William Shakespeare's Sonnet 138 is the focus of a reading comprehension exercise that asks readers to answer to five questions using evidence drawn from the poem to support their response.

This practical activity helps young citizens learn about pre-registration to vote in elections, discuss the merits and flaws of the pre-registration process, and register themselves. The concluding activity has young voters creating...

After reading about a book that leads two friends on a treasure hunt, class members respond to four short answer reading comprehension questions. Skills include describing the characters, retelling the story in their own words, writing...

The greenhouse effect warms up earth enough so it can support life, but if it heats up too much, life won't be able to survive. An interactive presentation covers the greenhouse effect, the carbon cycle, climate forcing, and climate...

The majority of all confirmed exoplanets relied on Kepler's laws to discover their locations. Scholars learn how to apply Kepler's laws and then practice using data to discover exoplanets. They benefit from NASA video footage, NOVA...

Here's an interactive with real potential ... potential energy, that is! Scholars analyze scenarios, then rank objects in order of greatest to least kinetic energy, potential energy, and speed. The interactive provides support materials,...

It is not what you say but how you say it. Scholars use an essay prompt from the 2002 AP® English Language and Composition Free-Response Questions to analyze how an author uses language to describe her past. They also support or argue a...

Beyonce's "Halo" and Bruno Mars' "Grenade" provide eighth graders with an opportunity to consider how a writer's choice of words can create a very different tone even when the subject is the same. After a close reading of both lyrics,...

Civil War battlefields themselves are under siege by development and other forces. Using materials from the Battlefield Trust, individuals explore local areas that face threat and write letters to support their preservation. An...

Build towers with algebraic expressions. Pupils use algebraic expressions to build towers that allow their players to navigate a series of rooms. Learners evaluate expressions using different values for the variables to create a pathway...

Analyzing arguments is key to critical thinking. Colorful slides teach viewers how to recognize the structure of an argument, the claims, and the validity of the evidence used to support an argument. Then, provided scenarios permit...

Celebrate 100 years of women's suffrage by planning a re-enactment of famous women discussing their fight. After learners view a series of interviews with famous women played by actors, including Susan B. Anthony, Sojourner Truth, and...

Uncle Sam wants you! During World War II, the US government and military created a propaganda campaign to gain public support. The activity uses primary documents such as photos to explain how and why the propaganda campaign was...

Much of history is distasteful. Primary sources often reveal attitudes acceptable at the time that no longer are. But to understand controversial historical events, historians must examine primary sources that represent a wide variety of...

To understand how personal perspectives can affect policy and politics, scholars examine the woman suffrage media map and historical artifacts to analyze arguments for and against women's suffrage. Class members then take on the role of...

Let us be frank! Writers learn that crafting a thesis statement is not that difficult if one peals back the layers. After watching several videos about the elements of a thesis, class members read the article "Lettuce Club helps students...

Fish, fowl, foul fish, or foul fowl? Just what is a siren? Young scholars listen to a video clip and draw what they imagine when they hear the word "siren." After watching several videos depicting sirens, class members read "The Sirens'...

Readers analyze paragraphs from the "Letter From Birmingham Jail" and determine King's purpose and how he supports it. Scholars discuss given questions with their peers, learn new vocabulary words, and complete a quick writing prompt.

The authors of the court's decision and the dissenting opinion on Plessy v. Ferguson disagreed on their interpretations of the Thirteenth and Fourteenth Amendments. Scholars set out to show how with an on-demand writing prompt. They...

Use Mattie Stepanek’s Heartsongs book of poetry to inspire young poets to write about their own lives, experiences, and feelings. After reading the introduction to Mattie’s book, in which he talks about himself and his reasons for...

Fifth graders demonstrate research techniques in addition to endeavoring to display focus and stay on topic. Using books and stories, they gather, organize, and share information about a topic. Additionally, they explain to the class...

Pupils confront age-related stereotypes, explore how stereotyping impacts their lives, and discuss how they can make changes to reduce over-generalizations, unfair assumptions, and critical judgments about people groups. They use a...

Let’s learn about frogs! Young readers are led through “Freaky Frogs,” a non-fiction article. Teach learners how to edit an article so there are fewer details to sift through. After talking through the article, they learn the six steps...

Pupils complete a series of activities to discover life in ancient Egypt. They create want ads for pyramid workers, design vocabulary flash cards and dictionaries, and research famous Egyptians. They also research the "Curse of the...