The city of Los Angeles' 1979 Special Order 40 states: "LAPD officers shall not initiate police action with the objective of discovering the alien status of a person." After reading a fact sheet that details the history of Special Order...

Young scholars find out about the social changes that caused the collapse of important ancient civilizations in Central America, Mesopotamia, the southwestern United States, and western Africa.

Newspapers aren't only for reading—they're for learning skills, too! A journalism unit provides three lessons each for primary, intermediate, and secondary grades. Lessons include objectives, materials, vocabulary, and procedure, and...

As if surviving a journey to America wasn't enough of a feat for early 20th century immigrants, they then needed to settle into American life. Learn about the ways New York public education attempted to meet the needs of its students,...

An ambitious and engaging lesson on the Westward Movement for your students to enjoy! Groups of learners rotate between learning tasks such as learning about the Chislom Trail, Lewis and Clark, and the Gold Rush. A WebQuest is also...

Youngsters study and discuss the history and importance of the American Flag. They explain the meaning of the Stars and Stripes, the name "Old Glory," and discover when and how the flag is displayed. This well-designed plan has many...

Learners will work together in groups to gather information about careers in oceanography. They discover the need to have a diverse group of people on a team and then share their information with the class. Web links and materials are...

For any pupils who live in the state of Arkansas, this would be a fabulous educational experience to help them get to know their state better. Through the use of activities in literature, art, mathematics, science, social studies, and...

Now these are learning activities full of fun, art, and cultural exploration. Kids consider the art of storytelling through comic book images. They then look at the Tale of Genji as it was written in the 11th century. They discuss...

Go ahead. Spill the ink! Combine the study of art, social studies, and science with a Suminagashi (spilled ink) activity that produces "unique and unreproducible" works of art.

Students demonstrate knowledge of Indoor Air Quality by creating a class magazine. A link to order a free Action Kit from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is provided so teachers can build background knowledge. Performance...

If you're looking for a fantastic cross-curricular lesson on the Statue of Liberty, then this lesson is for you! Learners watch a Reading Rainbow episode which focuses on the Statue, then gather facts about the creation, construction,...

Research, art history, and web page creation! Sounds too good to be true. With tons of links and resources, the lesson provides you with everything needed to engage the class in an amazing art and research activity. They create...

Strap on those backpacks, it's time to travel through history with this literature unit based on the first four books of The Magic Tree House series. While reading through these fun stories, children create story maps, record...

Students reflect on the lives of older people they know, then research and debate the key issues surrounding scientific experimentation in anti-aging. They write a short story that reflects their own philosophical beliefs on aging and...

Following extensive modeling about how to apply word analysis and vocabulary skills to learn new words, partner teams create brief word presentations to teach new vocabulary to the class. Preselect words from upcoming social studies,...

Students explore human anatomy by participating in hands-on activities. In this digestive system instructional activity, students read the book It All Began With a Bean and discuss the process of food digestion in our body. Students...

Students observe and record the behavior of a San Diego wetland animal and the characteristics of its environment. The amount of time that each animal spends resting, grooming, eating, flying, and social or individual play becomes the...

Collaboratively, students partake in a hands-on activity in which they build models of a watershed. Each group member draws an elevation map—a bird's eye view—of their model and predicts how water will flow from the high to low points....

Students explore the benefits of staying active by going on a hike.  In this physical education lesson, students discuss the concept of a hike, where a good place to hike is and what types of foods are necessary to stay nourished....

Students consider the influence of Hip Hop on their own language use and various segments of American society; they reflect on and demonstrate their knowledge of Hip Hop vocabulary and its use.

Work on research procedures in this activity, which prompts writers to collect and evaluate information pooled from a number of sources. They work in teams to collect information about crocodiles from different sources. They compare the...

Birds help other birds find food? Scholars are placed into one of five groups of different birds. Each group then "feeds" on letters of paper in a field and gather five pieces per person. As each group plays, more food is exposed,...

The I-STOP law was designed to regulate the distribution and tracking of prescription drugs. After reading an article about its signing and implementation, middle and high schoolers work together to come up with their own ideas for an...