Your parents were both in different countries. You were born in the US. Documents and application forms ask you to identify your racial or ethnic classification. Which box do you check? Class members collect documents...

Students are be able to analyze primary sources (photographs and speeches) and write a definition of American Democracy. They are shown a photograph of Martin Luther King Jr. by Ben Fernandez, students are asked what is happening in the...

"Equal pay for equal work!" may sound logical but it is not the reality. High schoolers begin a study of the gender wage gap with an activity that asks them to position themselves along a line that indicates whether they strongly agree...

Should Americans provide compensation to those whose ancestors suffered from slavery? Read and analyze the arguments of two modern-day journalists on the topic. Then, have a discussion on both the merits of the arguments as well as what...

Build scholars' ability to understand their own values and learn about World War II at the same time. Scholars write poetry and discuss identity and place in depth with an in-depth social studies resource. 

Help bring subconscious stereotypes to the surface to stop it in its tracks. Pupils first read an excerpt describing the experience of prejudice and analyze how this process connects to World War II. Then, they write a creative story...

Students define genre in the visual arts, particularly in Western painting and explain the differences between subject and genre. The genre of a variety of works of art is identified.

Differentiate between the various genres in the visual arts world, particularly in Western painting. Your class can view and discuss, in small groups, paintings published on the National Galleries website. Then each student individually...

Pair the famous poems "I Hear America Singing," by Walt Whitman, and "I, Too, Sing America," by Langston Hughes, with a more recent poem by Elizabeth Alexander called "Praise Song for the Day" to demonstrate a theme and introduce your...

Should net neutrality be restored? Scholars prepare for a class debate on the topic using the included website. After reading a brief introduction to the issue, they review the main pros and cons in an attempt to arrive at an informed...

Students examine the use of women as slaves by the Japanese military during World War II. Using the internet, they research the purpose of Korean comfort women and identify how the women have dealt with the exploitation. They share...

High schoolers learn vocabulary associated with the Swing Era. They also listen to music from the time period.

Young scholars are given the identify of a newly freed slave at the end of the Civil War. Students participate in a discussion to explore some of the difficulties and decision making freed slaves had to consider. Young scholars present...

High schoolers read the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, define asylum and identify when people have the right to asylum. They examine specific cases of asylum in recent times and consider some of the difficulties refugees face.

In groups, learners read a case study of a couple who produced a child with hemophilia. Although tthe reading breifly mentions how a hemophiliac child is produced, the focus of this instructional activity is the ethical implications....

Discover how important Martin Luther King Jr. is to our society. In this civil rights lesson, investigate how Dr. King was an advocate for nonviolence and how he fought for civil rights for all Americans. Read and analyze Dr. King's "I...

Students discuss idea of social status, examine antebellum social reform movements, and compare and contrast experiences of activists who sought to improve workers' lives, end slavery, reform immigration laws, and establish voting rights...

Students explore Latinos and the Fourteenth Amendment. In this government and law lesson, students analyze the ruling in Hernandez v. Texas. Students predict how the United States would be different if the court had made an alternated...

Students explore the concepts of intolerance and racism in the autobiography Kaffir Boy written by Mark Mathabane. The lesson reveals the story's depiction of the terrible toll of apartheid on the lives of individuals.

High schoolers decide what it means to be an American. For this historical perspectives lesson, students read Crevecoeur's "Letter from an American Farmer," and interviews with everyday Americans from the Works Progress Administration....

Students choose a folktale character to research using electronic encyclopedia, software, the Internet, media center and printed material. They focus their research around specific criteria to force the students to be selective and...

Sixth graders explore the concepts of laws and customs in a community, examining the reasoning behind rules. Then then collaborate to write their own classroom code of conduct.

Students examine affirmative action and study the diversity of their own classrooms and communities, then of a particular college or university. They write essays examining how colleges should increase the diversity of their student bodies.

First graders define a ballet as a story told through dance. They listen to melodies and demonstrate beat and accent through body movement. They watch the ballet.