Learners discover the characteristics that make a hero or heroine. They also look at how society recognizes its heroes and how the nation represents its values and beliefs by researching heroes from the past and present.

Ninth graders write a description of a natural disaster. They list as many natural disasters as they can think of. The class discusses any natural disasters individuals have witnessed first hand. They watch a brief clip of a film that...

Pupils examine the local and national election process. In groups, they brainstorm a list of the issues important to them and compare them to an overall list of issues present in the election. They analyze graphs and complete...

Eleventh graders explore areas of concern to the African American community in the 1820's.  In this American History instructional activity, 11th graders examine how the establishment of the nations first African American newspaper...

Young scholars research how April Fool's Day began. They identify and discuss various theories, interview family members, write original myths about the first April Fool's Day and design a wild goose chase for another class.

Students research the Illinois quarter and the President on it. Students research President Lincoln and American coinage. Students compare this quarter to the other national quarters with Presidents on them.

Students create and original multimedia presentation on the Incas, Mayans, or Aztecs. In this Meso-American civilization lesson, students research and then compare and contrast the civilizations of the Incas, Mayan and the Aztecs....

Students consider how the first supercasino in Britain will impact the nation. In this current events lesson, students visit the noted Web sites to gather information about the casino and the positive and negative effects of gambling.

Students examine the circumstances under which Theodore Roosevelt first became President of the United States and how his policies and actions modernized the presidency.

Students investigate the old currencies used by the twelve countries adopting the euro in 2002. They explore the national identity of those countries through the symbols preserved on the 'national face' of the new euro currency.

Eleventh graders examine the issue of Cherokee removal from the perspectives of Andrew Jackson, members of Congress, and members of the Cherokee nation. They adopt the perspectives and engage in debate over the issue of Cherokee removal.

Tenth graders examine the causes and course of World War I. They read and discuss a handout, simulate the formation of a country, design a flag, develop a national slogan, and present their country's information to the class.

Students construct a simple galvanometer in order to detect the presence of an electric current as well as determine the amount of the current. Activity is divided into two parts, first part as group work and second as individual.

Pupils read about the settlers in one of the first American colonies. They brainstorm ideas about what they think happened to the settlers. They write their version of what happened at Roanoke Island Colony.

Students describe how to recognize a force, define balanced and net forces, state Newton's first law of motion, explain why friction works, state Newton's second Law of Motion, and explain why the direction of force is important.

Eighth graders explore the events of the American Revolutionary War. After reading The Midnight Ride of Paul Revere, as an introduction to the lesson, 8th graders participate in a simulation to experience the Nation of Ms. Goldwasser...

In this ELL activity, learners write sentences about given cities and determine whether they are south, east, north, west or centre of their countries. Students then complete a word search on nationalities.

Learners participate in ToxMystery, a computer game, where they discover potential environmental health hazards in rooms of a common household. In this lesson on household safety, students first brainstorm possible hazards in the...

Students explore the impact of the euro on nations of the European Union (EU). In this euro lesson, students examine exchange rates within the EU as well as outside the EU in order to better understand the implications of changing...

Young scholars study all about George Washington: Farmer, Soldier, and First President of the United States of America on the internet.

Students engage in snow-related activities during the first winter snowfall. After explaining the elements needed for it to snow, they preserve snowflakes on frozen slides and observe them under a microscope. Then, they write diamante...

Students participate in various class activities and are captured on camera to show at various special times or events throughout the year. They choose a picture of a fitness testing for their first slide and add some music to it to...

Students read and discuss the important environmental issues of acid rain and global climate change in relation to Illinois coal. According to the National Acid Precipitation Assessment Program, acid rain has had minimal effects on our...

Students read a first person account of the bombing of Hiroshima written by a Japanese physician. By reading Michihiko Hachiya's journal, they discover the fatalities caused by the bomb itself and later by radiation poisoning. To...