Imagine a activity that models for learners how to separate facts from opinions. How to detect bias. How to evaluate a source of information. How to identify propaganda. Although designed for middle schoolers, the activities in this...

Scholars use the E.S.C.A.P.E. (Evidence Source, Context, Audience, Purpose, Execution) strategy to analyze a historical source to determine why mistakes happen in news stories. They then apply the same strategies to contemporary flawed...

How do advertisements evoke specific thoughts and feelings? Class members find out through the exploration of the Internet, videos, television, magazines, radio, and posters. Learners investigate commercial advertisements, political...

Young orators demonstrate what they have learned about persuasion and persuasive devices throughout the unit by analyzing a persuasive speech and then crafting their persuasive essays. Class members engage in a role-play exercise, use...

Should Juneteenth be recognized as a national holiday? To prepare to take a stance on this question, young historians first analyze the Emancipation Proclamation and compare it to Lincoln's first Inaugural Address. Scholars then read an...

“And so, my fellow Americans: ask not what your country can do for you—ask what you can do for your. country.” Did you know that John Kenneth Galbraith, Adlai Stevenson, and Theodore Sorensen helped John F. Kennedy craft his 1961...

Fourth graders explore ways to plan their studying towards fulfilling their educational goals. They become aware, and hopefully, learn from one another, the value of persistence and self-discipline. Students listen and respond to the...

Get high school historians to step outside their own shoes by responding to JFK's inaugural address from the perspective of a civil rights activist, a soviet diplomat, or a Cuban exile. After a class discussion about the address,...

Setting goals plays a major role in becoming a self motivated learner. Students will read and discuss a story, set personal goals, and analyze a sacred prayer. This lesson includes: teacher evaluation, goal worksheet, prayers, story, and...

Students investigate how successful they were in obtaining their goals in the Revolutionary War. The peace feelers of 1775 are examined and the reasons for the British rejection of them explored. the main provisions of the Treaty of...

Equity. Increased productivity. Price stability. Environmental protection. Decreased poverty. Governments establish socio-economic goals and then must design and fund programs to address these goals. Groups investigate various...

This is a week-long lesson on analyzing the similarities and differences between sources of tension and terrorism in eight locations around the world. The class is divided into eight groups and assigned one of the locations to research....

Students are be able to analyze primary sources (photographs and speeches) and write a definition of American Democracy. They are shown a photograph of Martin Luther King Jr. by Ben Fernandez, students are asked what is happening in the...

Students examine "Washington Crossing the Delaware." In this American Revolution lesson, students analyze the painting, research its background, and then perform skits based on their findings. 

Fourth graders are given a hand out, the instruction page for the activity. They read the answers to the following questions:"What is our goal?", "What is my timeline?, and "What resources do I have to help me accomplish the goal?" They...

The work of Langston Hughes opens the door to research into the origin and legacy of the Harlem Renaissance and how the literature of the period can be viewed as a commentary on race relations in America. In addition, groups are assigned...

A picture speaks a thousand words, no matter how old! Scholars use political cartoons from the era of Prohibition and the Temperance Movement to analyze what, a primary document (in this case, a bootlegger's notebook) is telling them...

Lights, camera, ACTION! Pupils learn what it takes to set up an action plan to achieve a goal in the sixth installment of a 10-part County Solutions - High School series. They research, analyze, and work together to create a plan of...

How do the presidential debates of 2016 compare to the debates from the 1980's? What about the 1960's? Evaluate a chosen candidate or issue from the 20th and 21st centuries with a lesson plan focused on political debates. Middle and...

Why might toy advertisers use gender stereotypes to sell their products? Young people think critically about media messages and its role in gender stereotyping with a thought-provoking lesson.

With college tuition at an all-time high, high school students must consider the financial obligations of attending higher education, as well as the impact of college on future career opportunities. Pupils will complete...

Second graders examine and discuss different goals that lead to learner success. They discuss the story of "The Tortoise and the Hare," and discuss different goals and scenarios on a handout. Students then write a personal learning goal...

Who were they? High school freshmen brush up on their research skills by investigating an important person in American history. They select a name, fill out a KWHL chart, and research why their person is important. Scholars then complete...

After years of boiling tension, the presidency of Ronald Regan and the rise of Mikhail Gorbechev paved a new way forward for diplomacy between the United States and the Soviet Union. Using primary source documents, including letters...