Discover the life of Abraham Lincoln with help from the story Abe Lincoln Remembers by Ann Turner. After listening carefully, scholars reflect on what they deem as Lincoln's most influential life event and how it relates...

Communicating clearly is one part of a successful conversation, but listening to others is just as important. Individuals with special needs plan calm responses and reactions to differing opinions with a collaborative activity.

Unauthorized immigration is a complex and hotly debated topic. Class members read an article that examines the issues that motivate unauthorized immigration. Teams then assume the role of special interest groups and present their...

Group members role play state legislators, supporters of and opponents to the The DREAM Act (Development, Relief, and Education for Alien Minors). After listening to the arguments put forth for and against the immigration...

So many of life's problems could be resolved with proper communication. Teenagers work on replacing negative messages with positive messages, active listening techniques, and communicating assertively in a series of classroom activities.

This activity may have writers evaluate short compositions, but their subjects are quite tall: great Americans. Pupils read one another's compositions and closely examine how specific phrases and diction contribute to shaping American...

Personal narratives are powerful things. Whether told from the first-person or third-person point of view, whether in the form of an essay, a short story, novel, or video, whether fiction or fact, they capture readers and give them...

Using discussion questions and a poster-creating activity, learners explore how the framework of the Constitution and its Bill of Rights help create safe communities. After listening to a song about the preamble and reading the Bill of...

Disagreements happen in a diverse democracy. It's what people do about these differences in a diverse society that the resource models. After listening to an eight-minute podcast about a woman who collaborated with people who have very...

Everyone is entitled to their own opinion. Academics learn strategies to share their opinions and agree or disagree with others in a respectful manner. The resource provides scenarios to help individuals form opinions and share them with...

To trade or not to trade. Young diplomats put their country's best foot forward in a series of briefings for other countries about their nations. The goal is to persuade others to engage in diplomacy and trade. Using a previous lesson...

There's more to music than a memorable tune. The songs of those who were enslaved reveal the harsh realities of their lives. Using both songs and slave narratives, historians uncover this hidden history. The lesson plan incorporates a...

A instructional activity all about Harriet Tubman and the Underground Railroad introduces scholars to African American spirituals. By way of reading, speaking, and listening, learners discover, analyze, and decode African American...

Pay attention! A instructional activity featuring Ada Limon's poem "Dead Stars" is designed to help learners develop their noticing skills. Class members first study the constellation Orion's image and list what they notice and how the...

Nine activities boost social-emotional competencies. Read through the list and choose what best fits the needs of your class. Activities include thoughtful discussions, creating posters, listening to a read-aloud, and more! 

Four lessons, each following the same routine, explore the careers of a teacher, nurse, electrician, geologist, plumber, and police officer. After listening to a read-aloud and thoughtful discussion, young scholars construct puppets...

Orson Welles' 1938 radio broadcast of "War of the Worlds" is the focus of a lesson that looks at the importance of clarity in broadcasting. After listening to the radio broadcast, class members discuss the ethical obligations to...

Everyone has opinions. The trick is to learn how to disagree in a way that doesn't cause problems. The activities in the final lesson in the Communication Module focuses on learning how to express opinions constructively. Middle...

True! Poe's "The Tell-Tale Heart" makes readers nervous. But how? Young scholars create a drawing while listening to a reading of Poe's eerie tale to understand how writers create the mood of their stories and what their writing style...

Is it possible to have too much concern for others? Can we be trapped by our expectations as well as those of society? Edith Wharton's chilling tale of Ethan Frome asks these and other disquieting questions. Signet's guide to Ethan Frome...

A lesson introduces scholars to nouns and adjectives. After listening to a short story and practicing creating adjectives with a card sort, pupils go on a paper hunt to locate different types of paper, complete a chart with adjectives,...

Teach readers how to distinguish between a topic and a story's theme in a short lesson that uses the children's book, Should I Share My Ice Cream, as an exemplar. After listening to the story, pairs generate a list of topics covered...

The trickster tale "The Coyote Places the Stars" tells how a coyote is sneaky but helpful. After listening to the tale, scholars use their imagination to create a trickster tale about a coyote, displaying their journey through a comic...

We carry memories of where we're from; tweens and teens can capture these memories by first listening to several memory poems and then crafting their own. They analyze literary devices other poets use, brainstorm a list of images they...