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. 

Weather seems unpredictable, but is it really? Learners collect weather data from online interactives and build data displays. They use their displays to identify temperature and precipitation patterns in different areas.

Scholars listen to several pieces of music in preparation for a discussion about how instruments and lyrics convey emotions. With Harriet Tubman as the focus, small groups create an original song or dance. A reflection piece concludes...

A packet of 13 primary sources provides young historians with insight into the anti-lynching activism of civil rights Ida B. Wells. Included are images of Wells, her letters, a political cartoon, newspaper lynching announcements, and a...

From solid to liquid and then back again. Young scientists  dissolve salt in water and then evaporate the water while observing what happens to the solute. They use their observations to make predictions about other solutions.

A study of Robinson Jeffers' poem "Wonder and Joy" reminds readers to notice and rekindle the appreciation of the many wondrous aspects of life. After a close reading of the poem, scholars use the provided questions to discuss the poem.

Song lyrics, like poems, are meant to be heard. After examining the literary devices in several poems, scholars examine the lyrics of popular songs and identify the sound devices and the figurative language writers use to create the...

Take the small step for man and giant leap for mankind with the Apollo astronauts using primary sources. Young historians explore the documents related to the American space program up through the lunar landing, including presidential...

Experience a bit of what life was like at the turn of last century with images of rural and urban life. Learners consider pictures from each environment and then compare and contrast them. Activities include discussing the differences,...

Young historians have an opportunity to study the complex history and culture of Mexico by learning about several holidays: The Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe (Dia de Nuestra Senora de Guadalupe), The Day of the Dead (El Dia de los...

Complex, disturbing, and challenging, Beloved is the focus of a lesson that provides three activities to guide a close reading of Toni Morrison's novel. Readers create chapter titles based on key plot elements or themes,...

It's time to get to work! Groups assign roles, duties, and due dates for their Service Learning action plan. They then identify the approvals they will need to complete their project successfully.

Current immigration issues and the rhetoric surrounding the controversies come into focus with a lesson that uses Richard Blanco's anthem, "The U.S. of Us," written after the August 2019 attack in El Paso, Texas, to open a discussion of...

Separate is not equal! Young historians analyze the petition from the U.S. Supreme Court case Mendez v. Westminster filed in 1945 and examine background material about the case. They then compare it to the more famous Brown v. Board of...

Stories by Edgar Allan Poe and Ambrose Bierce provide readers with an opportunity to investigate unreliable narrators. The lesson plan begins with an activity about different types of point of view and continues as scholars apply their...

Require your class to look closely at terms by analyzing similarities and differences. The template provides space and sentence frames for writing about similarities and differences.

Support instruction and reinforce mathematical skills with a worksheet that focuses on the conversion of fractions and decimals. 

Writing is a process, and lesson planning is, too! A personal narrative unit stresses the writing process to pupils, who first examine various stories and poems as a model of autobiographical writing and then write their own stories....

What are the complicated legacies of the Vietnam War? Learners consider the question as they examine videos and primary sources from the conflict. After examining footage and documents such as the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution and an op-ed...

Fundamental differences between the North and South led to the South adopting a system of enslaved labor. These abstract ideas become concrete when class members create a standing cube using information provided in the resource. Young...

Model the world with graphs. Pupils watch and participate in creating graphs to model real-world situations. The presenters stress the importance of a consistent scale and proper labels for the graphs along with identification of the...

RESPECT! High schoolers learn what it means, how to earn it, who deserves it, and why in the first of five lessons in this section of the Overcoming Obstacles course. After brainstorming a list of people they think to deserve respect and...

A lesson plan features the work of O'Plérou Grebet, a graphic designer who created a collection of emojis to represent his life in West Africa. Scholars explore the history and purpose of emojis, then read and discuss an article about...

Young learners are asked to challenge what they see as stereotyping and homophobia in sports and the arts. Participants read an article about sexual orientation in the NFL and statements from public figures like Theodore Roosevelt. They...