Eighth graders interpret historical evidence presented in primary resources. In this Louisiana history lesson, 8th graders research their parish history using the LOUISiana Digital Library resources. Students create multimedia...

If you are planning a unit on memoir and autobiographical narrative, you should consider this resource. Using Internet research skills, pupils review works by James Frey and Henry David Thoreau. In response to these works, learners...

As an example of nature's water filtering system, young ecologists conduct an experiment in the lab. They construct a funnel out of a plastic bottle, fill it with specified layers of materials that simulate layers of soil, then run muddy...

There is no doubt many changes or lack of changes are due to bipartisanism in the capital. Learners analyze a political cartoon that describes the issues surrounding changes to the current health care system, and consider whether...

Learners can use this worksheet to discuss the expectations placed on the Obama presidency. Included are two cartoons to analyze, a web site to visit, several great discussion questions, and a short activity. This is one worksheet that...

A clear, comprehensive overview of consumer debt, credit, interest, international currency, and social responsibility, this 45-minute session falters in the application stage. You'll need to create a way for learners to demonstrate their...

This plan centers around the article "How Advertisers Persuade," although it is not included in the instructional activity itself. Get your class thinking about advertising, appeals, and techniques that companies use to get their...

Create a personal website for Phoebe. Play a song dealing with non-conformity. Have class members write an advice letter to Holden. Here's a teacher resource meant to accompany The Catcher in the Rye that is chock-full of strategies. It...

Great lesson on teaching some of the basics of square dancing. Ten basic moves are listed and described. The descriptions of these square dance moves are clearly explained. There are several pictures to show what a few of these moves...

If you're looking for a way to structure your unit on Jack London's White Fang, use a well-organized guide to bring the intrigue of the novel to your middle school classroom. Covering a biography of the author, main background and...

Learners construct their understanding of measurement and dimensions in this step-by-step approach that begins with an all group vocabulary introduction, consisting of measuring objects and dialoging using measurement vocabulary....

Chapter II of John Milton's Paradise Lost provides the text for a series of comprehension questions crafted using Bloom's Taxonomy.

Decision making, including decisions that are made for us by others, decisions that are easy to make, and those that are not are the focus of a skill-building lesson that provides class members with a four-step decision-making model....

Look before you leap! Learning how to analyze the risk involved before engaging in an activity is the focus of this lesson. Class members examine rules, both within their families and society at large, and consider why these boundaries...

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...

Nobody is as smart as all of us together. In a collaborative learning activity, scholars learn it takes a team to be successful in laparoscopic surgeries. Groups complete the laparoscopic task as a team and discuss their results to...

Discover the ways America has opened its borders to international refugees, and the ways other countries have been more or less welcoming, with an informational passage about United States and international policies on refugees....

Should driver's licenses be granted to unauthorized immigrants? That is the question class members grapple with in a lesson plan that asks them to first read a fact sheet that details the arguments for and against...

"Bullying and Prejudice" and "Do You Cyber Bully," two lessons from a complete Bully Free program, serve as samples of the approach used in a unit designed to bring awareness to and to combat bullying. Each lesson asks class...

It takes courage to stand up to bullies. Two sample lessons from a complete Bully Free curriculum, "Courageous and Brave Bystanders" and "Assertiveness Skills for Bullied Students and Empowered Bystanders" provide participants with...

Two sample lessons from a curriculum unit on bullying provide high school seniors with an opportunity to assess their online and cell phone behavior and to consider how they can offer support to bullied students. Each plan includes an...

The documentary, The Legendary King of San Miguel Island, introduces the fascinating tale of Herb Lester, his family, and their life on San Miguel Island. Viewers have an opportunity to expand their study of the island and of...

Is cattle ranching on Santa Rosa island viable or non-viable? Rather than focusing on the issues of the transition of Santa Rosa island from a privately owned island cattle ranch to a national park, class members are asked to consider if...

Explore the effect of outliers through an analysis of mean, median, and standard deviation. Your classes examine and compare these measures for two groups. They must make sense of a group that has a higher mean but lower median compared...