Astronomy is literally over your head, but this lesson will explain how we study it. Young scientists make telescopes, calculate and compare the light gathering power of lenses, and simulate detection of infared radiation....

Reading between the lines helps discover important information! The 11th lesson of a 22-part series on American history has scholars use historical thinking skills to uncover the deeper meaning behind the words on a page. Using backward...

Students determine how free press principles can be compromised. For this global studies lesson, students read an article titled "Free and Independent Press." Students respond to discussion questions regarding the article.

Inform your class about teen dating abuse. This resource lays out a comprehensive plan for helping teens become aware of the signs of abuse. The lesson plan is complete with vocabulary, worksheets, a PowerPoint presentation, and videos....

This exercise on the Constitution requires small groups to design a visual metaphor that expresses the concept behind one of seven principles: popular sovereignty, federalism, republicanism, separation of powers, checks and balances,...

Some traits only exist in males and some only in females. Pupils learn how the location of genes on sex chromosomes determines them using an interactive lesson. An animation illustrates how scientists know this to be true and shows how...

Have you ever been singled out in a crowd before? Pupils investigate and analyze the events of the Holocaust. They dive into the life of a middle school student, as well as the diary entries of those in Kristallnacht during World War...

Is there medicine found in the organisms that live deep below the surface of the ocean? The fifth instructional activity in a six-part series has learners team up to research bacteria and the relationship it has with nearly every living...

Good readers make connections between texts. The SAT regularly assesses the ability to make those connections using paired reading passages, a topic discussed in an official SAT practice lesson plan on synthesis. During the lesson,...

Students examine an environmental issue. In this global studies lesson plan, students read an article entitled, "Global Climate Change," and respond to the discussion questions that accompany it.

Students explore African American migration. In this black culture and history lesson plan, students use a map to identify northern and southern states in which African Americans lived in the 1900s. Students observe and describe objects...

Balancing a budget, paying taxes, and buying a home may feel out of reach for your high schoolers, but in their adult years they will thank you for the early tips. A set of five lessons integrates applicable money math...

Campaign propaganda has evolved from 1952 through the presidential election of 2008. A social studies activity prompts class members to analyze the devices used in ads and political cartoons, noting strategies they believe would work to...

Students complete a unit of lessons that examine life in early America from 1740-1840. They compare items with similar objects we use today, explore various websites, create a paper doll, try and guess the function of various objects,...

Tenth graders analyze editorial cartoons focusing on progressive reform. They compare their analysis and research. Students discuss the cost of reform leading to the creation of a national income tax through the passage of the 16th...

Students distinguish between the privileges of being a U.S. Citizen and privileges that are forfeited if not a U.S. Citizen.  For this history activity, students analyze the rights of people in a democratic society through research,...

Students analyze euthanasia as a possible way to die.  In this controversial lesson, students reflect and discuss euthanasia as a possible way to enter death.  Classroom discussion allows students to voice their opinion and...

Young scholars consider diversity in democracies. In this democratic values lesson, students read an article titled, "Minorities in a Democracy." Young scholars respond to discussion questions about the article.

Students examine the effects the Transcontinental Railroad had on the regions through which it passed. They analyze and discuss maps, view and describe online images, and use photos and documents to develop a cause-and-effect ladder.

Middle schoolers determine how they are included in "Circles of Strength." In this character activity, students reflect on how they are part of "Circles of Strength" in the "Circle of Life." They make an individual circle that includes...

Government classes benefit from examining how a bill passes through Congress, while they focus on the compromises made by Obama's administration regarding health care reform. This includes an online video and a couple of handouts. The...

Use texts and dances to teach inequalities and equations. A sixth-grade unit covers using variables in equations and inequalities to solve problems. Learners show what they know at the end of the unit using two performance tasks, one...

Comparative anatomy prevails in the lesson exploring diversity among invertebrates. Biologists examine physical characteristics of an earthworm from phylum annelida and a meal worm from phylum insecta. They also inspect a cricket and a...

Here's a creative lesson that lets pupils be creative as well! While considering many different factors, learners devise a plan to increase the efficiency of container shipments. The design of the activity encourages creative,...