Primary source research, secondary source readings, and discussion provide the understanding necessary for students to create a colonial persona, and simulate a situation appropriate for this person, time, and place. While the lesson...

Designed for teachers, this resource identifies problems learners face when attempting a research project and approaches instructors can use to help their class members overcome these obstacles. Suggestions are included for how to help...

Fourth graders explore pollution. They conduct preliminary research on pollution using the internet. Students share their findings with the group. They work with a group and create lists of facts on pollution.

Students explore the concept of Manifest Destiny. In this Westward Expansion lesson,students examine primary and secondary, print and nonprint sources regarding the removal of the Cherokee.

Using Walt Whitman's Song of Myself and Hart Crane's The Bridge as models, class groups first craft their own epic poems for 1900 and, using primary sources, create a multi-media presentation that captures the sights and...

Students explore the attributes of penguins. In this penguins lesson, students participate in a penguin scavenger hunt and take notes on the information they encounter. Students prepare reports about their findings and share them with...

Expand on eager bookworms' independent reading by engaging them to define various genres of literature. Readers collaborate and use technology to find what goes into their assigned or previously read genres. Time is given for independent...

Three lessons and five assessments are contained in this material. Various paper shapes are sorted as a simulation of biological classification. Learners gather a list of living things that they are familiar with and design a...

Using the online catalog, researchers locate and record on a citation template specific sources for their research paper. A library specialist models searching strategies while the teacher introduces the research paper process. Daily...

Help your learners get a good grasp on grammar. An insightful pre-test allows teachers to learn about their young writers' knowledge of the building blocks of grammar, so they can begin building a unit of study. It includes a...

Way before the digital age radio was the medium of popular culture. After listening to excerpts from radio programs (easily available on the Internet), participants return to the radio age by creating a two-minute sketch based on a...

Read about the tumultuous beginning to the United States with an informational text passage about Colonial America. As young researchers peruse an article about the arrival of the Mayflower, the settlers' relationship to the neighboring...

Transform your class' understanding of genes and antibiotic resistance with the Transformation Lab. Junior geneticists create and observe their own resistant strains of E. coli through research, discussion, and experimentation. The...

How do TV shows present criminology—is it realistic? High schoolers research crime dramas and participate in class discussion about topics such as who exists as the target audience and the values the shows communicate. They also research...

The right to vote was hard-won after decades of organizing by women and their allies. Using a series of video clips featuring women's historians, class members consider the efforts behind the Nineteenth Amendment. Possible extension...

What role has food played in the rise and changing nature of civilizations? Here you'll find a fantastic set of lessons and materials on such topics as where food is grown in the United States, the food of ancient peoples,...

A scripted lesson can be a big help for new teachers. This fully scripted three-day learning activity provides teachers with the means to demonstrate how to compare and contrast two topics in two texts. Learners will work as a class to...

Learners research the adaptations of desert animals and build their research skills. In this the adaptations of desert animals lesson, learners describe major factors that desert animals have on their habitat. Learners explore...

Food insecurity, whether as a result of food scarcity or a lack of nutritious food, is a growing and serious problem in the world today. After discussing the concept of food insecurity, learners listen to an NPR radio broadcast on the...

Give your class a magnetic charge with this creative experiment designed to teach emerging scientists about electromagnetism. Pupils construct a model that demonstrates the function of an electrical generator and test this creation in a...

Prior knowledge is key when starting any novel unit, but it's essential before introducing Uncle Tom's Cabin by Harriet Beecher Stowe. Three lessons provide primary documents, historical discussions, and extended reading activities...

Generate some knowledge about generating electricity. Pupils first read several articles to learn about solar energy, its advantages and disadvantages, and advancements in technology related to solar cells. They then have a class...

Gain a deeper understanding of migratory pollinators. After studying about pollinators and their effects on flowering plants, learners hear a story about the migration of Monarch butterflies and bats in the Sonoma Desert. Small groups...

Should countries use their militaries to stop humanitarian crises in other countries? Learners make claims, organize their reasoning, and provide evidence for their arguments with this rich resource.