Slavery is a serious topic that can be challenging for middle schoolers to study. Young scholars can see firsthand through primary sources what occurred during that time period in the United States. The third of five lessons provides...

Producers, Herbivores, Carnivores, Decomposers, oh my! Help organize the intricacies between these four types of eaters with this biology worksheet. Scientists display nutritional relationships in a graphic organizer. They place 15 terms...

Upcoming marine biologists consider a list of organisms residing near the Lost City hydrothermal vents and construct a food web. They compare the food web to that of a cold seep community, of which they should have previous knowledge....

Students research the Roaring Twenties. In this 1920's America lesson, students analyze primary sources to develop an understanding of lifestyles and values of the era as they read F. Scott Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby.

Students investigate the biodiversity in estuaries. In this estuary lesson plan, students use Google Earth to explore the Rookery Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve. They produce a biodiversity concept map and portray the life of a...

For this primary source worksheet, students read a selection about Lucy, a skeleton discovered in 1974, then complete a set of 4 document-based questions.

In this primary source analysis worksheet, students respond to 25 short answer questions that require them to analyze the provided poster from the Tennessee State Library and Archives.

In this food web instructional activity, students label the organisms shown as a producer or consumer and as a carnivore, herbivore or omnivore. Students create their own food web with a list of given animals.

In this flow of energy in an ecosystem, students complete a graphic organizer and show the flow of energy from the sun to producers, primary consumers, secondary consumers, tertiary consumers and then decomposers. Students define each of...

Students investigate African Americans in aviation. For this primary resources lesson, students examine primary resources to research the history of African American in aviation. Students answer two research questions and write an essay...

Students explore historical maps. In this primary source analysis lesson, students uncover the meanings in selected historical maps as they use them to enhance lessons on historical events. Samples for classroom use are provided in this...

Learners study the American immigration experience. In this Ellis Island lesson, students research primary documents from the immigration station, take a tour of the station, and then prepare and perform dramatic presentations based on...

Students take a closer look at historical maps. In this primary source analysis lesson, students examine the first world map produced by Martin Waldseemuller. Students complete the included map analysis worksheet and then write letters...

Students work in groups of 4-5 to form a business, create, market & sell their product, and track their expenses and profits. They experience the roles of producer, distributor, and consumer of goods. They collect, organize and...

When a minnow eats a piece of plastic, that garbage often tracks through multiple animals, causing harm to each as it passes through the food chain. Scholars learn about food chains, food webs, and energy pyramids with a presentation. It...

Can history be rewritten? Or, more precisely, is history documented accurately? High school juniors and seniors compare primary source material with secondary sources. For example, they compare President Roosevelt's December 29, 1940...

Introduce your class to producers, consumers, and pollinators with a reading passage. Class members read the text and respond to five related questions.

What a web we weave. Pupils use yarn as the primary resource to create a web depicting the intricacies of a salt marsh ecosystem. They participate in a question and answer session, which leads to an in-depth facilitated discussion...

Could you live without your phone? What about cars, steel, or clothing? Class groups collaborate to produce presentations that argue that either the telephone, the gramophone, the automobile, the textile industry, or the steel...

Budding scientists work collaboratively to reenact energy flow in a food chain. Scholars take on roles such as producer and consumer and perform tasks that symbolize energy flow in order to provide evidence of how much energy passes...

Enhance a unit on historical fiction with an engaging writing instructional activity. Learners bring the Industrial Era to life as they compose their own historical fiction pieces based on primary source images of Pittsburgh steel...

A New Order in Europe calls for a new lesson plan! This third plan in a series of four sequential lessons encourages high schoolers to read primary sources about the development of the New Order and follow up their knowledge with a...

Glide into the study of flight. An engaging lesson has scholars research information on the Wright brothers. They develop props and produce a recreation of the first flight at Kitty Hawk. They then report on the event as if they were...

Students construct a food web representative of the Gulf of California. They use pictures to depict all of the organisms in the appropriate level of the web (producer, primary consumer, etc.)