Translate the first speaking and listening standard for yourself and your ninth and tenth graders! Learners can focus on communicating in small groups with the two activities presented here. Both activities center around group creation...

It takes some work to ensure you have a balanced diet, but once you know the types of foods that are good for you, it becomes second nature. In the sixth of seven lessons about energy and nutrition, learners create a healthy eating plan...

Adolescence and teenage years are very difficult in terms of emotions, primarily due to the amount of change going on in growing teens' lives. Guide middle schoolers through disruptive changes and transitions with a set of activities...

How do you create a classroom environment where hot button topics may be discussed in a respectful manner? As part of a series of lessons that focus on immigration issues, class members examine the rules for civil discussion before...

If you stop a student from expressing views that advocate drug use, are you violating their right to free speech? Use the 2007 Supreme Court case Morse v. Frederick to discuss a nuanced interpretation of the First Amendment....

It's time for the feast! Young historians complete their study of the First Thanksgiving by completing an online activity, watching a slideshow, and examining a First Thanksgiving timeline. After answering text-dependent questions to...

Engage 12th graders in a series of activities focused on public trust and ethics in US Government. They view a series of videos, hold a class debate, and compose a short essay. Note: Suggested videos are listed but are not available...

Archaeologists, historians, and scientists all work together to create a timeline of our past. Engages learners in a series of activities that all filter through the NOVA video, "Mysteries of the First Americans." Each activity is...

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...

Newspapers are the perfect medium through which to explore different perspectives in informational text. After researching the fur trade and resultant colonization, groups write a newspaper, including an editorial page, selecting one of...

Your learners already know when they like a story and when they don't, but they may not know that the plots of these stories are shaping that opinion. Like all resources in this series, the two activities and quizzes provided here deal...

Being an astronaut takes not only high mental acuity, but also a high level of physical fitness, especially for those who spend a long amount of time away from Earth, such as the astronauts serving on the International Space Station....

When it comes to eating a balanced diet, portion control is paramount, but what is the difference between the serving size on the nutrition facts label and a portion as determined by the USDA? In a comprehensive look at portion control,...

Take the concept of burning calories to a more literal level in the second of seven lessons about energy in the realm of food and fitness. Using simple materials, groups will burn breakfast cereal and a pecan to see which one gives off...

A good story is a great way to support skills that are necessary for encouraging strong reading skills. Here is a class I do, You do, We do style lesson that stars the tale, Ming Lo Moves the Mountain. Included are two fun pre-reading...

A great way to connect social studies with language arts, a resource on Mary Henry's historical diary reinforces the concepts of primary and secondary sources. It comes with an easy-to-understand lesson plan, as well as the reference...

Ray Bradbury's The Martian Chronicles provides the text for a fishbowl activity. Class members to sit in concentric circles, with the center circle discussing the topics from the book, and the outer circle observing the...

With the emphasis on incorporating more nonfiction in language arts classes the question arises about how to design activities that motivate kids to engage with informational text. How about an assignment that asks class members to...

The greenhouse effect is important, for without it, life on Earth would not exist. An activity that includes modeling the greenhouse effect and acting out the Earth's energy balance makes up the first part in a series of seven...

Christopher Columbus: hero or villain? Prepare class members for the debate with activities that asks them to think critically about how history is reported.

The struggle for women's rights is not unique to this generation, or even to the 20th century. Class members explore the conflicting opinions of Alexander Graham Bell and his wife, Mabel Hubbard Bell, regarding women's pursuits of higher...

Two slide shows, viewed side-by-side, permit middle schoolers to compare and contrast the lives of the Pilgrims of the Plimoth colony and the Wampanoags. Four videos take learners on virtual field trips to the Plymouth plantation. And an...

Don't be chicken to try a lesson plan that compares the anatomy of birds to humans. Read the background information so you don't have to wing it when it comes to the anatomy of a chicken. Prepare cooked chicken bones by soaking them in a...

Young historians complete a unit of lessons on the functions of the White House. They conduct Internet research, develop a list of activities that take place at the White House, and create a chronological timeline of events at the White...