Looking for a way to incorporate writing on the first day of school? Young writers will predict what the best thing about the new school year will be, note what they hope to learn, and explain how their teacher can help them. They will...

Support your end-of-year instruction with planning kits from PBS. Five planning kits are provided: Special Lessons and Collections; Planning Sheets for Pre-K through 5 and 6-12; Summer Bonus Resources; and Relevant Professional Learning...

A new school year means building relationships with a new group of interesting, unique young children. Get the process started with this simple survey that asks for students' basic information as well as their favorite subject,...

Citizens in the modern world can't imagine making the same social choices made by many Germans in the 1920s and 1930s, but they don't realize that they actually do it every day by ostracizing others. A case study of middle schoolers...

Learners formulate new applications for simple machines in an original invention that solves a common problem. They brainstorm ideas for a new product using simple machines and communicate a finished project through an oral,...

Scholars set a New Year's Resolution using a "Wham, Boom, Pow" format. Wham—learners identify who needs their help, boom—where could they improve in school, and pow—what can be done to better the world. With the help of the ideas listed,...

Third graders investigate the concept of living in a community of learners. They engage in a variety of activities with the highlight being a story about a meerkat and a lion. Students read a play related to the story and discuss the...

Are marches and protests an effective form of resistance? That is the question high schoolers seek to answer in this inquiry lesson as they compare the 2020 protests to historical ones. Researchers use Venn Diagrams to compare images...

Rich in images and information, a teacher's guide to the traditions of Lunar New Year's celebrations in various cultures addresses celebrations of Buddhism and Daoism. It includes background information about the origins of the...

As part of a celebration of Chinese New Year, class members research the Chinese zodiac and examine the description of the personality attributes associated with the animal of their birth year. Individuals then craft a persuasive essay...

Being able to read and recall is a very important skill. Why not have learners read about an American holiday phenomenon? They'll answer who, what, when, where, why, and how with regard to a New York Times article about a school for...

Young scholars examine the experiences of a Peace Corps volunteer learning to speak Chinese. They read and discuss an essay written by the Peace Corps volunteer, analyze a map of China, and discuss the author's difficulties in learning...

Arthur and his friends help children explore the concepts of family, community, and diversity in a fun series of activities. From performing peer interviews to mapping out the different places students have lived or visited, this...

U.S. immigration is the focus of a unit on social justice. Over the course of a school year, young historians read a variety of texts to learn about four waves of immigration that have occurred over time in the U.S. An emphasis on...

Feeling stuck? Want to energize the class? Use activities such as quizzes and fill-in-the-blank worksheets to get class members' attention with a year's worth of holiday celebrations. From Mother's Day to Robert Burns's birthday,...

Elementary pupils are introduced to the Great Depression as a critical period of hardship in United States history. They engage in collaborative assignments researching the Dust Bowl, the New Deal, US presidents, and presidential libraries.

Informational text about the Civil Rights Movement challenges young historians to prove their reading comprehension skills with six multiple choice questions. After answers are submitted a new screen displays a score,...

This detailed lesson plan from New York Times' The Learning Network centers around Carroll Academy and its girl's basketball team. Learners compare their school to Carroll Academy, read anywhere from 1 to 5 engaging articles about the...

Check out this fantastic research project where learners work to see the modern world through the eyes of a historian and analyze a contemporary event of their choice. An in-depth reflection on the project is given by the project...

Introduce some nonfiction reading into your classroom! This resource contains seven comprehension questions pertaining to an article from The New York Times website about the first middle schoolers to ever win the United States Chess...

Create a sense of accountability among scholars with a lesson that focuses on making and keeping New Year's resolutions. Writers compose a five paragraph essay focused on three resolutions—promises to self improvement, to...

New York City is a perfect place to begin a study of multicultural diversity. The largest and the most culturally diverse city in the United States provides the backdrop for a photo essay that features images of cultural and...