A classic lesson idea, kindergarteners share stories about their summer vacations on their first day of school! First, your young learners will listen to you talk about your summer vacation, making sure to use plenty of visual aids. Then...

The Joy Luck Club by Amy Tan is an illustrative source of rich prose, deep character development, and strong literary themes. Use two of the book's key chapters, which focus on Waverly's relationship with chess and with her mother, to...

Nearly every president has had the opportunity to name a nominee to the United States Supreme Court. But what makes someone an ideal candidate to become a Supreme Court justice? High schoolers test their prior knowledge about the...

Developing and maintaining healthy interpersonal relationships is difficult, especially as middle schoolers begin dating. A short activity permits eighth graders to practice their skills as they consider how they should respond to a...

Students study the United States geography using Google Earth. In this U.S. geography lesson, students create travel journals about five U.S. geographical locations. Students research the human and physical characteristics for each region.

Have your U.S. history class engage in pre-assessment activities at the beginning of the school year. They activate prior knowledge to answer questions. They also use information about particular topics to fill in a graphic organizer....

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 plan unit prompts class...

Students use the internet to research the location of their summer vacation trip. Given the demographics, they plot the location on a world map. They create a brochure using the information they collected. Using PowerPoint, they develop...

This lesson is designed after research done on the ecology of soil lichen in the Tucson Basin area during the summers of 1997 and 1998. Its purpose is to guide learners into adopting the problem solving thinking of ecologists. The lesson...

Third graders investigate official government symbols by completing a scavenger hunt.  In this U.S. Government lesson, 3rd graders participate in a scavenger hunt in which they locate seals or logos in their community....

Why is it important to know an author's purpose? After reviewing the three main purposes of writing, seventh graders write a persuasive letter to convince why summer school is better than taking the summer off. They can then join in a...

The Olympics are about more than sports—at times, the games are also a place of racism and prejudice! Pupils investigate the 1936 Olympics in Berlin, Germany. They analyze the meaning behind the materials included in the United States...

High schoolers read a novel and write short journal entries about the characters, setting and interesting facts. Using email, they share their responses to the novel with other students at a different school. Student also create slide...

Students begin the instructional activity 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...

Pupils explore the concept of philanthropy. In this service learning lesson, students consider community service work they may complete when school is not in session.

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 participate in a layered curriculum unit for a novel study. The teaching method allows for a student centered classroom that includes different methods of instruction and assessment.

Students explore reasons for the length of the school year in the United States. The pros and cons for extensions of the year are researched and discussed.

Get your class outside to observe their surroundings with a lesson highlighting weather patterns and seasonal changes. First, learners take a weather walk to survey how the weather affects animals, people, plants, and trees during...

First graders, in groups, discover which colors absorb heat and which colors best reflect heat. They do this using the scientific method.

Students examine primary source materials on the Dominican Republic in an exploration of how environment influences lifestyles. They compare and contrast life in the Dominican Republic with life in the United States.

Fourth graders complete a unit of lessons on the first seven presidents of the U.S. They conduct research, write a four-paragraph essay, and create posters and speeches for a simulated campaign convention.

Tenth graders, after reading two excerpts about contemporary child labor situations, discuss two broad questions in detail along with the industrial boom following the Civil War conditions in the United States. They investigate how the...

Students enter and experience the world of Sherlock Holmes and hard-boiled detectives in this unit on mysteries. They review and analyze the ""Whodunit Requirements" and the "Mystery Contract" that accompany this instructional activity....