To understand how the Homestead Act of 1862 changed the US and the lives of the people during that time, class members examine primary source materials including letters, broadsides, and images. They then assume the voice of a...

Imagine being forced to give up your culture and then being graded on how well you complied with orders to do so. Documents show young historians the price indigenous peoples paid as a result of the Dawes Act, which was essentially a...

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...

What would Ben do? Jumping off from the pseudonymous letters Ben Franklin fooled his older brother into publishing when he was still a teenager, young literary lovers dive into acting, writing, and addressing a local issue with wit and...

As part of their study of Twelfth Night, Act II, scene v, class members examine the character of Malvolio, Olivia's letter, and the themes developed in the scene. In addition, pupils use an online link to the Shakespearean Insult...

Two powerful video clips launch a study of race relations in the United States after the Selma, Alabama riots, the passage of the Votings Rights Act, and the riots in Watts, California. 

Manners matter! The ninth and final lesson in a series of career education and skills activities focuses on hitting a happy medium in business correspondence. Scholars master five simple rules for creating e-mails that are friendly,...

A quick lesson takes a look at the differences between bullying and joking. Through whole-class discussion, scholars identify between the two behaviors and brainstorm actions to take to cease bullying behavior. Small groups share with...

By sharing stories and doing role-play activities, youngsters learn how to deal with their fears. A class discussion is held where the teacher shares some things that used to scare him/her as a child. The kids come up with suggestions of...

A newspaper receives documents that reveal not only a devastating secret the public needs to know, but also troop movements that could put American lives at risk: to publish or not to publish? Using background readings, discussion...

Fifteen primary sources provide a context for a study of the Fifteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution. The packet captures the excitement for the changes promised by the amendment as well as the backlash against it.

It's hard to believe the abolition movement was once seen as scandalous. Help learners understand how the US Constitution changed everything. A variety of activities such as corresponding reading activities, group work ideas, and...

Is it possible to defy gravity? Not really. With force and inertia, we can act against it for a little while, but, eventually, gravitational force will pull us back to Earth. The relationships among mass, force, and inertia are all...

Even an outline can give you enough information to execute an awsome project. The tasks for each of the seven weeks of this project are defined, as well as the objective and specific content facilitated through the project. Learners will...

"Promises Denied," the second instructional activity in a unit that asks learners to consider the responsibilities individuals have to uphold human rights, looks at documents that illustrate the difficulty the US has had trying to live...

Kids get up and act! To promote inventiveness, timing, and clowning, they pair up and act as though they are looking in a mirror. Child A does a move while child B attempts to mimic it as closely as possible. This is a fun activity that...

American propaganda shaped the perspective of many citizens during WWI. Here is an amazing presentation full of dozens of war-time poster examples and facts about what those posters were promoting. This would be a great discussion...

It is important for special needs students to know the differences between acquaintances and strangers. They define the world helper, acquaintance, and stranger then discuss a scenario based case study.They talk about touch and no touch,...

Learners of any age can participate in this imagination and improve development activity. With the use of a small box, they work through a series of questions or situations posed by the teacher. Each group uses the box to create short...

Enhance your American literature unit with this resource, in which readers access the Nebraska Studies website and read about "Railroads and Settlement." They search for a photograph of some aspect of the railroad from the Prairie...

Eighth graders engage in a lesson that is concerned with the acquiring of skills necessary to make informed career choices. They examine the type of language that should be acquired for communication in the workplace. They also have...

Young consumers get a hefty dose of information on how fraud can put their financial health at risk. The resource provides detailed lecture notes, scaffolded notetaking sheets, vocabulary worksheets, transparencies, and seven links to...

Young athletes practice various locomotor movements. They use locomotor skills as directed by the teacher to move between "Olympic rings" (hula hoops). Young scholars participate in a discussion about Olympic events prior to playing the...

After completing a short self-assessment, partners use the provided questions and take turns acting as life coaches.