What is the root of the conflict between ranchers and environmentalists? Middle schoolers write their impressions of what an environmentalist is and does. They read the New York Times article "In New Wild West, It's Cowboys vs....

The New York Times article “Online Diary,” launches this study of websites and how to assess them. Richly detailed, the lesson includes warm-up activities, procedures, journal prompts, discussion questions, and links to valuable...

Here is a nice set of activities and discussion questions to accompany your class reading of No Pretty Pictures, a memoir of a young girl's experiences and struggle for survival during the Holocaust.

Are history textbooks plagiarized? The New York Times article, “Schoolbooks Are Given F’s in Originality,” looks at this question and forms the basis for a lesson on textbooks and plagiarism. The very detailed plan includes resource...

Use this economic activity to focus on writing summaries of informational text. First, middle schoolers define common economic terms used to describe news about the economy. They closely read news about the federal budget deficit and...

How many treats do you buy each week? Learners investigate diets and how the media tricks consumers into purchasing unhealthy snacks. They will investigate the designs and logos affiliated with cereal boxes and identify specific phrases...

Is, as Walt Whitman contends, America’s “almost maniacal appetite for wealth,” the heart of the American dream? Class members grapple with this question as they read David Brooks’ article “The Commercial Republic,” and quotes that...

How can acknowledging opposing viewpoints reinforce one's argument? Use this New York Times lesson to study consumerism and the environmental impact of new products. After reading the article "Whether a Hummer or a Hybrid, the Big...

Beginning botanists view slides of plant vascular tissue. They watch Magic School Bus Gets Planted, which you can find online, and then write a summary of what they have learned about plants. This activity could be used with upper...

Should Internet users who send data-heavy content pay higher fees than those who are involved in activities, like sending an email, that have less content? This question is at the heart of the Net Neutrality debate. After watching a PBS...

Have you ever conducted a Web search and received too many hits? Teach your class about Boolean search terms and provide them time to practice conducting efficient online searches. This lesson plan contains several fun activities which...

Using the article "Escaping Afghanistan: Children Pay Price," discuss the lives of Afghan refugees and the impact of Taliban rule. A detailed list of questions is provided, but you will have to search for the article. Extension...

The New York Times article “Lessons in Internet Plagiarism,” launches a look at how the Internet has increased the prevalence of plagiarism. The richly detailed lesson includes warm-up and wrap-up activities, discussion questions,...

Youngsters identify and interpret the importance of having rules in order to maintain order at home, at school, in their community, and in the United States. They create a working Classroom Constitution that governs the classroom and...

Is losing cultural traditions the cost of social progress, or should people make stronger efforts to preserve these traditions? High schoolers watch a short film about the native Yup'ik people in Alaska and how they handle the shifts in...

Take this simulated archaeological dig one layer at a time with your young pupils to encourage observation, critical thinking, and careful attention. Using a transparent box full of layers of sand and artifacts, pupils examine the...

Teach your class what it means to be a smart reader with this simple classroom poster. Including short I am statements describing seven different reading strategies, this is a great resource for improving students' reading...

Pick a topic, any topic! Working in small groups, scholars choose three topics they think would make interesting podcasts. Next, each group shares their ideas with the class to narrow down their choices.

Write with the senses! Try using art to inspire writers to consider all of the senses. Here, the class is divided in half. Each group looks at one of two images, imagines the senses that would be engaged, and records answers to five...

A thorough lesson plan takes your first grade class through Jane Yolen's beautiful Owl Moon. It crafts the unit with clear objectives, high-level guiding questions, cloze activities and sentence frames, and extension...

The Holocaust was an evolution of anti-Semitism, scapegoating, and targeted violence against Jews with Nazi policies. A resource unpacks the escalation in violence, along with the erosion of democratic institutions, during the 1930s....

The German youth faced an onslaught of propaganda when they went to school, thanks to the Nazi regime led by Hitler during World War II. Pupils relate their education experiences to German youth by analyzing primary source readings,...

Ralph Ellison's Invisible Man is the most frequently cited novel for the Advanced Placement Literature and Composition Open Response Question. Those new to using the book and and veterans as well will find the teaching strategies, the...

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...