Class members choose a current social, political, environmental, or economic problem presented in Tyson Miller's Dream of a Nation: Inspiring Ideas for a Better America, research this problem and a variety of suggested solutions, before...

Did you know that the United States Constitution was adopted after many state constitutions were already in place? Young scholars examine facts about the influence of states through an informative and interesting resource. Groups then...

Consider the possibility of a new U.S. draft with this lesson, which encourages class debate and persuasive arguments. Middle and high schoolers discuss how such a draft might be enacted and how they would feel about it. They write...

Help young writers with the daunting prospect of a five-paragraph essay. Using William Golding's Lord of the Flies, learners work through a short process to shore up their brainstorming and prepare to write a longer essay.

Scholars analyze the role of women in the military in United States history. Using group research, debate, and diary entries, they explore various military activity in America. To complete the lesson, young historians write an essay...

An excellent, in-depth resource would be an asset to your unit on writing an argument essay. It provides an explanation to each part of the essay as well as examples of transition words to strengthen your kids' writing. Additionally, the...

Children have rights! Exploring those rights and using media to express those rights is the focus of this Media Awareness Network lesson. Although some of the law links reflect the Canadian Articles of The Convention, the majority of the...

Fourth graders present research on war. In this debate lesson, 4th graders create a power point presentation debating for or against the American Revolution. Students share their presentations with the class.

Class members adopt the persona of real figures in American history, Patriots and Loyalists, research these individuals to determine their stance, and then debate the question of whether or not to declare independence from...

Milk: It does a body good ... or does it? Using the provided website, scholars sort through information to answer the question. They review a chart demonstrating lactose intolerance by ethnicity and region, and they also compare the...

The class explores and debates, from multiple perspectives, a petition to allow Hopi Indians to take golden eagle hatchlings from a federal wildlife sanctuary for use in a religious ceremony. Pupils defend their personal views on the...

What a fantastic resource to guide youngsters in persuasive letter writing. They read a brief letter to the editor and answer question about the author's purpose, word choice, and structure. Next, scholars draft their own letter by...

Should the president of the United States be voted by the Electoral College or the popular vote? Your young historians will consider the pros and cons of the Electoral College, and make an argument using reasons and evidence...

Sometimes explaining an argument can lead to confusion and miscommunication. Narrow down the details in written arguments with a group activity in which learners pretend to be aliens from another planet, struggling to understand each...

In this formal argument worksheet, students learn debate skills by writing a formal argument to the given prompt. Students must be able to state their position, provide points that support their decision, and support each point with...

Learners write about working in one branch of government.  In this branches of government lesson, students read about the three levels of government using various websites and then work in groups to discuss, illustrate and write...

Young scholars research the controversy of whether or not the National Do Not Call Registry is constitutional, and then hold a class debate. Students research the National Do Not Call Registry, the FTC, the FCC, and the most current...

Students identify controversial topics on which they have strong opinions and model their own persuasive opinion pieces after the featured article. They compose persuasive essays on controversial issues that "hit home" for them.

Students explore and engage in the art of debate. When both sides have been presented each pair have a few minutes to prepare a rebuttal based upon what the opposing side has said. A rubric imbedded in this plan is used as an assessment...

Here's a fun way to incorporate technology into your curriculum. E-mail each of your class members a picture and 10 questions about the photo. Individuals then imagine the story behind the image and e-mail back their responses. Although...

How can you foster a thoughtful learning community for your class? First, the class brainstorms a list of behaviors that will help make the classroom a great place to learn. Then learners group similar ideas together and come up with...

Eighth graders assess the strengths and weaknessess of the Articles of Confederation as related to the United States and North Carolina. They demonstrate an argument for or against ratification of the United States Constitution.

Seventh graders explore persuasive writing using the city life and the country life as focus topics. In this persuasion instructional activity, 7th graders read "The Town Mouse and the Country Mouse" in an attempt to determine the pros...

This site provides a guideline for writing a comparative essay for the AP World History Test. It also provides practice exercises and samples.