Following the method used by Truman Capote, class members research a major character from his novel, In Cold Blood, and then conduct an interview with that character. The resulting research is used to craft a newspaper article about the...

"And Brutus is an honourable man." Or is he? Readers of Shakespeare’s tragic Julius Caesar are asked to identify the rhetorical devices Mark Antony uses in his funeral oration and to explain how these devices influence the...

Improve your pupils' language skills with these discussions and activities. There are four topics included here, and each is paired with discussion prompts (small group and whole class), student handouts, and teacher notes. After...

Ready yourself for The Adventures of Tom Sawyer with this analysis of the novel. Included here is a summary of the plot, a list of themes, notes on vocabulary and other issues, a brief analysis of plot elements, and project ideas...

The assassination of Abraham Lincoln was a pivotal moment in American history, but what were the immediate effects throughout the newly unified country? A document-based question focuses on the consequences of the first...

What's the difference between civil and criminal law? How do the court proceedings differ in these two types of trials? How do the standards of proof differ? Why do these differences exist? As part of their examination of the...

Commemorate the 400th anniversary of Shakespeare's death with a packet of cross-curricular literacy lessons and activities centered around two of the Bard's most popular plays, Macbeth and The Tempest. Class members look for...

An activity booklet includes a timeline of the movement, a song, and various informational reading passages on leaders, events, and the Civil Rights Memorial in Washington DC. Reading response questions and word puzzles are sure to...

Ezell Blair, Jr., David Richmond, Franklin McCain and Joseph McNeil changed history. Their sit-in at the lunch counter of the Woolworths in Greensboro, North Carolina on February 1, 1960 became a model for the nonviolent protests that...

Who killed Laius? How is Creon connected to Jocasta? Where does the Oracle dwell? Get the details of Sophocles' Oedipus Rex straight with a crossword puzzle activity.

A chilling look of Edgar Allan Poe's works may not be a dream within a dream, but it's certainly a review within a crossword puzzle. Look down and across to find references to "The Raven," "The Tell-Tale Heart," "The Black Cat," and "The...

Who speaks the first line of Shakespeare's Hamlet? Who is the last character to die in the tragedy? Whose death drives Ophelia mad? Readers' knowledge of the play is tested by 24 such clues in a crossword puzzle.

Science Fiction? Gothic Novel? Romance? No matter the label, Mary Shelley's Frankenstein has captured the imagination of readers for over 200 years. Whether used to test how well readers remember the key events and characters in...

Stanley Nelson's acclaimed film, The Black Panthers: Vanguard of the Revolution uses interviews, archival footage, and images to document the story of the radical political party established in 1966 by Huey Newton and Bobby Seale. A...

How exactly does a crime scene investigation work? The resource, a unit on criminology, covers everything from the deductive reasoning skills needed for detectives to DNA fingerprinting, all the way to how to gather evidence and bring...

Students examine the function of exposition in play structure. They will be able to develop multiple interpretations and visual and aural production choices for Shakespearean scenes and choose those that are most interesting.

High schoolers read and analyze Shakespeare's play, 'Macbeth.' They analyze how Shakespeare uses metaphors, imagery and dramatic cues to demonstrate Macbeth's response to fear, and perform without words a scene dramatizing Macbeth's...

High schoolers investigate the concepts of area and perimeter. The activity uses a legend to create a context for the proposed word problem. They use the skill of estimation in order to create an ox skin that is found in the story. 

Ravensbruck was a concentration camp for women during World War II. This lesson provides background information on the camp, its effects in Prussia, and a design project intended to commemorate the women who died there. Learners make...

Ninth graders research the causes of the major genocides of the 20th century. They participate in a jigsaw activity and complete a concept map of different genocides, watch and discuss excerpts from the movies "Hotel Rwanda," "The...

Seventh graders write a few sentences explaining the most important events of their lives during the past year. As a class, they discuss why they chose the elements they did for their sentences. To end the lesson plan, they read a...

Young drama pupils will perform a number of expressive speaking exercises as they consider the themes of responsibility, consequences, and justice in the very modern Australian play The Stones. With a lot of role playing and...

In this social studies worksheet, students are directed to a Web site to read about famous people. Kids choose 2 people and use a Venn diagram to compare and contrast. Students then investigate the difference between being "famous" and...

Dig in! Middle schoolers learn about archaeology by exploring the remnants of the Chiribaya bodies found in Illinois. Compare archaeological investigations, and then write a mystery detailing the discovery of a body! Consider bringing in...