Sir Peter Blake was an award-winning New Zealand yachtsman who was killed by pirates in 2001. Scholars learn about his leadership qualities in a fun lesson that combines games, writing, and discussion. Pupils also reflect on ideas of...

Current immigration issues and the rhetoric surrounding the controversies come into focus with a lesson that uses Richard Blanco's anthem, "The U.S. of Us," written after the August 2019 attack in El Paso, Texas, to open a discussion of...

Young scholars read and analyze the poem, "Psalm of Life," by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow. They create a Footsteps Quilt, developing quilt squares to represent each goal and gift they would leave as a gift to humanity.

Develop critical thinkers and awareness of the media's techniques. Impressionable minds analyze advertisements they see all around them in this potentially 3-week long unit of five complete lesson plans. Extended discussions, outside...

Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s speech, "I Have a Dream," is one of the most famous in United States history, but why was it so effective? Ask your class to determine the answer to this question. While the resource includes a description of...

It is entirely fitting and proper that Wilfred Owen’s powerful “Dulce et Decorum Est” is the poem used for an exercise in close reading, discussion, analysis, and argumentative writing. Class members discuss focus questions in pairs,...

Teach your class the perspective Native Americans had on Christopher Columbus. They will examine the effects of Christopher Columbus' exploration on the Native Americans using a reading theater and a carousel brainstorming activity. They...

With Mount Everest as the motivator, your earth science class learns about topographic maps. Begin by showing a film clip from The Wildest Dream: Conquest of Everest, featuring fearsome virtual imagery of a path up world's tallest...

What's special about your neighborhood? Build one with your class to find out. Individuals create their dream homes that, when completed, will be placed together around a green space in order to create a neighborhood. Learners also...

Make the irrational rational again! Continuing the theme from previous lessons in the series, the instructional activity relates the polynomial identity difference of squares to conjugates. Learners develop the idea of a conjugate...

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...

Much has been made of the differences between Martin Luther King, Jr. and Malcolm X. But was there any common ground between them? Class members reconsider what they think they know about these two civil rights leaders with...

Young historians conclude their study of the events that lead up to and the planning for the March on Washington. After examining videos and primary source documents, they consider the civil rights objectives that still need to be...

Capillary action is the frugal chemist's dream ... the less liquid used, the more tests they can run! Learners experiment with the best design to maximize the benefits of capillary action. Using a liquid sample, they design a capillary...

Have you ever been so tired you missed a major announcement? Eric Wieschaus woke to a call explaining he won the Nobel Prize, but he thought it was just a dream until Christiane Nusslein-Volhard, a co-winner, explained it to him later...

Tenth graders explore Shakespearean comedy. They read and discuss A Midsummer Night's Dream and create a soundtrack, complete with CD cover, for the play.

Learners examine primary sources in order to draw conclusions about the influence of Greek classical art and philosophy on the French Revolution. They compare the goals of the French Revolution to those of Neoclassical artists.

Students examine reasons for immigration to America, including economic, political, and religious considerations, and conduct research to determine immigration history of students' families and compare reasons other groups have come to...

Students look at how Greek classical art and philosophy influenced the French Revolution. In this French Revolution instructional activity, students use primary sources, Neoclassical art, to look at how they show what society was like...

Students identify, analyze and explain examples of politcal satire. They discuss the role of political satire in the democratic process and create and present examples of political satire.

Students explore characterization. In this characterization lesson, students give analytical responses to questions and determine a character's beliefs. Students use the school mission statement to develop two beliefs that the statement...

Students collect car cost comparison data from the "Car Wizard" web site to use as problem solving and for calculations related to math.

In this literature worksheet, students find the words that are related to the vocabulary of Shakespeare and the answers are found at the bottom of the page.

Take poetry off the page and put it into terms of movement, physical space and, finally, music with this series of three lessons from the Smithsonian Institution. This resource introduces students to two poetic forms that originated as...