Has life changed for American women in the last century, or are there common themes between the lives of 21st century women and the struggle of suffragettes from the 1910s? Explore the ways media reflects the position of women...

Amelia Earhart's accomplishments and strength of character extend beyond her status as one of the first female aviators in America. Elementary and middle schoolers learn about Earhart's early life and the historical context surrounding...

Throughout history, newspapers have reported the events of the day as they unfolded. Using primary and secondary sources from World War I, scholars uncover how the American people learned of the events of the War to End All Wars. History...

Begin your next class with a BANG! Pupils discuss the formation of our universe and its expansion before proceeding with an activity designed to demonstrate what most likely occurred billions of years ago. They conclude with a discussion...

How have advances in technology and communication changed our world? That is the questions that world history students contemplate as they examine a series of primary and secondary source materials 

Harper Lee's To Kill a Mockingbird, considered by many to be a seminal piece of American literature, contains many complex literary themes that carry through United States history. Use a series of discussion questions and classroom...

Students explain how to critically compare news reporting from around the world, focusing on coverage of the Taliban regime. They compare and contrast television and print media reporting on the issue.

Students, in committees, develop and propose solutions to rebuild various elements of Colombia's infrastructure in the wake of the January 25, 1999 earthquake, as well as compare and contrast the earthquake's affects on Colombia to an...

Eleventh graders explore ethnic divisions in the West African nation of Ivory Coast and research instances of ethnic cleansing in nations throughout history. They create global history textbook entries that explore, compare and contrast...

Young scholars examine the content of popular energy drinks by conducting research about stimulants and sweeteners. They create posters outlining how these compounds affect consumers. They compare and contrast energy drinks with soft...

Students participate in a simulation and compare and contrast the arguments for and against womens' right to vote. In this civil rights lesson, students simulate disenfranchisement of women by allowing only half of the class to vote on a...

Students examine various New York Times readers' reflections on the life and death of President John F. Kennedy, by reading and discussing "Readers Reflect on President John F. Kennedy." Students then write their own personal...

Students define and classify all the different ways in which numbers are used in forecasting and coping with the effects of a hurricane. They conduct research to compare and contrast these numbers as they apply to Hurricane Floyd and

Fifth graders compare and contrast two early colonies and make a T chart. They list examples of worked well and what did not, and significant historical events. They use higher order thinking skills by deducing how different scenarios...

Students examine tension in Slovakia over issue of the rights of Romas (Gypsies). They compare and contrast situation in Slovakia to other historical examples researched in class.

Students compare and contrast similarities and differences between Canada and the US.  In this geography lesson, students read various articles and identify similarities and differences in economies, cultures, geography, climate,...

What do families around the world have in common? Explore this theme through the popular animated film My Neighbor Totoro by Hayao Miyazaki. Over the course of two days, pupils view the film, pausing to discuss their own families and the...

Anecdotes, analogies, testimonies, statistics. The most powerful arguments rely on multiple types of evidence. Scholars explore the topic as they read contrasting evidence about the benefits of video games. They complete Venn diagrams to...

Eleventh graders discover how the Electoral College works. In this presidential elections lesson, 11th graders compare and contrast the Electoral College and popular vote as they participate in a classroom simulation. Students also...

If you knew that you were likely to develop Alzheimer's disease in your future, how would it affect your life in the meantime? This and other similar thought-provoking questions are discussed in a lesson plan about the availability of...

Wind turbines, daylight savings time, noise pollution, social problems. To develop close reading skills, high schoolers examine pairs of articles presenting opposing viewpoints of the same topics and respond to questions that...

Is the circus a form of theater? Read "A City of Clowns? What Else Is New?" to sway your class that a circus, is indeed, a theatrical performance. Critical thinkers compare/contrast various forms of theater and identify what makes the...

Big news isn't necessarily newsworthy everywhere! How do journalists decide what to cover with so much happening around them? A instructional activity on media literacy examines the factors that affect the media's choice of stories to...

Students consider gender roles and religion. In this gender equality lesson, students compare and contrast the idea of patriarchal and matriarchal religious practices and how they impacted society. Students will pose questions and...