Should college admissions decisions be based on whether whose family members attended? Secondary students read and respond to a New York Times article on the issue of 'legacy preferences' in college admissions. Following class...

Why are some people such good story tellers? Help youngsters demonstrate the art of storytelling. They start off by listening to a story and sharing what they noticed about the storytelling that made it exciting. Then, they study a story...

Help to educate your ESL students about World Suicide Prevention Day with this series of activities. Matching key phrases, completing CLOZE paragraphs, and choosing appropriate words based on context clues are just a few of the many ways...

There are “a million things to talk about. . .” in Ray Bradbury’s Dandelion Wine; however, the focus of this socratic seminar is the issue of living and dying. Class members prepare for the discussion by writing about their own views of...

Need some help getting young football fans to focus on something besides the Super Bowl? Use a list of football-themed activities for art, math, science, nutrition, language arts, and social studies to get their heads in the game!

Middle schoolers are likely very familiar with the concept of bullying and cliques. Discuss their experiences and brainstorm ways to handle peer conflict and feelings of exclusion with a poem that focuses on bullying, and a second lesson...

Native Americans lost so much—and gained so little in return. Scholars explore Native Americans' resistance to the United States government. The lesson uses primary sources to explore the different forms of protest and gives a voice to...

Fifth graders get critical and political while they begin thinking about human and animal rights in relation to the US Constitution. This hand out includes answers to several questions regarding Cesar Chavez and his work to secure rights...

Hoopsters! Looking for something to use to teach your hoopsters a bit about the game of basketball? Use this very comprehensive PowerPoint to teach everything from the history of the sport, to skill techniques, to game plays. Included...

Attract learners to an interesting lesson plan! The third in a 14-part series of lessons on electricity and magnetism uses a hands-on approach to exploring magnetic fields. Scholars experiment with a compass to test Earth's magnetic...

"It is my lady, O, It is my Love!" Provide class members an opportunity to develop their skills reading difficult text with an exercise that focuses on the balcony scene from Romeo and Juliet (Act II, scene ii). Using the provided...

It's the classic scene: Tom Sawyer is whitewashing a fence. Expose your learners to Mark Twain's humor while reinforcing reading comprehension. Eighth graders are encouraged to read and reread, achieving as much exposure to the text...

Can any good come from acts of evil? The 1963 bombing of the Sixteenth Street Baptist Church in Birmingham, Alabama, and the eventual outcomes of the tragedy, are the focus of a lesson that asks groups to examine primary source documents...

How do we prepare kids, especially those with disabilities, for life after school, for the workplace, for independent living? This 96-page packet is loaded with self-assessment surveys, with skill builders, with information about rules,...

Students access the Library of Congress's collection of Broadsides (printed material with news, entertainment, advertisements, etc.) and explore their impact on events leading up to the Revolutionary War. They create a timeline with...

Pupils make observations while eating food. They act out the process of food breaking down in the body and the roles of various chemical components, such as sugar and protein. It concludes with an activity illustrating the process and a...

Difficult redistricting concepts are covered in a context that will make it understandable to your government scholars. They begin with a KWL on the term redistricting and then watch a video to answer some questions. They...

Invite your class on a ride through the American Revolution. Young historians travel through time as they explore the events that led to the foundation of the United States of America. Over the course of eight lessons, this unit...

Encourage readers to determine if Hamlet's madness is actually divinest sense. Class members analyze the words of the play before studying related texts, including T.S. Eliot's "The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock," scenes from...

Teaching is a balancing act! Keep things on an even keel with a comprehensive equilibrium lesson plan. The resource covers reversible and irreversible reactions, Le Chatelier's Principle, and the industrial applications of equilibrium...

Young citizens consider the American civil rights movement as part of the global struggle for human rights. After using a timeline activity to learn about the major events in the civil rights movement, class members study...

During elections, headlines constantly lament the issue of low voter turnout. Help class members understand why this is such an important topic with relevant articles, a discussion of both sides of the issue, and a reflective essay. 

What were the driving forces behind American expansion in the nineteenth century, and what were its effects? Scholars watch a video, read biographies, engage in discussion, write journals and poetry, draw, and create a multimedia...

Fair or unfair? To begin a study of the American Revolution, class members review the treatment of the people of the American Colonies by the King of England and decide which were fair and which were unfair. Class members then annotate a...