Pick your poison: tobacco, alcohol, opiates, cocaine, or marijuana. An online exhibition launches a research project that asks groups to select one of the five drugs and gather information on how the use of the drug and the regulations...

Working in teams, pairs, or individually, scholars select one resource from a gallery of historical sources and consider which examples might be considered propaganda, the techniques used to persuade audiences, and evaluate how the...

Using a variety of online resources, learners study life and society in California during the gold rush. They use a map to identify area where gold was located, explore pre-selected websites, describe mining practices, and create an...

Imagine advertising for a product but not being paid to do so. Welcome to the world of Viral Messaging. Class members first view a T-Mobile flash mob video that went viral and has been seen by over 14 million viewers. After analyzing the...

A speaker, a message, an audience. After analyzing these elements in Queen Elizabeth's speech to the troops at Tilbury, groups analyze how other speakers use an awareness of events, and their audience to craft their arguments....

“The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County” is famous, in part, because it established a uniquely American form of humor. For this famous story, Mark Twain combines the tall-tale, the dialect story, and satire. Here is a resource...

African American spirituals served as more than songs of religious praise during the years of slavery. "Go Down, Moses" is featured on a activity that asks readers to respond to a series of short-answer prompts about the spiritual.

Students examine pieces of art by African-American artists in the 20th Century. For each piece, they are shown slides of the artwork and others by the artist to identify the techniques used. In groups, they discuss and research the...

A series of four activities focuses young scholars' attention on what it means to be an American. They identify key qualities, values, and virtues they consider shared by Americans. Participants then pretend they have been selected to...

Write an unsent letter about a consumer scam, paying attention to the writing conventions of punctuation and spelling. This lesson could be adapted to fit a variety of social issues in which letter writing is appropriate. 4

From 34 possibilities (and two blanks for other options), class members choose their top 10 values and rank them in ascending order to focus attention on what they want to prioritize in life. To the list, I'd add "service to others" and...

Young scholars identify and research significant people, causes, and primary documents of the U.S. Revolutionary War. They create a class Revolutionary War web using Inspiration computer software, write a journal depicting three days in...

Learners explore the issue of a Constitutional amendment to ban flag burning. They simulate the role of a Senator's aide, conduct Internet research, write and prepare an oral and a written response based on research,

Everyone living in the United States today is a descendant from an immigrant—even Native Americans. Learn about the tumultuous history of American immigration with a reading passage that discusses the ancient migration over the Bering...

Young scholars examine historical context. In this historical perspectives lesson plan, students read and discuss instructor-selected picture book biographies. Young scholars then complete graphic organizers based on the challenges the...

Students critique advertisements in magazines, newspapers and telephone books.  In this advertising lesson, students complete a class activity in which they locate specific advertisements, then answer questions that analyze the...

Sixth graders complete a long-term unit on ancient and early civilizations. They conduct Internet research, define key vocabulary terms, analyze maps, and create a PowerPoint presentation about a selected early civilization.

Letter-writing, e-mail and telephone campaigns, petitions, marches, meetings, with lawmakers. Options for influencing elected representatives are the focus of resource that details how to craft each of these approaches to influencing...

What's missing from most studies of the American Revolutionary War is information about the role African Americans played in the conflict. To correct this oversight, middle schoolers research groups like the Black Loyalists and ...

Could you locate the Democratic Republic of Congo on a map? Scholars investigate the genocide taking place in Eastern Congo. Groups explore web-based evidence as well as the Ripples in Genocide source to take a closer look at the issue....

Students discuss the U.S. foreign policy and the components they consider important. They read and discuss President George W. Bush's speech of November 10, 2001. Students locate and mark countries President Bush identified in his speech...

In this reading comprehension and geography worksheet, students read a selection about the Alaska Purchase, its origins as a state, and its attributes. They answer 7 fill in the blank questions using information from the selection.

Young scholars draft and edit a letter regarding human rights. They work in groups to select a cause, follow basic letter writing guidelines and draft a persuasive letter expressing their concerns. Students can also send the letters to a...

Students perform acts of kindness. In this caring lesson, students brainstorm ideas for acts of kindness. Students select their favorite idea and work in groups to make a plan for how to carry out their act of kindness.