Standing up for beliefs sometimes leads to trouble! The father in Flush takes knows this all too well when he sinks a boat in protest to its illegal dumping. With his dad behind bars, the son, Noah, takes matters into his hands by...

When life gives you lemons, make lemonade. Scholars read Johnny Tremain to see how Johnny's terrible accident helped him become a part of history. Learners write two poems, analyze characters by matching descriptions, and create...

"Make new friends but keep the old" is a wise saying. However, True Son, a main character in The Light in the Forest, struggles doing just that. Once living among the white people, he was taken into an Indian tribe for several years....

Most think Elijah in Elijah of Buxton by Christopher Paul Curtis gets famous for being the first African American child born free from slavery. However, his true fame comes from his adventures to capture a thief. Readers study...

Julilly dreams of freedom after being taken from her mother by a slave trader. Will she ever be free again? A resource focuses on the first chapter of Barbara Smucker's book Underground to Canada, and includes 10 vocabulary...

Adolescents have the opportunity to consider how they feel about the possibilities presented by the current availability of genetic sequencing. After some instruction, they participate in a four-corners activity in which you read a...

Should school and professional teams test athletes for sickle cell trait? Will it protect them by providing knowledge or lead to discrimination by not allowing them to participate in sports? After learning about this genetic disorder,...

Introduce young mathematicians to the process of dividing fractions with a hands-on math lesson. Using the help of fraction strips and other visual models, children work through a series of example problems as they...

From z-scores to probability. Learners put together the concepts from the previous lessons to determine the probability of a given range of outcomes. They make predictions and interpret them in the context of the problem.

class members first work through finding the equation, table of values, graph, and key features of a linear function expressed verbally. Individuals then work through several more problems given different representations.

Don't allow your pupils to become outliers! As learners examine normal distributions by calculating z-scores, they compare outcomes by analyzing the z-scores for each. 

The key is ... After a day of instruction on key features of graphs, groups create a poster and presentation on the key features of their given function graph. The resource provides an extension activity of "telephone" using...

Time for a shift in thinking! Learners examine translations of linear functions. They use function notation to describe the translation and make connections to the graph.

Create tables of solutions of linear equations. A lesson has pupils determine solutions for two-variable equations using tables. The class members graph the points on a coordinate graph. 

How do you convert from one measurement to another? Pupils use unit rates to convert measurements from one unit to another in the 21st segment in a 29-part series. They convert within the same system to solve length, capacity,...

High school writers identify the purpose of both a topic sentence and a transitional statement. They write a topic sentence which denotes the paragraph topic and the author's stand on that topic. Then they write an effective transitional...

High schoolers learn about China's One Child Policy. They read an article about a specific family's experience under the policy (not included) and research and explain the key points of the policy. They assess the pros and cons in a...

Scholars become travel guides in this group research project to investigate a Chinese city or region for a presentation. Heavily based on Internet research, the activity requires participants to jigsaw the final project, so each team...

Use this roaring 1920s history lesson plan to have young writers research primary and secondary sources. They use their research to examine the events or famous public figures of the time period. Next, they imagine they're in the 1920s...

Remember reading "The Lottery" and "The Possibility of Evil" by Shirley Jackson? Learners can experience and analyze the tension, themes, and human experience found in these pieces through reading and class discussion. They use...

Learners read several magazine articles on the same topic written from different political perspectives, paying particular attention to the diction, syntax, and arguments presented in support the point of view expressed. They then select...

What is advertising? What role does it plan in an election? Middle and high schoolers discuss advertising and its purpose by sifting through different magazines and discussing the products they find. Then they relate advertisements to...

Develop the writing skills of your high school class. Writers consider their personal style and voice, read selections by other authors, and then write pieces that challenge them to experiment with their own style.

A great idea for showing language arts pupils the universality of themes, even in the real world! Have class members choose an idea-noun (peace, justice, war, love, etc.) at the beginning of the year or semester. They complete weekly...