Students gather as much background as possible about this controversial FBI directive and what Muslim and civil liberties groups believe about it. They perform interviews with Muslim students to gather opinions and then form a conclusion...

Learners research the term "racial profiling to help decide if this directive fits in that category. Students explore the reaction of each side and the pros and cons each offers. Learners Prepare a debate with one side supporting the FBI...

High schoolers examine the guidelines put out by the FBI to follow during federal investigations. In groups, they discuss the decision by the FBI to increase surveillance after the terrorist attacks on September 11. They share their...

Fourth graders experiment with compost. In this Science lesson, 4th graders begin a worm compost as well as an outdoor compost. Students discuss decomposition.

The war against Communism and Joseph McCarthy’s place in it are the focus of a series of three lessons examining postwar America from 1945-1950. This first lesson asks groups to read an introduction that describes the Verona Project and...

PBS has written a series of lessons on avoiding Armageddon. This is lesson 4 of 5 and focuses on defining terrorism. Upper graders watch episode 3 of "Avoiding Armageddon - The New Face of Terror," read how terrorism is defined by the...

Students use the Internet to gather more information about the gadgets spies use on the job. They analyze cases in which spies were involved and modern security systems. There is a section in which they can ask questions.

The film American Revolutionary: The Evolution of Grace Lee Boggs introduces viewers to the differing philosophies of and strategies employed by 1960s civil rights leaders such as Malcolm X and Martin Luther King, Jr. and the debate over...

Students discuss the meaning of feeling safe in their environment after September 11th. After reading National Intelligence reports and news articles summarizing the findings about national security, they write letters to their...

Dr. Martin Luther King and Malcolm X were contemporaries. Both were gifted orators, both were preachers, both were leaders during the Civil Rights era, both were assassinated. But the two had very different views on violence and...

Political activist, suffragette, pacifist, and the first woman elected to Congress, Jeannette Rankin has been largely ignored in history and history textbooks. Young historians set out to rectify that situation by examining primary...

Eighth graders act as FBI investigators to "solve" the mystery of the Lost Colony of Roanoke Island. They decide how they would investigate the situation and develop their own conclusions of what happened these colonists.

Students interpret how to communicate information and ideas in ways that are appropriate to the purpose and audience through spoken, written, and graphic means of expression. They use information-gathering techniques, analyze and...

Students create a worm bin full of fruit and vegetable scraps wit paper and observe what happens over time. In this decomposers lesson plan, students observe that the fruit and vegetable scraps become new soil.

Gradually build understanding of author's point of view through a scaffolded set of exercises. Moving from direct instruction, to collaborative work, and eventually to independent practice, these steps will assist your class in...

Learners solve the mystery of the kidnapped teacher by analyzing a ransom note using paper chromatography. They carefully prepare ink samples from the note to known ink samples to determine the kidnapper.

Students explore audio engineering. In this career education and "sound" science lesson, students define related vocabulary and make connections between the music they listen to and the job an audio engineer does after listening to...

Discuss a Nero Wolfe mystery on brining criminals to justice. Secondary students will read the book A Nero Wolfe Mystery: The Doorbell Rang. They then will watch the movie depicting this story and answer discussion questions. There are...

Students explore contributions made by working animals. For this service learning lesson, students research working animals and design posters or multimedia presentations regarding the animals, contributions to society.

Fourth graders experiment to see which objects decompose. In this compost instructional activity, 4th graders observe the changes of labeled objects in a bag. Leave the objects for one month and record the changes by observation and...

Students examine world history by writing an essay in class. In this World War II lesson, students identify the attack on Pearl Harbor, the response from the U.S and the effect it had on Japanese-Americans. Students define Japanese...

Students examine news about an espionage case. They work in small groups to research espionage and spy trials of the Cold War era. Students create oral presentations detailing presentations in specific cases.

Students experience profiling first-hand through creation of a Class ID, and daily persecution of a selected group of students. They examine the tension between the concern for national security and for the preservation of civil liberties

Students review Watergate Files and the Watergate Trial using Internet sites. They read about the people involved in Watergate. They discuss the events leading up to and after Watergate.