The old aphorism, "The road to Hell is paved with good intentions," might well serve as the title for a resource that asks viewers to consider the plight of the people of the Gamo Highlands, an area in southwestern Ethiopia. These...

What strategies are employed when creating propaganda? Your young historians will learn about six different techniques utilized in the construction of political propaganda, particularly in the advertisements of World War I. The...

Learners explore the role of the individual in the modern world by closely reading and analyzing T.S. Eliot's "The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock."

Students examine aesthetic movement known as modernism, discover why organizers chose modernism as World Fair's design pattern, interpret photographs of modernist fair buildings and identify artifacts that reflect modernist ideas, and...

Did you know that modern Chinese literature “grew from the psychoanalytical theory of Sigmund Freud”? Designed for a world literature class, seniors are introduced to “One Evening in the Rainy Season,” Shi Zhecun’s stream of...

Compare and contrast World War II to the modern Iraq war with this instructional activity. After watching a film, learners use supporting evidence to support their point of view of the conflicts. Using the internet, they create a...

“Words can be like x-rays if you use them properly—they’ll go through anything.” Readers of Brave New World will be pierced by an activity that asks them to use details from the text to craft a biopoem for one of the characters in Aldous...

Every artist creates in his own unique way drawing from a variety of inspirational sources. Upper graders work to expand their understanding of the creative process by first analyzing a modern piece and then creating one. They listen to...

Check out this fantastic research project where learners work to see the modern world through the eyes of a historian and analyze a contemporary event of their choice. An in-depth reflection on the project is given by the project...

Tenth graders analyze a biographical piece of art by Raymond Saunders. They identify shapes, symbols, and lines that are used, and how the piece relates to the artist's life and modern society. They design and create an original piece of...

Citizens in the modern world can't imagine making the same social choices made by many Germans in the 1920s and 1930s, but they don't realize that they actually do it every day by ostracizing others. A case study of middle schoolers...

Are you teaching Modernism to your class? Connect different areas of artistic expression in the Modernist Era. Learners read T.S. Eliot, view art by Pablo Picasso, and listen to a Modernist musical composition. This final assignment is...

Alberto Giacometti is a renowned sculpture, made popular by his "tall, gaunt" figures. His sculptures have been interpreted in many ways: representing isolation, Holocaust victims, or of one standing against adversity. Giacometti says...

“The Wounded,” the title story from a collection of stories about the Chinese Cultural Revolution (1977-78), is the central text in a World Literature unit examining choices. An anticipation guide, discussion topics, vocabulary list,...

Students examine world geography by viewing a documentary film in class. In this World War II lesson, students discuss the role Hawaii played in the great battle and what type conflicts happened among the island chain. Students view a...

Upper elementary and middles schoolers discuss and solve real world applications of math. They use formulas for volume and percents to answer real world questions. In the second part of the lesson, groups write and solve word problems....

Here is a fantastic activity through which class members discover how music has the ability to influence others in a meaningful way. After reviewing selected pieces and modern-day protest songs, learners will research other songs that...

Trace Columbus' voyages by locating them on 21st Century maps.  Using a navigators lesson, 4th graders will examine the Age of Exploration and trace Columbus's routes accurately on laminated world maps using different maps. Note:...

Students are able to give three reasons men joined up to fight in World War I. They are able to place in order the event leading to the outbreak of war and describe the soldiers arrival in the trenches. Students are able to describe...

Students engage in a discussion regarding images of war we see, how quickly do we see them, and how they affect us? They view and analyze war photographs taken during World War I.

“All the world’s a stage…” What do Leonardo DiCaprio, Heath Ledger, and Kenneth Branagh have in common? They have all starred in modern adaptations of Shakespeare’s plays. After viewing a series clips from modern Shakespeare videos,...

Introduce learners to The Silk Road, the first world-wide web. The narrator of this short, animated video traces the pioneers of globalization and the impact they had on culture and economy. The Scythians, Darius the First, and Alexander...

Young scholars investigate the historical and cultural significance of various 'wonders of the world,' both of ancient and modern times, and develop travel posters and guides exploring them.

Dazai Osamu’s short story, “A Sound of Hammering” is the focus of a three-day investigation of modern Japanese literature and life in post-World War II Japan. The events in Osamu’s story mirror those in his own life, and give a...