W.H. Auden’s poem “Refugee Blues” launches a study of the problems of refugees. Background information about the poem and general information about Jewish refugees from Germany and Austria are provided, as are discussion questions and...

Who purloined the poodle? Class groups read police reports and theorize whodunnit. The sixth of a ten-lesson series on mysteries.

Explore positive and negative character traits and universal themes in the story of Cinderella with primary learners. Story elements are reviewed and discussion questions are listed. Learners practice retelling the story and begin a...

Involve your readers in finding works of literary genius. Have each individual write down compelling sentences that they read or hear, whether in a newspaper, advertisement, book, movie, song, or any other place! Once each person has a...

A thought-provoking lesson plan which will provide your 5th graders with a world view. Pupils discuss children's rights here in the US and around the world, and do some comparisons. They watch a video, embedded in the plan, that shows a...

Imagine what it was like to be a slave in the United States in 1845. Eighth graders are given an opportunity to experience life from the point of view of Frederick Douglass as they read and discuss an annotated passage from Narrative of...

"Without concerned citizen action to uphold them (human rights) close to home; we shall look in vain for progress in the larger world. . ." Eleanor Roosevelt's comment is used to set the stage for the conclusion of a five-lesson unit...

As to be expected from the American Chemical Society Olympiad Examinations Task Force, this 60-question test tops the charts in terms of excellence. It consists entirely of multiple choice questions designed to assess a year's worth of...

Do you like astronomy? Engage your learners with this short reading passage about a boy who loves studying stars and space. After completing the reading, your middle schoolers will complete five simple recall questions. Perhaps you can...

The first STEM lesson in a group of 10 explores composting. After discussing how to make a better tomorrow, classes are challenged to track garbage in their communities, visit a local waste management facility, and conduct a survey...

Fourth graders get to invent their own dinosaur! This is done by using a very clever worksheet embedded in the plan. The worksheet leads them through naming their dinosaur by having explanations of the Latin terminology that is used with...

“Compared to war all other forms of human endeavor shrink to insignificance.” “War is not healthy for children and other living things.” These two views of war, embodied in George Patton’s statement and Lorraine Schneider‘s famous 1966...

Who knew quilting would be so mathematical? Introduce linear equations and graphing while working with the lines of pre-designed quilts. Use the parts of the design to calculate the slope of the linear segments. The project...

Who gets to come to the United States? Examine cases of individuals seeking asylum with an informative reading passage that includes examples, statistics, and representations of public opinion regarding asylum. Groups then go on to...

What is identity? What is bullying? What is identity-based bullying? After discussing these questions as a class, pupils engage in partner discussions before participating in a small group activity to act out bullying scenarios. Then,...

Are opioids the most abused drug after marijuana? How hard is it for young people to obtain painkillers without a prescription? Middle and high schoolers explore the growing epidemic of opioid addiction with a lesson that prompts them to...

Who knew that a possible answer to Earth's energy resource problems was lurking deep beneath the ocean's surface? Part four of a six-part series introduces Earth Science pupils to methane hydrate, a waste product of methanogens. After...

Students identify jobs in the nonprofit sector. In this career education lesson plan, students use the Internet to research nonprofit jobs in their community. Students complete a resume for employment at a nonprofit organization.

A fun lesson plan that utilizes toys and persuasion! After reading the article, which was written in 2005, pull some advertisements for toys currently being sold. These will be more relevant to your middle and high schoolers. What toy is...

Students use the Internet to research one of five cases associated with Brown v. Board of Education and then join a group with people who researched the other four.

"How can a few good words save a pig's life?" Posed with this question, your ELD students explore E.B. White's Charlotte's Web in a meaningful, valuable way. By analyzing specific word choice from the book, especially the excerpts...

Students face a challenge. In this survival lesson, students discover the hardships faced by the pioneers who moved west and see if they would survive a similar situation. They discuss essential items they need to survive and...

Discuss the work of Matthew Henson, an African American who traveled to the North Pole with Robert Peary. After reading the story "Matthew Henson" by Maryann N. Weidt, learners answer questions by drawing inferences and conclusions,...