Artifacts can be used to study people and events of the past. That's the takeaway from the fifth lesson in a unit study of African Americans who served in Congress. Groups select an artifact associated with a Black Congress Member from...

Groups select a photograph from one of the four eras of African Americans in Congress and develop a five-minute presentation that provides background information about the image as well as its historical significance. The class compares...

A 24-page teacher's guide to Romeo and Juliet includes scene-by-scene plot summaries, focus, discussion questions, and suggestions for individual and group projects.

A instructional activity focuses on the qualities of a good friend. Scholars discuss how to be a good friend and decorate a hand cutout to represent a high five of friendship. Small groups offer encouragement and give compliments to each...

It's time to decide. Class members review the decision-making process (define the issue, gather information, develop alternative, and analyze the consequences). Groups then decide which of the six characters they have chosen for the...

Middle schoolers apply all they have learned in the Problem Solving module by participating in a contest to see which group can build the tallest tower using only sheets of paper and masking tape.

The CROWN Act (Creating a Respectful and Open World for Natural Hair) is the subject of the lesson plan that asks groups to research the stories of five different women and share their insights in a jigsaw activity. Participants then...

To end the unit, groups use the Honeycomb Harvest strategy to show connections among a character, symbols, and themes in the novel and then create an Anchor Chart for the character that includes a symbol that best represents him. They...

"What's in a name?" Is it irrelevant, as Juliet suggests in Shakespeare's play, or is nomenclature deeply significant? Young scholars weigh in on the debate by examining the controversy over the NFL's Washington, D.C. Redskins. Groups...

Introduce young scholars to the concept of the author's perspective with a activity that uses Emma Lazarus's poem, "The New Colossus," as the anchor text. Groups use a T-chart to identify words that reveal the author's point of view...

Lines from popular songs are used to teach middle schoolers about conditional and subjunctive moods. Groups engage in a card sort activity to identify conditional and subjective sentences and then partners draft sentences of each type....

A thoughtful discussion prompts middle schoolers to reflect on gossip and rumors, what they are, their experience with them, and how some groups experience it more than others. Scenarios challenge participants to consider the impact of...

The second lesson in the series asks groups to analyze an exchange of love letters between Abigail and John Adams. Scholars identify the many allusions and references in the letters and consider what they can infer about the writers.

Creative projects are a great way to engage your class and can be a fun way to assess mastery! Learners create brochures and postcards that might have been created by and for travelers to ancient Mayan cities. They read and discuss the...

How much power is too much power for the federal government? Scholars use primary documents and constitutional research in groups to analyze the creation of the Second National Bank under James Madison. This is the second instructional...

Scary stuff! Whether approached as the first horror story or a "serious imaginative exploration of the human condition," Frankenstein continues to engage readers. Here's a packet of activities that uses Mary Shelley's gothic...

As part of a study of the American Presidency, groups investigate five topics: Campaigns and Elections, Role and Responsibilities, Life in the White House, Assassination and Mourning, and Communicating the Presidency.

Help your class understand the magnitude of the distance between Earth and Mars with an activity that asks small groups to use balloons to create scale models of the Earth, Moon, and Mars. Class members figure out the distances...

Slide books with a little assistance from Newton. Using books, groups create a demonstration of Newton's Second Law of motion. Pupils compare the distance traveled by one and two books when they apply a force to them.

Imaginary numbers are a real thing. Scholars learn about complex numbers, real numbers, and imaginary numbers. They classify given numbers as strictly complex, strictly real, or strictly imaginary in an individual or group activity.

Plants need food to survive, just like any other living organism. Young biologists analyze an experiment performed in 1610 by Jan van Helmont to determine if plant nutrition is obtained through the soil. First, lab groups work together...

A full-fledged practice final prepares pupils for their general chemistry final exam. If they complete these 57 multiple-choice questions correctly, they will be well-prepared. Note: even though the questions are multiple-choice, there...

It's often said that imitation is the sincerest form of flattery. Young engineers learn about biomimicry, which uses nature to generate engineering ideas, in the fifth lesson plan of nine in a Life Science unit. Working in groups, they...

Introduce young historians to the US Constitution with this upper-elementary social studies lesson plan. Beginning with a general discussion about the role of government in society, students go on to work in small...