Make connections with past history and current events with this critical thinking exercise. Kids read background information relating to Alaska's statehood as well as information on oil drilling and Alaska's economy. They put it all...

Does smiling take as much energy as running a lap around the track? Everything the body does requires energy. The more vigorous the activity, the more energy the body requires to perform the activity. Compare different low-energy...

Discuss the balance, color, emotion, and context of the painting Paris Street; Rainy Day by Caillebotte. After a deep discussion, let creativity run free in your class as learners create a dimensional piece that reflects a...

Your class can create their own Samurai identity with craft paper and a little imagination. Learners will discuss what life was like for a Samurai warrior, and then they will make representations of what they would look like as a...

To celebrate Texas, groups plan and create a commemorative map for a topic or theme in Texas history. The richly detailed plan and the approach could easily be adapted to any state. Samples are included.

A brief letter can speak volumes. Your young historians will analyze a letter written by Abraham Lincoln to General Sherman, and discover the significance of the capture of Savannah, as well as gain insight into Lincoln's role as...

This compelling plan based on the letters in the book Dear Miss Breed engages readers in learning what it was like for Japanese Americans following the attacks at Pearl Harbor. After reading the letters, young scholars will...

Ever wonder what drones are doing high above us in the sky? This article gives your class an insight to what those robots in the sky are doing. After reading an article on drone technology, pupils are prompted to respond to a...

Scholars investigate the need for encryption as they read a portion of the book Blown to Bits and discuss encryption techniques. They finish by attempting to decode a message written using a Caesar cipher.

Are executives as powerful as they sound? High schoolers find out about the US president and executive branch. A variety of activities include scaffolded reading sections, research assignments, and collaborative group work.

Spy games are not just for professionals anymore! Scholars use short video clips, primary documents, and photographs to investigate Nazi spies in America during World War II.  The young detectives analyze the paranoia warfare can...

World War I was known for its gruesome battlefields and horrific injuries. Using photographs from a battlefield surgeon's scrapbook, scholars see first-hand what life was like in the trenches. After creating a timeline of the war using...

Students list comparisons between technology and nature. Then they create superheroes with special animal characteristics and describe how ordinary persons might replicate the changes with technology.

Students study the basics of mapmaking, then make a tally walker, (geographic location device used in secret).

How can the rhetorical structure of an editorial help to develop its argument? Use this New York Times editorial to emphasize the importance of structure in a piece of informational text. Adolescent writers then use the editorial as a...

What a model community would look like? Get your kids talking with an activity that allows them to create their own town. After printing out a "fold out village," groups of students use a variety of resources to help them build an actual...

Tenth graders share perspectives on war with Iraq with students from various countries, and write position papers expressing specific stance on issues.

Ninth graders, in groups, research a Canadian astronaut, developing a profile of their astronaut for presentation in a learning center. They visit the other groups' centers to explore more astronauts.

Young scholars describe the symbolism, tradition, honor and power that flags bear and explore the stories of Civil War battle flags.

Middle schoolers take a close look at the McClellan-Kerr Arkansas River Navigation system. They study how the Army Corps of Engineers built and monitor the system. Learners discover how a lock and a dam work, and study three benefits of...

Students investigate what constitutes an "un-American" activity and why Soviet espionage was such an important issue in the 1940's and 1950's. Joseph McCarthy's impact on American anticommunism is examined in this activity. There are...

Young scholars examine and evaluate the Treaty of Versailles. They read and discuss primary source documents, explore various websites, develop a list of postwar goals for France, Germany, and the U.S., and evaluate whether the treaty...

High schoolers complete a unit of lessons on the events that led to U.S. involvement in WWI. They complete a Webquest, conduct research, complete a Venn diagram, read and discuss the reasons for entering the war, and create a slideshow.