The United States Immigration Policy is incredibly complex. To gain a deeper understanding of the criteria, quotas, preferences, and categories of immigrants admitted to the US, class members engage in a role playing activity that...

Tired of 20-somethings portraying high school students? Tired of athletes and principals always being the villains? Class members examine the student and teacher stereotypes presented TV shows and films that are et in schools. 

Should school and professional teams test athletes for sickle cell trait? Will it protect them by providing knowledge or lead to discrimination by not allowing them to participate in sports? After learning about this genetic disorder,...

Class members identify bullying in contemporary texts and role play how they might change those scenes to examples of anti-bullying. They then re-define their initial definitions of bullying and discuss what they...

Young researchers use the Internet or books to find out about colonial women during the American Revolution. They organize information in a graphic to demonstrate their understanding of the research they gathered before writing a...

The war against Communism and Joseph McCarthy’s place in it are the focus of a series of three lessons examining postwar America from 1945-1950. This first lesson asks groups to read an introduction that describes the Verona Project and...

Encourage your class members to consider what points they are really emphasizing when they are making an argument, whether in writing or in speech. Watch out though, as this lesson may just leave your learners eager to debate you!

Can investigative journalism become too sensationalistic and accusatory, or is it vital for the survival of a democracy? Middle schoolers analyze primary source documents from early 20th-century newspapers as well as Theodore...

What does the Constitution have to do with my life? This is a question teachers hear on a day-to-day basis. Teach high schoolers just how relevant the US Constitution is to them today with essays, real-life connection activities, and...

Should democracies include hate speech as a protected right? Scholars analyze the rights found under the First Amendment to the Constitution through researching evidence. Freedom of expression becomes the focal point of the...

The largest offensive in United States military history comes alive in a online interactive resource. Young historians explore the Meuse Argonne battlefield and scour the landscape for evidence from the battle. They then use primary...

Seventh graders, in their study of Japan, examine and discuss the effect the atomic bomb had on Japan. They watch videos and then read the story of Sadako and her magic cranes. They make their own origami cranes and write a paragraph on...

Sixth graders read the chapters in their social studies books and answer questions about Egyptian Dynasties. In this Egyptian Dynasties lesson plan, 6th graders research in their book, and then work in groups to answer the questions.

Students study the Amazon Rainforest. In this geography skills lesson, students complete assigned textbook reading on the region and then complete an Internet activity that requires them to identify countries in the region as well as...

Students analyze arpilleras. In this Chilean history instructional activity, students examine social justice issues as they read and interpret arpilleras. Students study the tapestries to learn about Augusto Pinochet and his human rights...

Seventh graders explore the goals of the Civil Rights Movement of the 1950s and 1960s.  In this US History instructional activity, 7th graders read a newspaper article that reported a significant event during this era. ...

Learners use knowledge of supply and demand models and demonstrate how markets can be affected by intervention from governments or other agencies in an attempt to correct a perceived market failure

Director George Pal’s film The Time Machine, based on H. G. Wells’ 1895 science fiction novella and starring Rod Taylor, Alan Young, and Yvette Mimieux, is the focus of a lesson that considers the consequences of time travel. Viewers...

Biographies deserve special attention when training youngsters how to use the library because they are alphabetized by subject rather than by author. Guide children through the process of finding biographies over a two-visit series. On...

Guide your middle schoolers through the process of taking notes with this presentation. With tips and suggestions in the first half, the slideshow could be a good way to begin a research unit in your classroom. The second half of the...

Fifth graders explpre the importance of carefully reading an assignment, and choosing and recording the important details so they are able to use this information for chapter study. They have a chance to check all their questions, once...

Visit the Magic Treehouse and take your class on a trip through time with a reading of the children's book Mummies in the Morning. Using the story to spark an investigation into Egyptian culture, this literature unit engages...

Has media always had an influence on public policy? After researching and reading news articles written during World War I, learners understand the influence of communication and media. They discuss articles in small groups and as a...

The power of a picture. During the events surrounding World War I, propaganda posters were widely distributed in American society to sway the emotions of its citizens. By analyzing World War I propaganda posters in the first installment...