A link to a beautiful Animoto presentation is included, giving examples of primary sources that a student might want to contact when doing research. Using the Topaz Internment Camp in Utah as a sample topic, middle schoolers view a slide...

The final lesson in a two-part series prompts scholars to create newspaper articles and succession events. Applying their knowledge of the ecosystem and the past examples of succession, they predict what will happen in the future...

Students collect samples of pond water, dried grass, and soil in a jar. They predict the order of ecological succession in their pond water cultures. They compare their expected results with their observed results.

Students cover the topics of primary and secondary succession with interest to its ties in the study of ecosystems. They study how the introduction of an insect can effect the ecological balance. Students make predictions and write them...

Young historians use the SOAPS (Speaker, Occasion, Audience, Purpose, Subject) method of questioning to determine the historical value of primary source documents. The third in a series of five lessons that model for learners how...

Students examine forest organisms, features of some of the different types of forest, classify organisms based on the type of forest they come from, and explore how certain species are connected with other, particular species within...

Here is a sweet and simple lesson that introduces young learners to the three primary colors; red, yellow, and blue. Through a discovery process, youngsters learn how to successfully identify these colors, and the many shades of these...

What's the difference between a diary and a memoir? Young historians explore the ramifications of this question as they learn how to use primary source materials to gain an understanding of life on the Texas frontier.

To conclude their investigation of the life of Mary Maverick and to demonstrate their ability to analyze primary source documents, groups use the SOAPS questioning method to examine Maverick's account of events in early Texas history.

Class members read a series of primary and secondary source materials to examine the effects of Queen Anne's War, also know as the War of Spanish Succession, on the Pocumtucks and other Native Americans in the area of Deerfield, MA.

First graders identify primary colors and consider their use in works by Henri Mattise and Mary Cassatt. They conduct an experiment with food coloring and then draw a color tree differentiating between warm and cool colors.

Learn more about the policy of the United States to contain communism during the Cold War. The fifth installment of an eight-part series looks at primary and secondary materials about a challenging time in history. After analyzing the...

Fifth graders read My Secret War. In this social studies lesson, 5th graders discuss how United States citizens worked together to ensure success in the war. Students discuss primary and secondary sources. Students paraphrase.

This is an excellent resource for US history classes, especially AP history. After learning some background on the Marshall Plan, the class, divided into two groups, researches opposing positions on this aid program. Groups read and...

Here is a fascinating human geography study of the Zabbaleen. They are a sub-class of people who work as garbage collectors in Cairo, Egypt. I can't say enough good things about this resource in my limited space here. It is fabulous! If...

"Promises Denied," the second instructional activity in a unit that asks learners to consider the responsibilities individuals have to uphold human rights, looks at documents that illustrate the difficulty the US has had trying to live...

Throughout history, newspapers have reported the events of the day as they unfolded. Using primary and secondary sources from World War I, scholars uncover how the American people learned of the events of the War to End All Wars. History...

Eighth graders focus on the elements of art with a secondary focus on the principles of art. They are assigned to a team to play Art Jeopardy. They take an exam. They use the internet as a resource for answers.

What was the most significant tool used by the Chumash? How did the environment make the tool possible? What group behaviors allowed the Chumash be be successful for thousands of years? After watching West of the West's documentary Once...

What are the characteristics of a good research source? At the beginning of a research project, have your class brainstorm evaluative criteria for primary and secondary source material. They then use the generated list to guide their...

Fourth graders discover the political career of Sam Houston. In this Texas history lesson, 4th graders research primary resources and create a modern-day version of Sam Houston's political campaign of the 1840s.

Seventh graders explore Fort St. Louis. In this Texas history lesson plan, 7th graders research Internet and print sources regarding the history of fort and the settlement. Students use their research findings to create illustrated books...

Students read and discuss the article "Succession" by Bill Freedman. They create a labeled sketch of each type of ecological succession from its beginning to its climax community. Students create an article about a natural disaster as if...

Students work in teams, participate in the "Lifeboat Game." Discussion following the game helps students process the activity to realize teamwork skills they used to facilitate meeting their game goal. Students identify and relate the...