Minnie Bruce Pratt's poem, "The Great Migration," offers young scholars an opportunity to reflect on how where we come from influences who we are. Groups conduct a close reading of the poem, recording observations about the poem's...

What is the connection between the spread of ideas and the expansion of the sugar trade? Class members continue their reading of Sugar Changed the World and use an analysis tool to identify how critical ideas in the chapters are...

To understand why the topic of reparations is controversial, young scholars gather background information by reading articles, watching videos, and examining cases where reparations were made. Learners consider the lasting repercussions...

Raise the curtain to a class play that depicts the Civil War through both factual information and literary devices. The performance showcases the Battle of Antietam (Battle of Sharpsburg) and brings attention to women's roles,...

The final lesson in the "Color of Law" series explores the government's discriminatory economic policies. Young scholars watch videos, read primary source materials, and examine images to gather information. They discuss how what they...

Sometimes the New Order becomes synonymous with its implications for European countries, but what about its consequences for East Asia? The final instructional activity in a four-part series teaches scholars about World War II. High...

A useful scaffold to help your class with character analysis and text interpretation. Questions about characters from Sparrow Hawk Red by Ben Mikaelsen guide your young readers to describe a character literally, along with interpreting...

How can breakfast help you to avoid feeling sluggish and distracted throughout the day? After reading informational articles, learners will discuss how to overcome obstacles to eating breakfast, brainstorm ideas for quick breakfasts, and...

Turn readers into investigative journalists. The 11th and final lesson that accompanies The Twits by Roald Dahl asks the question "What happened to Mr. and Mrs. Twit?" The lesson uses mind maps and group discussion to help answer...

Does the influence of interest groups harm a political system? Your class members will analyze the role of interest groups in American politics, as well as consider the effect of perspective, bias, loyalty, and the...

"First Appearance," Mark Twain's tale about overcoming stage fright, serves as a model of a personal narrative and gets young writers thinking about milestones in their own lives. After examining student models and considering the...

Sometimes, sensory details can bring you back to a familiar place. Study the setting descriptions from a critical chapter in Amy Tan's A Joy Luck Club, and discuss how they enhance the book's plot and contribute to a central theme.

Second graders explore geography by completing a mapping activity in class. For this directional lesson, 2nd graders examine a map in class and utilize a compass rose to identify their location and destination. Students write directions...

Students investigate the many uses and features of maps and globes and locate where they live on both. In this map lesson, student play a travel game and create their own maps to explore states, continents, countries, and islands.

Fourth graders are shown how to read a map and identify key cities, landmarks, rivers, state boundaries, and train routes. They solve basic mathematical problems. Students reivew the componets of a map legend. They are asked to find...

A solid description of one way to teach narrative writing, this resource outlines the writing process from concept to completion. Class members create concept maps of moments in their lives and follow the writing process to publish their...

Visit the Magic Treehouse and take your class on a trip through time with a reading of the children's book Mummies in the Morning. Using the story to spark an investigation into Egyptian culture, this literature unit engages...

"Humans have become a geologic agent comparable to erosion and [volcanic] eruptions ..." Paul J. Crutzen, a Nobel Prize-winning atmospheric chemist. Using Landsat imagery, scholars create a grid showing land use type, such as urban,...

Zora Neal Hurston, Toni Morrison, and Maya Angelou are featured in a guided inquiry unit. High schoolers research the lives and works of these and other Black women writers and craft an argument, using evidence from their research, to...

The end was just the beginning. The period immediately after the end of World War II and the Holocaust is often called "The Return to Life" as survivors looked to reunite and recreate broken families and shattered lives. A two-lesson...

Nazi policies shifted from deportation and imprisonment to extermination of the Jewish people in death camps in the "Final Solution." Learners examine photos of artifacts, read poetry written by survivors, analyze testimony from...

Students observe and demonstrate how to use a story map to identify the main idea of text. They observe the teacher read an article about birds out loud, and create a story map for the article. Students then independently read another...

Students examine maps of the 1800's and 1900's. In this geography skills lesson, students collaborate to read core maps and identify transportation centers and travel networks.

Students discover what the common good is and how to be a part of it. In this community lesson, students discuss the war in Iraq and how people are working for the common good. Students then discuss the term philanthropy.