After watching the documentary Dark Water about a traditional Chumash ceremony and reading a Chumash origin story, viewers are asked to create a coat of arms and to craft an essay that details a family tradition or their own origin story.

As an introduction to literary criticism, class members recreate I.A. Richards' close reading experiment. Individuals select a poem, paraphrase the story, focus on the imagery used, consider what the imagery adds to the tale, and...

The Grapes of Wrath. The Jungle. Native Son. The Things They Carried. The Absolutely True Diary of a Part Time Indian. To address a current social, political, economic, or environmental issue, class groups pair the reading of a...

How did workers pick a trade in colonial America? Using a WebQuest approach, scholars explore life in the colonial era by looking at professions available to men like Benjamin Franklin. Individuals then apply their knowledge to create...

Introduce middle schoolers to playwriting and the elements of drama with a six-session storytelling unit that encourages kids to expand their acting and writing skills. The 12-page packet includes overviews of the lessons,...

Combine art and literature to teach greater themes and symbolic meaning. Using the plan outlined in this resource, expose your class to the story "Zebra" by Chaim Potok, conduct discussions about social issues and nicknames, and ask...

Help middle schoolers conduct Internet research and develop a working definition for the discipline of social studies. From a list of websites, they develop classification skills and differentiate between primary and secondary sources....

Get your class outside, away from the television, and maybe even learning something about nature while they're at it. Individuals will chose an open, natural space to spend time in for several days. Each day they will complete a page in...

A degree in communications incorporates disciplines such as business, law, and media as well. A writing handout offers prospective communications majors information about what kind of assignments to expect in a typical course....

Simulate a real-life situation with a project proposal activity for an art installation. Learners look at work by Joe Fafard and examine his website for information about public art displays. They also search for other proposals for...

Eighth graders read and discuss a variety of children's books that deal with feelings, self-concept and how they affect a person's perceptions of themselves as well as their world. They also tie in interrelationships of visual and...

The odds are in your favor that your pupils will love this lesson that uses The Hunger Games to launch a study of gender empowerment, as well as the influence of social constructs of gender. Groups discuss how Katniss Everdeen and Peeta...

High schoolers discuss the affect the Iraq War has had on citizens taking advantage of their right to express themselves through non-violent protests and pledges of resistance. They research and discuss local community and school events...

Ninth graders publish a magazine during a ten week marking period. They make individual contributions to the group project that is based on career choices. They write and publish articles, poems, entertainment pieces, and a play that...

Students discuss their responsibilities and experiences as parents. Individually, students create a list of parental responsibilities. Individual lists are combined and discussed with the whole class. This lesson is designed for...

Take a break from literature study to address some grammatical concerns. Using a text you've already read in your class, show how to analyze pronoun use. After watching the master, pairs analyze a short excerpt on their own, identifying...

Students discuss the importance of systems of the human body and ways each has its own function while relying on the others. Students work in groups to research their assigned system. They complete a report. Students take virtual tours...

Students use computers and Internet to research specified topics using given sites. They print the researched information, and create a PowerPoint presentation.

Young scholars develop their skills at writing poetry by listening to poetry and using a model to emulate and write a poem. In this poetry writing lesson, students listen to Louis MacNeice's poem 'Prayer Before Birth' and use it to model...

How have educational standards evolved? Educators of adults examine expectations in the 10th workshop out of 15 to better determine how standards have grown. Participants respond to a variety of sample questions to determine how they...

Eighth graders read and discuss Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. Then they invent a candy bar, name it and draw a picture of it. Finally, they write a short descriptive paragraph about it.

Students examine the various roles Washington Irving had in his lifetime. Examining the situation in Europe and the United States, they are encouraged to relate Irving's experiences to different events. They examine themselves in many...

Students investigate dress codes in their school and how they compare to what courts have ruled as well as interview school administrators, students, and teachers on their views of the dress code. Students then write a news feature about...

What are the characteristics of a good research source? At the beginning of a research project, have your class brainstorm evaluative criteria for primary and secondary source material. They then use the generated list to guide their...