Howard Hughes Medical Institute
CSI Wildlife
Can DNA fingerprinting prevent the extinction of elephants? Young scientists learn about DNA fingerprinting before applying their knowledge to case studies of elephant poaching. The first case requires them to match the DNA from a tusk...
Curated OER
Rights And Responsibilities: Debating Free Speech, Responsibility And Censorship on Campus
Young scholars weigh rights of students and others to free speech versus the responsibilities that come with those rights.
National Endowment for the Humanities
Kennewick Man: Science and Sacred Rights
"Have respect for the dead!" Scholars investigate how science and religion often clash. As they look into the laws of science and the laws of religion, the legal ramifications at the federal level of both play into an argument they...
Curated OER
Bottled Water Ban
Convenience, taste, portability ... what's not to love about bottled water? Apparently, a lot. Scholars analyze the four main arguments supporting and opposing the sale of bottled water. They explore the health, environmental, and...
National Endowment for the Humanities
Lesson 4 James Madison: Internal Improvements Balancing Act—Federal/State and Executive/Legislative
Who has the power? The founding fathers asked the same question when the United States was formed. Learners explore issues that arose during Madison’s presidency that raised constitutional questions. Through discovery, discussion, and...
National Endowment for the Humanities
Lesson 2 James Madison: The Second National Bank—Powers Not Specified in the Constitution
How much power is too much power for the federal government? Scholars use primary documents and constitutional research in groups to analyze the creation of the Second National Bank under James Madison. This is the second lesson of a...
Heritage Foundation
Congress's Economic Powers
Join Congress as they assess their economic abilities for spending—and as they discover their limits. High schoolers use an educational resource to explore Congress's economic powers and learn to apply these concepts to their everyday...
Constitutional Rights Foundation
Ellis Island—The “Golden Door” to America
Are you one of the 100 million Americans whose ancestors passed through the doors of Ellis Island? Learn about the historic entry point for immigrants in the late 19th and early 20th centuries with an informative reading passage. After...
The New York Times
401 Prompts for Argumentative Writing
Sometimes the hardest thing about an argument essay writing assignment is coming up with a question. A four-page list of prompts includes a range of topics, from social media and smart phones to video games and sports. The list is a...
National Constitution Center
Town Hall Wall: College Exam
The college that directly affects young citizens' lives is not the university they're applying to. Learn about the Electoral College in a town hall activity in which class members debate the merits of the current system versus electing a...
Curated OER
This Land Is… Whose Land?
Young scholars examine the territorial issues and perspectives surrounding the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. They create an outline and point-counterpoint essay illustrating the perspectives surround the Israeli land dispute with the...
Curated OER
Patriotism Reflected in Art and Literature (Part B)
Tenth graders compare and contrast the patriotism of Imperial Japan to its presence in the United States today. In this patriotism lesson plan, 10th graders write essays and participate in a classroom debate that requires them to...
Curated OER
Sharing Or Stealing? Debating the Ethics of Napster
Students debate ethics of free Internet file-sharing of copyrighted materials.
Curated OER
Practice Makes Perfect: Citing Textual Evidence
Strategies, lesson plans, and ideas to help pupils locate and cite textual evidence.
Curated OER
Inside the Mind of the Unreliable Narrator
Create interdisciplinary connections and promote high-level inferences by studying unreliable narrators.
Tennessee Technical University
Carousel Brainstorm
A variation of the Walkabout Review process, carousel brainstorming directs groups to rotate through a series of stations posting ideas on the topic or question posted at each stop.
Curated OER
Getting it Straight with Latitude and Longitude Skills
Teachers can help students learn latitude and longitude skills using games and other motivating activities.
Curated OER
Good Old-Fashioned Books
Teen Read Week offers learners the chance to discover the educational, as well as entertainment, value of reading.
Curated OER
A Persuasive Writing Project That Aligns to Common Core Standards
Create a writing project that focuses on the Common Core ELA Standard for writing an argumentative essay.
Curated OER
It's Time to Wrap-Up the School Year!
As the school year rapidly comes to a close, don’t forget to collect feedback to improve your teaching.
Curated OER
The Extraverted Thinking Personality Type: An Introduction
Curriculum strategies designed to engage and inspire a predominantly extraverted thinking class.
Curated OER
Giving Peace a Chance
In honor of International Peace Day, students can learn about the challenges we face in the world.
Curated OER
Three Essential Soft Skills That Span Every Content Area
Reading, writing, and arithmetic are just the start of what young people need to know to be successful.
Curated OER
The Intense, Idealistic Introverted-Feeling Personality Type
Teachers need to create personal bonds with pupils in order to discover who turns out to be an introverted feeler.