Take advantage of Banned Book Week to pique students' interest and get them reading! Create a classroom display of previously banned books and allow each member of your class to choose one to read. After they have read their book, get...

Note-taking is an essential study skill, and it needs to be taught! In the context of a research project on energy sources, learners find multiple sources, evaluating, paraphrasing, and citing them correctly. Two lists with note-taking...

Students investigate the goals and methods of the House Un-American Activities Committee and offer an opinion regarding whether their investigation of Hollywood was justifiable.

Twelfth graders compare and contrast the role of lawyers in Japan and the United States. After viewing movies and television shows, they make guesses about the justice system in the United States. They answer discussion questions and...

Seventh graders explore the Latino Civil Rights Movement. In this civil rights lesson plan, 7th graders discover the role of the League of United Latin Citizens (LULAC) as well as the women's arm of the organization and write essays that...

After screening an episode by BizKids, scholars show what they know about business vocabulary, then take part in grand conversations about role models and ethical dilemmas.

What important facts about Dr. Seuss influenced the Read Across America movement...? This is the driving question of a research project that requires scholars to find information about Dr. Seuss' life and work. Class...

Students study the properties of the physical and natural world. In this properties of the physical and natural world lesson, preschool students work at discovery tables to see how simple machines work, what happens when items are put...

Students use the scientific method to investigate the role of temperature in microbial growth. In this food preservation lesson, students set up an experiment with fruit in room temperature and in a refrigerator. They record the...

Who is a champion to your class? Elementary and middle schoolers think of a role-model from their lives. Then, in their journals, they write evidence of that person's perseverance. They identify the character trait of perseverance with...

A great idea for showing language arts pupils the universality of themes, even in the real world! Have class members choose an idea-noun (peace, justice, war, love, etc.) at the beginning of the year or semester. They complete weekly...

Discuss the work of Matthew Henson, an African American who traveled to the North Pole with Robert Peary. After reading the story "Matthew Henson" by Maryann N. Weidt, learners answer questions by drawing inferences and conclusions,...

How important are sound effects in films? In stage plays? In radio programs? To gain an understanding of the impact of these special effects, class members watch a short video spoof of the sound in a scene from Star...

Nathaniel Hawthorne's "Rappaccini's Daughter" provides the text for an activity that asks readers to select specific passages from the story, identify the aspect of American Romanticism the passage exemplifies, and then provide an...

Fourth graders study Indian women in Texas. In this US history lesson, 4th graders discuss what each Indian woman's contribution was by completing a timeline and table. Students examine the Caddo Women's pottery tradition...

Students interpret the United Nations Human Development Reports and explain the relevance and use of the human development index in offering insight into a nation and its challenges. They draft a letter to the United Nations.

Take the opportunity to offer your young adults some important financial wisdom on the way taxes and inflation will affect their lives in the future. Through discussion and review of different real-world scenarios provided...

Fifth graders explore child labor and how children were exploited and used in the work place. In this Industrial Revolution lesson, 5th graders research child labor by reading, looking at photographs and drawing conclusions...

Students watch a video about Barack Obama and problems he faces as the president. In this president lesson plan, students write their own list and then compile a class list of problems and discuss them.

Students examine letters that US service people wrote to their family and friends while they served in Vietnam. They examine the daily hardships and the role of medical personnel and helicopters. They write letters in response to those...

Students are introduced to Chinua Achebe's first novel and to his views on the role of the writer in his or her society. It can be used alone or in conjunction with the related lesson Chinua Achebe's Things Fall Apart.

High schoolers write about the impact of the Underground Railroad. They examine primary documents as they conduct independent research to explore the role of the Underground Railroad during the fight for abolition. They...

Learners examine Hammurabi's Code. They take on the role of his council of advisors and report their "advice" to the king. They write an essay discussing an aspect of daily life that the Code exemplifies.

Sixth graders prepare questions for an Oprah Winfrey talk show featuring the characters from Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry, the amazing novel by Mildred D. Taylor. Selected students role-play the characters and answer questions Oprah...