Most of us have heard of Rosa Parks, the Montgomery Bus Boycott, and Martin Luther King, Jr. But what about Claudette Colvin, Virginia Durr, Freedom Summer, or the Birmingham Children's Crusade? A five-lesson unit prompts class...

Are you looking for a way to teach sequence of events in your narrative writing unit? Bring this lesson to your middle school class, as it prompts young writers to create a narrative sequence map of events that have happened at school...

Students read primary source documents to examine what a typical school day was like in the early 1900s. They discover how African-American children were taught differently than whites. They compare and contrast past school days to...

Students brainstorm and discuss what the concept of "fairness" is and how to identify examples of "fairness." They pull from historical fiction and the Civil Rights Movement to explain how individual are affected by, cope with, and...

Students collect background information about costs of hosting Olympics, prepare presentation about Chicago's bid to host 2016 Summer Olympics, debate pros and cons of going to Chicago, and present findings to classmates.

It's a shame that there are no photographs in this presentation because the information is fascinating! Each identically fashioned slide contains bullet points of information about Antarctica that will enhance an earth science...

A timeline can be a powerful learning tool because it reveals a pattern in events. While few would consider St. Augustine, Florida a hotbed of the 1960s Civil Rights Movement, a selection of background information and a timeline of...

The house lights dim, the curtain parts, lights slowly come up, revealing the stage. Before the actors appear, before a word is spoken, the audience is drawn in by the lighting, by the colors, by lines of the set, by the props, and...

Students explore seasons.  In this cross curriculum weather and seasons activity, students identify characteristics of the four seasons and sequence related pictures. Students listen to poems and stories about trees in different...

Young scholars use the Internet to research the history of Long Island Sound. In groups, they identify the sources of point and nonpoint pollution and how humans are impacting the area. After watching a video, they discuss the role of...

Students examine Puerto Rico's location and from its geographic location, reflect on its culture and people. They also read a play by a Puerto Rican author. This is an excellent cross-curricular unit, including history, geography, and...

Students study the key figures in African-American military history. They discover how African-American military history reflect both discrimination and the often heroic struggle to overcome discrimination. They examine the key periods...

Sixth graders explore, analyze and study the effect and impact that humans have on the environment based on their choices as individuals, businesses and governments. They assess the balance between human activities and aquatic pollution.

Students begin the lesson plan by reading a book on film study. After watching the movie "Citizen Kane", they work together to identify the issues concerning the United States before World War II. As a class, they discuss how the ideas...

Students attempt to answer how African-American, Latino, and white students address race relations in the United States in the future.

Eighth graders discuss the role of trees as one of the most important natural resources. In groups, they examine how the forests nearby helped to shape their urban city. Using the internet, they research the use of the forest in early...

Books can help teens understand complex global issues. A helpful educator's guide introduces readers to what it's like to be a refugee. Lesson components for the novel Shades of Gray include an anticipation guide and writing and...

Tenth graders analyze primary sources.  In this Current Events activity, 10th graders write a short two - three paged paper answering a specific question.  Students prepare a fact sheet for the class detailing points that...

Students research countries participating in the Olympic Games. They create a database which includes graphs for comparing population density, the number of athletes, per capita income, etc. for each country. This project is completed...

Through this series of terrific lesson plans, pupils learn about the extent of poverty in the state of Arkansas during the Great Depression. They read documents from the period which describe how hard times were, view an online photo...

The students take a harbor cruise, photograph, and draw shore line features attending to evidence of human impact/consequences, and its cost on marine/land animal habitats vegetation, weather patterns, signs of erosion, and the water...