Analyzing arguments is key to critical thinking. Colorful slides teach viewers how to recognize the structure of an argument, the claims, and the validity of the evidence used to support an argument. Then, provided scenarios permit...

A 25-page packet includes eight detailed lesson plans centered around poems by Emily Dickinson. Each lesson begins with a burning question that students attempt to answer by using evidence from Dickinson's poems.

Photographs from the freedom movement in Selma, Alabama serve as the basis of two Socratic Seminars. Class members prepare for the seminars by closely observing the images, form a hypothesis, and use evidence from photo to support a...

After reading a series of primary source documents, groups compare the lives of and opportunities available to rural and urban women in the 19th century to rural and urban life in the 21st century. As an exit ticket, individuals craft a...

Expert groups discuss the theme of their myths and the life lessons people learn from it. They then regroup their triads so that there is a pupil from each expert myth group and share details about their myths. The class also talks about...

What do modern voices sound like? Scholars explore the topic, reading two concrete poems from John Grandit's Blue Lipstick and analyzing them using a graphic organizer. Next, they read a third poem and work with partners to look for...

Being a historian requires serious sleuthing. They examine primary source documents and look for evidence, for clues that reveal who wrote the document, when, and why. After watching two historians model the process, young history...

The legacies of the Mexican Revolution are visible today—even if some history classes don't cover them. Using primary sources from leaders in Mexico at the time of the popular uprising and other evidence, such as railroad maps, young...

What is your perspective? Scholars read Florida: A Paradise of Scandals Excerpt 2 and look for unfamiliar words. They determine author perspective by completing Gathering Evidence of Hiaasen’s Perspective: Part three graphic organizer...

The legacy of Reconstruction and the Freedman's Bureau is complicated. Using an interactive web resource, learners literally weigh the evidence using an online program in primary sources such as labor contracts and marriage records to...

What freed enslaved people? The answer, it turns out, is complicated. Using a set of online documents and writing prompts, young historians examine a series of primary sources, including a letter from a woman asking if she was freed and...

During the time of slavery, resistance was a way of life for the men and women held in bondage. Using music as evidence of their fight against oppression, learners explore how enslaved people fought back. Writing prompts round out the...

Before the Civil Rights Movement was in full swing, FDR's executive order helped promote fair employment. The activity uses primary documents to explore FDR's executive order to help minorities gain equal employment and pay during the...

Talking about weather isn't just for making conversation. Young scientists gather evidence from an interactive activity to make connections between daily and seasonal weather. They analyze data from different areas and compare the...

Take note. Scholars receive their claim drafts back to revise and write their claims and three pieces of evidence on notecards. They save the notecards to use when the verbally present their claims to the class. At the end, individuals...

Word builders. Scholars participate in a mini lesson about affixes. They then complete a research vocabulary organizer and share their definitions of the words with the class. They gather more evidence for their research from the...

It's important to cite sources! Scholars take a closer look at their research about DDT by examining how to cite sources. Learners take turns sharing information that would be used to cite sources to complement Rachel Carson:...

What is your interpretation? Scholars look at their Cascading Consequences Charts and interpret the information they have gathered. Learners match claims with evidence and then watch a video. At the end, they carry out a fishbowl...

A true glimpse of the past, Angelic La Moose smiles back from more than 100 years ago. Young learners examine the picture of a young girl on a Montana Native American reservation from 1913 to comb it for historical details. A form, which...

After examining a physical map of the world, learners conduct a close reading of Yesenia Montilla's poem "Maps." They note the interesting words and phrases, the way the poem is structured, and list questions they might have. After...

Learners complete the third instructional activity in a row where they determine the gist of text and use quotes as textual evidence. They use details from Dr. James Naismith, Inventor of Basketball to explain how the development of...

Saving sugar, growing crops, and not eating meat sound like small things, but they were a huge part of the home front effort during World War I. Photographic evidence of civilian struggles during the war, along with a matching game,...

Take a closer look. Young academics become detectives in an engaging lesson plan on the American Revolution. Scholars work in groups to analyze documents to uncover whether the American colonists or British soldiers fired the first shot...

Get the story straight. Scholars gather information about the Great Migration as they listen to a reading from Promises to Keep. They then examine the text to find evidence to support the feeling of resentment. Learners take part in...