Examine how the media informs the way your class thinks about racial and ethnic differences. Additionally, middle and high schoolers discuss whether "objectionable material" in mass media from the past should be preserved.

Explore poetry, personification, and multiple languages with a poetry reading and writing lesson. After the teacher reads the poem to the class, a discussion about personification follows. The class then writes a collaborative poem...

How does a new version of a Shakespearean play change in the adaptation process? Use this New York Times' Learning Network lesson to consider texts that have been produced in different media. Middle schoolers examine the latest...

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...

Pupils examine the steps for developing science fair projects. They visit stations where they examine posters, books, and paper that describe how to research and design a science fair project. Additionally, they take notes on how to...

This assignment begins with an 8-page article about Sam Berns, a young man who suffers the rare genetic disease called progeria. Progeria is caused by a gene mutation and manifests itself as rapid premature aging. When your biology class...

We all know someone who won't eat the banana with a brown spot, the grape with a dimple, and the apple with a bruise. Scholars use different fruits to explore what happens when fruits really start to decompose. They set up an experiment...

Fifth graders study the geography, culture, government and economy of Latin American countries. They work in groups to fill out a profile describing their Latin American country. They listen to a reading of Latin American folktales and...

Learners practice listening to and reading various types of media and text. In groups, learners use video, newspapers, magazines, and more to compare and contrast different types of information. They identify the differences between fact...

Students construct a mockup of a volcano by crumbling up newspapers and piling them into the shape of a volcano. They place a tarp over the newspapers making sure the tarp is large enough to simulate a flat area at the volcano's base....

Pupils explore brochure writing. They work in groups to brainstorm and categorize important places in their community. In addition, they gather information from the Internet, take pictures using a digital camera, and create a community...

Using the Hudson River as the focus, learners discuss the difference between salt water and fresh water environments, analyze maps and graphs, and complete addition and subtraction problems. This lesson comes with a wealth of...

Boris is the smartest baby around! Beginning readers can use this short story excerpt to practice reading comprehension and fiction elements. They read the story and then discuss what they think he will do next. Scholars create an...

Subtraction word problems are the focus here. Learners are given 15 simple, one-step subtraction problems to solve. Some of them require subtracting money, others use inches and feet, while others use standard numbers. An excellent...

Combine informational text and creative writing with one fun activity! Middle and high schoolers write found poems based on newspaper headlines that they find. The resource includes a thorough lesson plan and many links to articles that...

Passing a copper wire coil through a magnetic field influences another coil to also sway. It is with this demonstration that you can teach your physical science fans about electromagnetism. Note that the assembly requires about an hour,...

The great red spot on Jupiter is 12,400 miles long and 7,500 miles wide. In this sixth part of a 22-part series, individuals model the rotation of the Great Red Spot on Jupiter. To round out the activity, they discuss their findings as a...

Paper is made from paper, right? Future scientists take bits of paper and produce sheets of recycled paper. The only drawback? It has to dry overnight.

Scholars complete the Reality Chech handout that identifies their potential salary given a specific profession. Pupils examine the lifestyle options and choose what they wish to have; however, each item costs money and, depending on how...

Use this economic activity to focus on writing summaries of informational text. First, middle schoolers define common economic terms used to describe news about the economy. They closely read news about the federal budget deficit and...

The New York Times article “Online Diary,” launches this study of websites and how to assess them. Richly detailed, the activity includes warm-up activities, procedures, journal prompts, discussion questions, and links to valuable...

A substantive New York Times article about the U.S.A. Patriot Act, military tribunals, racial profiling, and the Bill of Rights forms the basis for a discussion of the complex interplay of fundamental American rights and the aftermath of...

How does the particular point of view in a situation affect the way it is presented? Focusing on perspectives on slavery during the Civil War, middle schoolers use research to write narratives from the points of view of their historical...

Are history textbooks plagiarized? The New York Times article, “Schoolbooks Are Given F’s in Originality,” looks at this question and forms the basis for a lesson on textbooks and plagiarism. The very detailed plan includes resource...