High schoolers read an online article at CNNfyi.com to determine what happened in India after an earthquake. They determine the magnitude of this earthquake and address the issue of relief efforts from other countries.

Students research the McCarthy hearings to determine the following: time frame of hearings, how they were broadcast, how the press reacted, and how the American people reacted in light of the Korean Conflict and the Cold War.

A dictionary is a very helpful tool. Teach your third graders how to locate words, define them, and understand what root words are. They look up 12 words, write their definitions, then determine the root word that helps categorize each...

Who knew determining author's purpose could be turned into a game? Four teams compete to correctly identify the author's purpose for writing a series of passages.

Now you can create your own monster movie. Learners estimate the size of a scale model monster given comparison statements and analyze these estimates to determine if the scale model accurately portrays a lizard.

Can you make decisions that will impact millions of people around the nation? Scholars research the role of the Federal Reserve, and its Chairman, on the economic outlook of the country. They analyze current trends in unemployment,...

Voting for the next president of the United States is about finding the candidate who most closely aligns with your own values and sense of democracy. High schoolers become acquainted with the candidates from the 2016 election with a...

Learners examine the uncertainties of investing in the stock market. They look at how company profits, good or bad news, and new competition affect share prices. They write and discuss journal entries about share prices before completing...

Pupils assess misleading claims in advertisements. After reviewing several advertisements for Hoodia, students compare the claims made to news reports about the product. They conduct research to discover whether the claims made by the...

The battle over same-sex marriage is a prevalent issue in the United States, and a valuable topic to be discussed in your social studies classroom. Here is a basic outline of introductory questions, focus questions, vocabulary, and media...

Honor women in journalism with an online exhibit called Women with a Deadline. Class members demonstrate their understanding of the topic in a final assessment by writing a newspaper article on the information they learned in...

Students analyze text and maps in determining the effect the world's energy resources have on human society, and make charts illustrating at least three ways each resource makes life easier for human society.

Young biologists discuss the reasons behind the current use of the plant identification system. They get into groups and identify the characteristics of each species of plant which is described. The keys needed for groups to make...

Discuss ways to determine if the information middle and high schoolers gather online is accurate. Using the Internet, they cite two sources that show conflicting points of view on a subtopic of conservation. They summarize and analyze...

This is a week-long lesson on analyzing the similarities and differences between sources of tension and terrorism in eight locations around the world. The class is divided into eight groups and assigned one of the locations to research....

Explore the Fifth Amendment by examining the meaning of "public use" as learners read a scenario and role play their assigned parts to determine "public use." They also read Supreme Court Cases regarding the amendment and present their...

Linear measurement is the focus of this math instructional activity. Youngsters work in groups to build towers with blocks. They build towers represented on index cards and determine how many blocks taller one tower is.

Students study water conservation. In this water conservation lesson, students investigate the scarcity of water and determine reasons for conserving water.  Students estimate how much water they use in one day and identify ways to...

Need to assess the reading comprehension level of your class or of a new student? The subject matter of the reading passage, euthanasia, is sure to engage your readers’ interest while the questions test a variety of comprehension...

Almost every teen wants a car, but can they really afford one? The lesson walks pupils through how to identify a budget, find all of the costs associated with car ownership, and determine if they should buy the car or keep looking.

What caused the extra rotation? Class members visualize a coin rolling around the circumference of another coin. They determine the reason the rolling coin rotates twice. Further questions require them to determine a generalized formula...

A study of the history of the Channel Islands, located off the coast of southern California, continues as class members conduct a mock trial to determine which group of stakeholders should have the right to claim the remains of Juan...

Ever wonder how they solve those mysterious murders in TV crime dramas? The second of four units in a Biotechnology series introduces scholars to the many methods of DNA analysis. Pupils create and run their own gel electrophoresis...

Students observe the effects of eutrophication and determine why it is harmful to aquatic ecosystems. They create mason jar ecosystems to observe the growth of algae in pond water. In addition, they observe the effect of introducing...