How do writers use words to protest injustice, challenge the status quo, and shape their own identities? Individuals watch and discuss a video, read author biographies, write poetry and journals, develop a slideshow, and complete a...

The final lesson in the Standing Up for Democracy unit offers class members a way they can stand up and speak out by crafting spoken word poetry, or Slam poetry. After analyzing several examples, individuals reflect on one positive...

Academics take turns as actors in an engaging poetry cafe. Elementary learners work in small groups to create original poems or stories addressing community issues and read their work in front of a live audience. Scholars also reflect...

Build scholars' ability to understand their own values and learn about World War II at the same time. Scholars write poetry and discuss identity and place in depth with an in-depth social studies resource. 

Historical poetry is lyrical in form and rich with content. After examining the differences between the Northern and Southern states before and during the U.S. Civil War, learners complete a Venn diagram and create an illustration of the...

Students write and listen to rap songs. They discover how common themes in rap are indicative of the problems, as well as the empowerments, that can be seen in our urban cultures today. They discover how rap is actually an evolution of...

A reading of Walter Dean Myers' "Harlem" sets the stage for studying the literature, art, and music of the Harlem Renaissance. The lesson begins with a review of the social, political, and economic conditions of the 1920s and 1930s that...

Young historians take a look at the age of gladiators, and the cultural atmosphere present when they staged their epic battles. Pupils pretend to be reporters and write newspaper articles about one of the events they stage. Then,...

Every year a kid-friendly philosophical question is asked and students are encouraged to submit original writing, drawing, painting, or poetry that expresses their opinions on the posed topic.