Investigate articles from the daily news and share opinions with classmates. Using current events, learners view a news program without sound and predict what news is being discussed by analyzing the visuals. Then they read news articles...

Bring Internet research and social issues to your language arts class in this activity. After investigating the topic "Media Violence and How It Affects Teenagers" on the Internet, middle schoolers work in groups to compile their...

What a great way to have your class learn about the lives of children in Victorian England. Learners sharpen their research skills as they study the history of children who worked in England. They choose extension projects to complete.

Develop a world-wide, email chain on which class members can showcase their acts of kindness. After defining the meaning of random acts of kindness through discussion and through a reading of Random Acts of Kindness,...

Young scholars explore communication by participating in a role playing lesson. In this media analysis lesson, students answer surveys about their own television watching habits and compare them to the rest of the class. Young scholars...

A cross-curricular instructional activity for middle schoolers that covers language arts, social studies, geography, and math, this is a great extension activity if your class is reading The Diary of Anne Frank or learning...

Have your class join a blog about whether or not eating meat is good for you. They'll read several passages regarding meat processing and consumption, then they post what they think. There are six critical-thinking prompts to help them...

Today's blog topic is robotic limb replacement for amputees. Upper graders read the related article and argument, then compose a blog response that addresses the questions provided. This is a great way to get kids thinking about ethics,...

Good writing can come from personal places. Budding online authors read an excerpt from a narrative-style newspaper article and then respond to several related writing prompts. They compose blog responses that use vivid imagery to...

Take a look at tobacco advertising techniques through the decades. Students analyze the differences in strategies, and write an essay on the advertising history of one brand of tobacco, how tobacco advertising has changed over time, or...

Your class is getting ready for its first big research project. While they know how to use the Internet, do they know how to find academic information? Do they know how to find credible sources? Give them this packet and bring them to...

Celebrate St. Patrick's Day with a couple of fun English language exercises. After first activating students' prior knowledge about Ireland and Irish culture during a class discussion, learners work in pairs or small groups to...

How does geography influence daily life? Guided by an essential question, class groups select and then research an ancient culture, and develop a news broadcast about the geographical setting and its impact on the culture. Teams...

Cyber bullying is an important topic to address with middleschoolers. Here, learners take an active role in identifying and discussing this issue. Reviewing this resource with your class will help to equip them to be a part of the...

Whether you're considering a poetry unit or just want to incorporate more poetry in your curriculum, this unit plan is a must-have. Packed with poems, teaching points, powerful prompts, and poetry performance suggestions, the resource is...

Even if you've never picked up a musical instrument, chances are that music has directly impacted your mental and emotional development. Sixth graders engage in a reading activity in which they read two articles on the impact of music on...

The Crusades sounds like a glamorous time period in the Middle Ages full of glory—but was it? Scholars find and review the truth of the Crusades' influence on the world through the resource. The study guides, separated individually by...

As if surviving a journey to America wasn't enough of a feat for early 20th century immigrants, they then needed to settle into American life. Learn about the ways New York public education attempted to meet the needs of its students,...

Groups read primary and secondary sources detailing the ambush at Bloody Brook on September 18, 1675 and the attack on The Falls in May of 1676. After examining the results of each attack, groups reflect on the language...

We take a steady shower stream and clean drinking water for granted, but in many countries around the world, the lack of water or a clean water supply is responsible for higher sickness and death rates. Taking a closer look at the water...

Want to teach your pupils about debate, effective speech techniques, propaganda, and the women's movement? The first in a sequential series of three, scholars analyze real propaganda images from the the historic women's movement, view a...

Small groups learn about a present-day nomadic culture in Mongolia and the threats to its existence by exploring a photo essay. The resource includes thoughtful discussion and writing prompts about cultural sustainability, the...

A timely and provocative lesson inspires high schoolers to tackle the Syrian refugee crisis. They analyze a compelling photo essay before discussing and writing about it.

Time to make some real world decisions in an interactive digital citizenship game. Choose a story and help the characters make the right decisions regarding Internet safety, cyberbullying, copyright, media literacy, appropriate online...