Big news isn't necessarily newsworthy everywhere! How do journalists decide what to cover with so much happening around them? A instructional activity on media literacy examines the factors that affect the media's choice of stories to...

Bridge subjects ancient history and English language arts together with a unit all about the Maya, Aztec, and Inca civilizations. Eleven lessons begin with a read-aloud followed by a whole-class discussion in preparation for practice by...

What would you ask a presidential candidate if you had the chance? Bring politics to your language arts classroom with this lesson, in which young readers brainstorm questions they would have liked the presidential candidates to answer....

Explore a 1900s lunch pail. In this oral language and 1900s history lesson, students view a photograph of an old-fashioned lunch pail. Students describe the object and make predictions about what it is and its possible uses. Students...

Take writing prompts to another level in this activity, which allows pupils to create scenes of dialogue based on the 1903 silent film, The Great Train Robbery. Useful for a language arts/history cross-curricular activity, the lesson...

This abstract for an instructional unit using three-minute mysteries, stories by Sir Arthur Canon Doyle, and Edgar Allan Poe includes a short history of detective fiction, sample plans, and suggestions for exercises and activities...

Here is an amazing lesson on story writing for young writers. After listening to a history of chocolate, learners utilize the many worksheets embedded in the plan to construct their own stories about chocolate. They must cut out the...

Students explore iam Faulkner's novel, "The Sound and the Fury" to investigate his use of time and how this quality relates to the novel's form and content. They grapple with questions of perception, history, and chronology through this...

After the events on 9/11 many Muslim-Americans experienced discrimination because of their ethnicity and faith. Help break the cycle of ignorance by educating your students on the history, religion, and beliefs of a different culture....

Kids explore music, history, culture, and literature in a multi-faceted lesson plan. They discuss how both historical and cultural contexts shape music, art, and literature, and then apply these concepts as they engage in a listening...

High school learners examine primary source materials on history and the supernatural which relate to Julius Caesar. They then act out a scene based on different historical understandings and identify facts, theories, and similarities in...

When Ruby Bridges entered an all-white school in New Orleans in 1960, she also entered history. Scholars consider what the experience must have been like for the young girl using two books that document her experience as well as a double...

Review one of the most memorable cases in the history of the United States. After reading To Kill A Mockingbird, young scholars read and select court transcripts and other primary source material from the Scottsboro Boys Trial of 1933....

What is a memorial and what should it look like? Learners will choose what they believe is important to remember about September 11 and how it should be displayed. They work in groups and brainstorm details about the memorial and present...

Elementary students research the history and construction of movie theaters, read a book of their choice and portray its primary characters and plot in a visual, movie-style report. They design and create their own movie theater in which...

Students are taught that the culture and customs of ancient Egyptian civilization. They recognize Egyptian symbols, patterns, and artwork. Students demonstrate their knowledge of Egyptian funeral procedures by creating replica sarcophagi.

Students examine the history of celebrating Labor Day and discuss the important role blue-collar workers play in the country's economy. After discussion, they create a cube displaying drawings of various jobs they admire. Panels of cube...

Students research the Wright Brothers and their plane. In this airplane history lesson, students use a hotlist of sites to research and create an airplane. A question is provided for each site.

Who doesn't need a sidekick or protective spell? Kids examine a clay vessel from ancient Colombia as they discuss the idea of sidekicks or protective magic. They then illustrate a comic strip that represents the concept of protection in...

Explore non-violent protest in this social values and world history lesson. After viewing the movie Gandhi, and discussing important events in Gandhi's life, young orators write a speech defending Gandhi's position on the value of...

Students explore the Underground Railroad communication system.  In this cross curriculum fine arts and United States history Civil War lesson, students view several websites that feature quilts constructed by slaves during the...

Fifth graders write a speech.  In this history lesson, 5th graders define the word infamy and listen to a speech by FDR.  Students work in groups to summarize his speech and rewrite sections of the speech.

Budding historical analysts take to describing the road to Latin American independence. They'll respond to three writing prompts which require them to describe or analyze specific events in Latin American history. 

Throughout history, many people have run for president. But, what is that like for the children of those individuals? Kids read a bit about Mitt Romney and his five children, then respond to a writing prompt in a blog post. They describe...