio and the meetings of the 1954 Salk polio vaccine study. In groups, they select roles, such as parents, government officials, and statisticians, and decide on the best...

Stay or go? As part of a study of immigration and human rights, class members listen to the stories of several immigrants and must decide if the story was their own if they would stay in the United States as an undocumented...

December 7th is remembered as a tragic time in American history, but some scholars may not know why. The resource explains the significance of the bombing of Pearl Harbor as well as how World War II relates to American history. The...

Everyone knows a tree makes a sound when it falls, but what do we know about dying trees? Class members learn background information about Laurel wilt disease from a teacher-led presentation. Team members work with partners to read and...

Long revered as the "upper chamber," the US Senate was created to give the new nation a balance between large and small states. However, has the time for this institution passed? Using a reading on how the amendment process works,...

More than 100 cities around the world have shifted from fossil fuels to renewable energy sources. Scholars investigate a city wanting to make this switch, but needs help determining how to make the shift. Groups consider all options,...

The modern presidency is defined by the development of television—including the use of televised debates in the campaign. Using debates going back to the first one between John F. Kennedy and Richard Nixon, young scholars evaluate...

If you stop a student from expressing views that advocate drug use, are you violating their right to free speech? Use the 2007 Supreme Court case Morse v. Frederick to discuss a nuanced interpretation of the First Amendment....

While this lesson includes several nice worksheets to identify and discuss the various limits on government (i.e. a constitution, the rule of law, separation of powers, consent of the governed, etc.), its main value lies in a case study...

Can evolution repeat itself? Scholars analyze amino acid data in two separate populations of mice. They learn that evolution repeats itself, but natural selection prefers some mutations over others in different environments. Analysis...

One hundred metric tons of CO2 can accumulate in one acre of forest over time—that's a lot of carbon! In the activity, groups of middle school learners determine what makes forests important. They then solidify the concept by using a...

Scholars view comics from two different perspectives; one paints the Alfred Dreyfus as innocent, while the other portrays the exact opposite. They solve the mystery of what happened by analyzing the source, working in groups, and...

People could take a page in ingenuity and survival from the Powhatans. Deer skins became clothes, and the members of the Native American group farmed the rich Virginia soil and hunted in its forests for food. Using images of artifacts...

Raptor flight patterns align with seasonal changes in net primary productivity. Here is a thought-provoking lesson that uses empirical data from a video to help scholars understand raptor migrations, producers/consumers, and ecosystems....

Reading snail mail is a great way to go back into history and to understand others' points of view. The resource, the second in a five-part unit, covers the Dreyfus Affair. Scholars, working in two different groups, read one letter and...

Cells demonstrate a life cycle like other living things, but what if death was no longer part of the cycle? Learn about the important balance requiring death to continue functioning. An online interactive introduces a group of scientists...

Bilingual education, voting rights, and Congressional redistricting come up often in the news. Explore these topics from another view—the perspectives of Hispanic members of Congress. Activities include an article with comprehension and...

Nanofibers can be made through electrospinning or force spinning in order to reduce the negative impact on the environment. Pupils study the role of fibers and dye on the environment through a series of five hands-on activities. Then,...

Primary sources—even those that seem mundane—offer a window into those who experienced history. Using a Red Cross map offered to soldiers stationed in Paris after World War II alongside worksheet questions, scholars consider what life...

As of April, 2016, more than 28,000 suspected cases of Ebola were recorded in Western Africa with over 11,000 human deaths. Classes discuss the Ebola virus outbreak in 2014 and then groups develop an action plan based on...