Fifth graders visit the National Gallery of Art and are introduced to portraiture as well as politics and presidents. They use these themes to form political parties and carry out their own "election".

The first Thanksgiving is the focus of a lesson that boosts reading comprehension and interview skills. Half the class reads about Pilgrims while the other half reads about the Native American, Squanto. After answering questions, pupils...

Social issues of gender and media stereotypes, begins with a multi-sensory experience. Learners view the painting Backlash Blues and make critical comments based on what they see. They then read the Langston Hughes poem and listen to the...

Off to Adventure! is the theme of an English language arts unit comprised of a variety of challenge activities. Scholars enhance skills and reinforce concepts by taking part in a grand book discussion, giving an oral...

Students develop their own social studies textbook using a blank theme book as they complete activities and learning experiences throughout the year. The activities are in art, music, simulations, read alouds, shared writing and a class...

Students develop their own social studies textbook. Students gain knowledge of American immigration and Ellis Island. Students discover the process of becoming a naturalized citizen and what it means to be a citizen

Learners complete a unit of lessons on the events of the Holocaust during WWII. They write daily journal entries, create a collage, view and discuss videos, read and analyze novels and poetry, and complete a novel project.

How much of your daily life is influenced by Latin American music? Take a listen—the answer may surprise you! High schoolers keep a journal to note any instances they see Latino culture represented, including the media, their school, and...

Have you ever gone looking for one thing but ended up discovering something else? That is exactly what happened to Gaylen, a character in The Search for Delicious. Gaylen begins looking for a food to label as delicious, but...

Modern readers apply classic themes to Victor Hugo's masterpiece, Les Miserables. After they discuss tricky vocabulary and plot elements from the novel, class members compare Hugo's written work to a stage or film adaptation of the...

Would you rather be right, or would you rather be kind? A novel unit based on R.J. Palacio's Wonder focuses on the need to be kind to others and to accept their differences. As learners read the book, they discuss the themes of...

Campaign propaganda has evolved from 1952 through the presidential election of 2008. A social studies activity prompts class members to analyze the devices used in ads and political cartoons, noting strategies they believe would work to...

Newspapers aren't only for reading—they're for learning skills, too! A journalism unit provides three lessons each for primary, intermediate, and secondary grades. Lessons include objectives, materials, vocabulary, and procedure, and...

Almost every ancient culture observed the stars and saw pictures in the patterns. Studying stars allowed them to guide travelers, determine when to plant crops, when to harvest food, and the stories surrounding the images include some of...

Providing a quick overview of the Middle East, this presentation could be used to kick off a unit on this topic. However, a teacher should read the information before presenting to the class. There is at least one fact that is biased and...

The teacher doesn't always have to be the expert in the classroom. The first in a series of three supplementary activities Nature: Friend or Foe uses hands-on research tasks and projects to enhance readers' understanding of non-fiction...

Take your history class through Schindler's List with a learning guide, which offers an introduction to the film and a variety of discussion questions and related assignments. There are several useful resources in the...

Dr. Martin Luther King, Gloria Estefan, Lou Gehrig. A biography, a civil rights quilt, inspiration poetry. This packet of support materials for the Houghton Mifflin Harcourt thematic units on heroes, contains enrichment activities...

This nine-page packet, the first in the series of support materials for the Houghton Mifflin Harcourt thematic units on journeys, contains enrichment activities for learners who have mastered the basic concepts of the lessons....

Young historians practice in-depth, quality analysis of primary source texts in this three-lesson unit, which examines excerpts from the slave narratives of Frederick Douglass, Harriet Jacobs, and Caleb...

Assess your learners on the five themes of geography and the most important key terms and concepts from an introductory geography unit. Here you'll find an assessment with 15 fill-in-the-blank and 14 multiple-choice questions, sections...

What does it mean to rebuild and recover after a major event? Your class will explore this theme while they discuss and discover the events surrounding September 11. They will also look at other examples and then create art pieces that...

What's the difference between being a phony and being a conformist? At what point does conforming to alleviate loneliness lead to insincerity? These are the questions at the heart of this unit plan that uses The Catcher in the Rye...