A thorough lesson on persuasive writing takes middle schoolers through several activities, including group discussion, collaborative posters, and independent writing. They compare historical speeches and analyze the persuasive techniques...

Learners work in collaborative groups to research an amendment of the Bill of Rights. They then design and present a skit that demonstrates and communicates the core values and concepts of the amendment to the class.

Have you ever noticed a news story revolves around an essential question? Scholars research methods of reporting historical events. Working in groups, they use an interactive module to gather information on a historical topic, uncovering...

This learning experience fosters awareness of representations we see, and don't see, in the media. Learners list TV programs, games, and films they enjoy, identify characters' ethnic, religious, (dis)ability, and sexual orientation...

How can opinions slant facts? Workshop participants learn how to examine primary and secondary sources and identify the author's point of view. They also examine how visual art impacts the meaning and rhetoric of sources. Full of...

The Galapagos Islands inspired Darwin to develop his theory of evolution. These wonderful islands will also be the topic of a lesson on habitat and conservation. In small groups, learners will collect and synthesize information regarding...

The Women's Rights movement is the focus of an engaging and collaborative exercise, in which young historians use information found in textbooks, class notes, and the provided documents to craft a DBQ essay.

Using a Chinese-English phrase book from the late 19th century, learners view a glimpse of life on the frontier for a Chinese immigrant. They work in groups and on their own to analyze and summarize the content of various phrases, given...

This 3-day immigration study draws on historical trends and current events. A worksheet accompanies initial research on one group's U.S. immigration history, giving opportunity for collaborative learning through sharing findings. Groups...

Over the course of the lesson plan, your pupils read and analyze a translated eight-line poem from the Tang Dynasty written by Du Fu, a poet caught behind enemy lines during the An Lu-Shan rebellion (755-763). Literary/historical context...

Work together as a class and get to know the ins and outs of World War II with this engaging collaborative project. Class members are broken into groups to research particular war topics, from life on the home front to the Holocaust and...

Test your pupils' reasoning skills with several activities and a quick mystery to solve. Learners watch and analyze a few video clips that demonstrate reasoning in action, practice deduction with an interactive and collaborative...

After completing an online activity about the Mayflower, scholars draw a picture about what they know of the Thanksgiving holiday, including a one-sentence summary. A reading of If You Were at the First Thanksgiving by Anne Kamma is...

Students explore the concept of biomimicry. In this cooperative design lesson, students consider how cooperation is connected to nature and then collaborate to create their own cooperative designs for the future.

High schoolers examine how to ask geographic questions. They read an article with details omitted, list possible geographic questions, and write a summary of the article.

Students analyze political cartoons representing the role of the U.S. in the Post-World War One Era. They work in groups and analyze cartoons for their stereotypes, symbols, and caricatures. After analyzing them, they complete a...

Students discuss how to work together to solve community problems. In this community problems lesson plan, students discuss how their home, school, and community could benefit from group work and philanthropy. They read different...

Understanding the soldier's experiences during World War I sometimes takes a newscast. Learners see the importance of understanding multiple points of view with a newscast project surrounding the Meuse-Argonne Offensive. Compare and...

Young scholars research legal terminology used in the Supreme Court. In this legal terminology lesson, students study a quote from President Obama about the Supreme Court. Young scholars make a list of facts about the Supreme Court and...

Students listen to a lecture about the tradition of story telling and oral history. They research three examples of African American and/or Negro Leagues oral tradition. they work in groups of four, and decide on one example from their...

Students read and discuss the Enemy Alien Evacuation Order. They perform research by reading newspaper articles from February 1942 as well as investigating available information on the Internet. Students work in groups to create a...

First graders learn the "Quilt Song." They brainstorm items they could draw that would remind them of the person in the song. Students work in groups to complete a "Person Outline" page (included with the lesson). They draw one part of...

Students consider the development of dance across cultures. For this dance genre lesson, students study the history of Russia and the Mongol Tatars. Students research how classical ballet made its way to Russia and create collaborative...

Students explore mountain formation. In this cross curriculum earth science and legend writing lesson, students listen to the poem "The Way to make Perfect Mountains" by Byrd Baylor and identify examples of vivid language used. Students...