Bottom side up! Scholars complete an Inverted Pyramid handout to gain a better idea of how journalists organize information. They then look at the organization of a model newspaper article and gain ideas about creating their own...

It is all in the details. Scholars read The Life of Miné Okubo and pay special attention to details that reveal Okubo's character. Completing their Understanding Miné: Character Traits graphic organizers and recalling the descriptions...

Jane Hirshfield's poem "My Skeleton" asks readers to pause and think about the amazing, often taken-for-granted structure that protects and gives form to human bodies. After observing the human skeleton's image, class members read the...

What's the difference between a diary and a memoir? Young historians explore the ramifications of this question as they learn how to use primary source materials to gain an understanding of life on the Texas frontier.

This is the way we go to school. Scholars take a look at two poems about different ways to get to school, TyrannosaurBus Rex and Point A to Point B. Pupils work in triads to analyze the poem images and determine the theme. 

After several short 15-minute mini-lessons, your learners will gain an understanding of the characteristics of a non-fiction text. Using the book Map It by Elspeth Leacock, your class will become acquainted with non-fiction terms...

Provide background information regarding the use of stone tools from the paleoindian through the late prehistoric periods. Learners can read this informational passage to gain insight on how and why we study these amazing artifacts from...

What exactly does an engineer do? Learners find out through a lesson that asks them to solve a problem that affects a target population. Aspiring engineers learn the steps of the engineering design process as they apply it...

Can social media bring activists together? Learners gain experience in using online media tools to raise awareness during a hands-on activity from a digital citizenship library. Once they identify a cause, groups create a unified message...

To gain an understanding of the importance of professional references, class members engage in two projects. First, individuals examine an online review site (Yelp, for example), paying particular attention to the positive and negative...

Young readers describe objects by using describing words. After reviewing the five senses, they use their senses to gain information about an object. Then as homework, they write three descriptive words about a mystery object and place...

Students investigate the Transit of Venus and create and produce a public service commercial promoting the Transit of Venus and providing information about its safe viewing.

Students gain an appreciation for geologic and historic time. They gain a general amount of information of the development of hte Chicago area, with particular attention given to the role of the Chicago River. Students contruct a time...

Students (with a partner) draw and describe a leaf in its natural setting, and then re-find leaves drawn and described by classmates. The point is to have them start to think about observations in science, what to put in a field...

Twelfth graders gain insight and perspective as to how and why the Holocaust occured. They explain why the specific groups were targeted, and complete a brief paragraph about what it would have been like to live during this era.

Students gain an understanding that certain materials are attracted to magnets and some are not.

Students build a Bermuda coral reef to gain a better understanding of this ecosystem.

Students participate in an election. They are asked to vote for one of four candidates without knowing who they are or what they stand for. Students gain an important lesson when voting to make sure that security of freedom and...

Learners visualize census data on a map and use a map key to read a population map. In this census instructional activity, students use a map of the Virgin Islands and corresponding worksheets to gain an understanding of population...

Students examine primary sources to gain historical perspectives. In this historical analysis lesson, students analyze documents that their instructors have adapted to make more user-friendly. Example adapted primary documents are included.

Students explore the lives of migrant workers during the Great Depression. In this Great Depression instructional activity, students examine photographs and song lyrics to gain an understanding of the conditions for people living in the...

What's missing from most studies of the American Revolutionary War is information about the role African Americans played in the conflict. To correct this oversight, middle schoolers research groups like the Black Loyalists and ...

The Empress Myeongseong is the focus of a lesson that asks class members to examine a historical record and a first-hand account of one of Korea's most intrepid and controversial women.

How are Pandyas different than Chispas? Explore cultural norms and societal behaviors with an engaging role-play activity. Split into groups of two hypothetical cultural groups, the formal Pandyas and the sociable Chispas, and another...