Students create a design for water collection, sanitation, or supply. For this hydro-technology lesson, students learn about the global water crisis. Groups of students read water technology articles, draw or design a device or process,...

Eleventh graders review the goals of John Winthrop.  In this American History instructional activity, 11th graders read Winthrop's speech and summarize his key points.  Students predict the possibilities for success and failure...

Fifth graders investigate what a covenant was and how they relate to contemporary government ideals. In this comparing covenant lesson, 5th graders examine primary source documents that are examples of covenants from 18th century New...

Students explore the "Copy Left" movement, then analyze and discuss the key legal issues regarding intellectual property and copyright legislation in the context of global communication and the Internet.

Students reflect on the lives of older people they know, then research and debate the key issues surrounding scientific experimentation in anti-aging. They write a short story that reflects their own philosophical beliefs on aging and...

Learners share opinions and information about safety issues and concerns on social networking Web sites, and develop public service announcements designed to inform their peers and parents/guardians.

Students examine the roles and responsibilities the Department of Defense holds. They read an article about the resignation of Donald Rumsfeld. They develop questions to submit to the White House about the recent changes.

Students read "Saudis Uneasily Balance Desires for Change and Stability" from The New York Times and discuss Saudi Arabia as it considers a change from monarchy to democracy. Students work in groups to research and create timelines on...

Fourth graders explore electricity by examining the life of Benjamin Franklin.  In this biographical lesson, 4th graders listen to the teacher read facts of Benjamin Franklin's life and analyze his contributions to our current...

Students examine what they know about American Indians past and present, then research key issues facing American Indian tribes today. To synthesize their learning, students write letters taking the perspective of an American Indian.

Students identify the use of different types of bar graphs. They analyze graphs used in the New York Times to compare the estimated cost of the war in Iraq to other hypothetical expenditures and reflect on how graphs can help illustrate...

Students brainstorm possible causes of zebra mussel migration and population expansion. They identify the key causes and effects of the disturbance of the Hudson River ecosystem and research causes and effects in the disturbances of...

Second graders investigate philosophy by researching the life of Mahatma Gandhi.  In this biographical lesson, 2nd graders listen to a reading of the book "Gandhi" and make a character map of his actions, feelings and thoughts....

Students explore the increasingly diverse civil rights movement by researching and profiling its key issues, main organizations, and top leaders.(August 25, 2003)

Students conduct background research about a Pacific Rim country to develop a premise for a documentary film about the fate of traditional fishing industries in the area.

Students express opinions on eavesdropping on citizens, read the article "GOP Senators sat Accord is Set on Wiretapping", and debate issues presented in the article. They create letters to send to Congress presenting their concerns.

Students discuss the meaning of feeling safe in their environment after September 11th. After reading National Intelligence reports and news articles summarizing the findings about national security, they write letters to their...

After reading and analyzing The 'In' Group by Eve Shalen, sixth graders consider how the categorization of people results in exclusion, discrimination, and injustice. 

Students identify the significant events that helped shape 2004. After reading an article, they take a 2004 news quiz and discuss the impact of each event. They create their own quizzes to be given to their classmates on the same...

Students compare and contrast different forms of communication.  In this poetry lesson, students focus on the ballad form and read "Timothy Winters". Students draw conclusions from the ballad and divide into groups to research the...

Ninth graders explore the history of the African Methodist Church in the United States. In this African American history lesson, 9th graders discover why the church was founded and research its history and noteworthy members. Students...

Students explore past U.S.-Cuban relations, by researching key events in the past century and creating a class timeline, in order to evaluate restrictions in policy on Cuba and the potential for exhibition baseball games.

Students engage in a hands-on experiment to determine how launch angles affect airflow around the wing of an aircraft. They view a series of photographs and read information describing the Wright Brothers' experiences. They complete a...