Students discover the role of technology in 20th century conflicts. For this technological advancement lesson, students research how World War I, World War II, Vietnam, and the War in Iraq were fought. Students compose essays that...

Students imagine what it was like to be part of the Lewis and Clark expedition. In this Lewis and Clark Expedition lesson, students watch "East Meets West: Americans on the Move," and then write journal entries from the...

Third graders understand the economics of choices in buying. In this goods and services lesson, 3rd graders participate in activities to make choices about purchases. Students write stories, answer questions, and complete worksheets to...

Fifth graders discover how reconstruction had an impact on racial issues in the United States. In this Reconstruction lesson, 5th graders are introduced to primary vs. secondary resources and then rotate through stations to view...

Third graders investigate different counties in South Carolina. In this geography lesson, 3rd graders are assigned a county in South Carolina to research and identify important facts about the county. Students create a PowerPoint...

Young scholars explore the Sistine Chapel. In this European history lesson, students watch "Sistine Chapel Frescoes: Scenes from Genesis." Young scholars then discuss the Vatican and the role of the Pope. Students then visit a website to...

Learners enjoy investigating and becoming aware of the habitats around them. They record their observations in scientific journals. Data collection can take the form of a simple drawing or taking digital photos or videos in the habitats...

Explore websites, complete research, and use technological tools to create a final multimedia presentation on what makes a community special. Learners of all ages work with a partner to research an interesting aspect of their community,...

What are the musical elements that characterize a school's fight song or its alma mater? Class members listen to examples of fight songs and alma maters from various schools, play a listening game, and then create a list of the...

Class members become reporters, photographers, and movie producers to interview each other as they become "Famous First Graders." Learners work as a team to interview the famous person and then produce a short movie. They create...

Students examine how story telling using literary elements found in fairy tale genre is one way to read and retell, discuss and analyze, as well as write and produce their own fairy tales.

Students use a scene from a book and make it come alive in movie clips.

Why did Henry Ford want to invent a car for the masses? Why did Henry Ford locate his factory in Detroit? Why did Henry Ford encourage the idea of a 5-day work week? Young innovators find the answers to these and other question in a unit...

Drafting, revising, and editing is all apart of the publishing process. Using a series of documents as inspiration, young journalists compose a class Newspaper. They work independently and in groups to publish their own articles.

Demonstrate how to cite information from Internet sources without plagiarizing. If your class is working on an Internet research paper, and you have observed learners cutting and pasting directly from the Internet, the activities and...

Note-taking is an essential study skill, and it needs to be taught! In the context of a research project on energy sources, learners find multiple sources, evaluating, paraphrasing, and citing them correctly. Two lists with note-taking...

Picture this. Class members follow in the footsteps of W. Eugene Smith, Dorothea Lange, James Nachtwey, and Lewis Hine by creating their own photo essay about a local event or issue.

Is, as Walt Whitman contends, America’s “almost maniacal appetite for wealth,” the heart of the American dream? Class members grapple with this question as they read David Brooks’ article “The Commercial Republic,” and quotes that...

What important facts about Dr. Seuss influenced the Read Across America movement...? This is the driving question of a research project that requires scholars to find information about Dr. Seuss' life and work. Class...

View Keith Haring artwork in the book Love. Create original artworks in the style of Keith Haring by choosing 2-4 colors to portray their illustrations. Finally, write sentences describing the artwork. These activities could be...

Take advantage of Banned Book Week to pique students' interest and get them reading! Create a classroom display of previously banned books and allow each member of your class to choose one to read. After they have read their book, get...

Students write a biographical poem about themselves. They observe a teacher-led demonstration, write an autobiographical poem and a biographical poem about a famous person using a template form, and display the poems side-by-side.

Here’s a fresh approach to establishing classroom rules at the beginning of the school year. Class groups brainstorm what they know about rules for baseball, basketball, and football. They then consider how the games would differ without...

Wait, what am I supposed to affix? Explore the concept of roots/affixes with your class. They use discussion questions to discover the meaning and usage of specific roots and affixes. They watch a video explaining Latin and Greek roots...