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...

Have your ESL learners practice their written and oral English grammar skills, with this highly engaging ESL Lesson. Budding grammarians mingle across the room discovering what they each know about the Royal Wedding between Kate and...

Using primary source materials including radio broadcasts, films, and interview transcripts, history students gain a better understanding of the Dust Bowl, relief efforts for farmers, and the nation's agricultural past. It includes...

Looking for a Halloween-themed vocabulary lesson? Study words in context using Zoe Hall's story It's Pumpkin Time, an excellent informational text for budding readers. The spooky suggested words are: buds, gather, hollow,...

From helping refugees to negotiating peace treaties, the peacekeepers of the world keep busy! Introduce young activists to the many individuals and organizations throughout the world that work daily toward peace. 14th in a series of 15...

Tweet all about it! Junior journalists explore the Twittersphere to determine its effectiveness as a news broadcasting tool in the 12th installment of the 16-part Social Media Toolbox. Participants follow and record their observations of...

Ken Burn's epic documentary miniseries The Civil War, broadcast in 1990, was the most-watched PBS program ever. A question sheet helps viewers keep track of events in the first episode of the documentary.

How do you teach the Civil War and all its intricacies within the time limits of an average school day? Using a three-part plan, teachers easily integrate coverage of key Civil War battles into the unit. The activity includes activities...

After listening to President Franklin D. Roosevelt's "Day of Infamy" speech, young historians research information about the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, possible motives for the attack, and the consequences of the attack. Scholars...

Pitch your best news story to your news team, or the peers in your journalism class, with a lesson about finding, reporting, and presenting a story. After watching clips of different examples, as well as strategies for finding...

Is there a difference in the way organizations present news via social media and in print? The third in a series of 16 lessons from The Social Media Toolbox explores news outlets and their delivery methods. Groups follow a story for a...

What does it take to create news stories that are both informative and objective? Aspiring journalists walk the line between engagement and activism with lesson 15 of a 16-part series titled The Social Media Toolbox. Grouped pupils...

Many of the issues facing 21st Century learners are challenging and even discussing these issues can be a challenge. So how do teachers prepare learners for these difficult conversations? How do instructors create a safe classroom where...

As part of their continued investigation of the reporting of the shooting of Michael Brown class members analyze photos of Michael Brown and the social media response to these images. The class then develops a guide they...

"Congress shall make no law . . . abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press;. . ." Why is this guarantee of free speech and a free press the First Amendment to the US Constitution? Why are these rights so essential to a...

How can social media help or hinder civil dialogue? How can information shared on social media be verified? As the investigation of media reports of the events surrounding the shooting of Michael Brown continues, class members read...

One picture but a thousand stories. As a part of a case study of how the death of Michael Brown was reported by professional news sources and on social media class members examine the reactions of various groups to a photograph taken by...

To conclude their case study of media coverage of the shooting of Michael Brown by a Ferguson, Missouri, police officer, class members consider the role of citizen watchdogs in a democratic society, develop strategies for combating...

The attempts of journalists to verify the events surrounding the shooting of Michael Brown take center stage as individuals analyze three of the initial newspaper accounts of the story. The whole class discussion then focuses...

With so many news resources, scholars likely feel incredibly confused about what the news means.  Pupils participate in reading activities, fill out graphic charts, answer questions on worksheets, and complete a quick write activity.

Young scholars explore the New Deal and President FDR. In this Great Depression instructional activity, students listen to an FDR Broadcast (Fireside Chat) and read sections in their textbooks. Then, in small groups young scholars design...

Sixth graders read Under the Blood Red Sun (UBRS), V is for Victory (V), and Number the Stars(NS). They examine WWII through the eyes of Japanese, Danish, and American students and complete at least two projects: a radio broadcast and a...

Middle schoolers explore the excavations of the Palace of Knossos on the Island of Crete. They create a simulated news broadcasting on the work of Sir Arthur Evans and his colleges. In their news investigation, learners cover such topics...

Young scholars identify cooking sounds and share opinions about their associations. After reading an article, they discover the growth of radio cooking shows. They prepare an outline and script for a cooking program and present their...