Students discover how a paleontologist digs up fossils and what tools they use.  In this paleontology lesson, students discuss the importance of the job of a paleontologist, watch a video on the process of extracting fossils, and...

Students examine the contributions of native Virginians to the United States. For each person, they read excerpts of a book about their contributions and organize the information in a chart. In groups, they become an expert on one of...

New to using Bronte's Wuthering Heights in the classroom; check out this overview of themes, characters, settings, and project suggestions.

History detectives eschew that time machine and follow the paper trail to go back in time to investigate an unfamiliar object. The goal is for class members to develop their skills as historical detectives.

Young historians examine primary sources, including diaries, poems, and photographs, to consider the conditions in the ghettos and how they fit into the escalation of the Third Reich's plot against the Jewish people. 

Students read and analyze the novel, 'The Witch of Blackbird Pond.' They list choices they have in society today, conduct a debate on freedom, role-play interviews with characters from the novel, create a timeline of a character, and...

Students read several biographies of famous Americans and discuss the characteristics of a biography. Students collect biographical information on another person in the class and write a biography. Students research and create a...

Students explore the relationship between an author's life and their work. Students research the historical and personal events surrounding a Nobel Prize winning author and how they are reflected in the author's writing. They create a...

Students read and predict the outcome of a story set during the Civil War, then map the story. To prepare for the activity, students determine why it is important to look at historical events from all angles by using primary and...

Young scholars explore the first Thanksgiving. For this holiday lesson, students create a KWL chart on what they know about the first Thanksgiving and conduct Internet research on this topic. Young scholars use a Venn diagram to compare...

Students examine the contributions made to our society by Eleanor Roosevelt. They create a timeline of Eleanor Roosevelt's life, participate in a jigsaw activity, listen to a guest speaker, complete a Venn diagram, and write a letter to...

Third graders explore and analyze about famous African-Americans by listening to four picture book biographies. They generate a list of 15 famous African-Americans and then create a survey to rank them according to importance of...

Students trace the immigration patterns of their ancestors. They plot information on a world map, develop a timeline of target immigration patterns, research and write a report on immigration and participate in a class play.

First graders discuss different milestones in their life such as bathing, dressing, eating, walking, etc. They brainstorm ideas of how the changes affected their life from the moment they occurred to the present. Students brainstorm and...

Middle schoolers study the people and inventions related to computers. They research famous people for each invention they created and create a timeline of the inventor and his inventions. They present an oral presentation about the...

Fifth graders examine the history and art of the Indiana artist Marie Goth. They create a timeline of events in Marie Goth's life and discuss historical events that happened during her lifetime. Students then view portraits and...

Middle schoolers develop a deeper awareness of the use of journals and gather inspiration to begin their journal from their graphic time lines. They explore, ponder, test and illustrate self-expression through daily journal writing. Each...

In this literature and literacy worksheet, students follow directions for writing a book report based on a biography. They fill in the title, author, illustrator, and publisher before listing the character traits of the person they read...

Students investigate current events. In this current events lesson, students identify current events from newspaper articles and place them on a timeline.

Student examines the role of the Underground railroad. In this Post-Civil War lesson, 7th graders read and analyze primary sources. Students create a timeline that details the events of the stories.

Students write research proposals, conduct research and interviews and maintain a log of their work, and draft, revise, and edit final written projects to produce a finished research article.

Sixth graders provide a writing experience based on their own lives. The components of the writing process will be emphasized as well as narrative writing experiences. They then will publish their autobiography on the computer and use...

Students investigate heroes in their community by presenting a story of a true hero to their class.  In this storytelling lesson, students interview a local person who has performed a heroic deed and create a presentation with...

Students access information and data about US immigration using the Internet and other sources. They identify from research data the countries from which the largest number of immigrants to the US come from and create a database of these...