In an age of fake news and photoshopped images, it is vital that 21st century learners development the skills they need to evaluate mass media and assess its validity. A great way to launch such a study is with a carefully crafted...

Create a visual art project about obesity. In this art lesson, 8th graders research and explain the importance of eating healthy and exercise. They document their eating habits in their journal and analyze it.

Students analyze photographs taken at schools during the Civil Rights Movement. They take a few minutes to examine a photograph, and write down everything they saw in the photograph. After a few minutes, students share their findings.

Students become familiar with the basic tags that are used to make web pages. They consider the factors that make a well-developed web site and web page and use the basic elements of HTML to code a simple text file.

Students groups divide up into 2. One gathers 10 facts about FDR and the other gathers 10 facts about Churchill. On the board, they compile that facts gathered in two separate columns so they can compare and contrast these two men.

Students research the history of the Depression particularly in the ways it was documented by photography. Then they take their own pictures in the style of one of the best documentarians, Dorothea Lange.

Picture this. Class members follow in the footsteps of W. Eugene Smith, Dorothea Lange, James Nachtwey, and Lewis Hine by creating their own photo essay about a local event or issue.

Origami is an excellent way to combine Japanese culture, art, and geometric shapes into one engaging instructional activity! Scholars begin by listening to the story Sadako and the Thousand Paper Cranes and learn the origin of...

What are the basics of operatic voice? Examine the skills of Beverly Sills and discuss how these skills helped her to achieve her dream of becoming an opera singer with your class. Students research milestones in her career and create...

Young scholars explore Edward Curtis' photos of a Native American ritual and practice documenting their own religious rituals. In this photography analysis lesson, students analyze an Native American ritual in Curtis' photo. Young...

Students explain the definition of a portrait. They identify the visual clues that Gilbert Stuart included in his portrait of George Washington. They compare the reproduction to other images of Washington. They discuss the importance of...

Students examine the Lewis and Clark expedition. They develop skills for historical analysis. They locate a variety of geographic features encountered by the expedition, and create a timeline that documents Lewis and Clark on their journey.

High schoolers locate the Korean Peninsula on a world map. They, in groups, study different sources, which explain why the U.S. entered the Korean conflict. One group uses textbooks, the other uses a government document.

Students draw conclusions about an mystery person based on documents and artifacts provided. In this drawing conclusions instructional activity, students become detectives by reading and analyzing evidence provided. This instructional...

Third graders examine the life of the African American in the Pee Dee region during slavery.  In this slavery lesson, 3rd graders explore primary and secondary documents related to the topic and create a timeline of when slavery...

Students analyze Dorothea Lange's photographs about Japanese American relocation. In this art and history lesson, students analyze a photograph about the relocation of Japanese Americans. Students discuss the impact of governmental...

In this motion picture analysis worksheet, students decipher what type of motion picture they viewed based on a complete list of criteria. Students then answer multiple questions based on their discoveries.

In this photograph analysis instructional activity, learners are presented steps for analyzing photographs that include observation, inference, and further questioning.

In this poster analysis activity, students respond to eight questions that help them analyze a poster more in-depth. Students then answer multiple questions based on their discoveries.

Students document and list excerpts from a document that shows how calmly officials reacted to the launching of Sputnik. They research contemporary magazines and newspaper articles of the day as well.

Show your class that there is more than one way to communicate an idea. Pupils note down their ideas and then brainstorm a few things they want to include in their pictures. Then, in the box provided, they sketch and describe their...

Fourth graders use a word processor document to refine and practice their grammar. They focus on subject and verb agreement and/or run-on sentences. The document can be used as assessment.

Students compare and contrast the sex roles the portraits historically document to the meres of today. They make collages of marriage diptychs in terms of their own values, perceptions, and aspirations. They compare the portrait and...

Bring the drama of history to life in your class and give your learners the opportunity to illustrate their understanding of a historical situation through the medium of a dialogue and/or play. Your young historians will consider a...