What is the League of Nations, when did it begin, and what is it's purpose? Young political minds can explore the answers to these questions through political cartoon analysis. Included are several political cartoons, an analysis...

Should bottled water be sold in schools, or should they only provide tap water? The summative unit in the six-part series encourages scholars debating this topic. The lessons teach how to build an argument, how to gain background...

Stay or go? As part of a study of immigration and human rights, class members listen to the stories of several immigrants and must decide if the story was their own if they would stay in the United States as an undocumented...

To gain a deeper understanding of the plight of refugees and asylum seekers, class members read stories written from the point of view of an emigrant, map the individual's journey, and note the human rights affected by each stage of the...

Even though the presidency of Theodore Roosevelt ended over 100 years ago, we can still learn something from his stances and policies that is applicable today. Class members first look over a list of prevalent political issues from the...

The National Women's History Museum provides a plan designed to accompany their online CyberExhibit, Chinese American Women; a History of Resilience and Resistance. After examining a series of primary and secondary source documents,...

How do scientists analyze data to get a specific answer to a question? The final chapter in an eight-part series of activities centered around Gorongosa National Park encourages scholars to dig deeper into the scientific process. After...

Build on high schoolers' awareness of what's wrong with society. Here they examine Jimmy Carter's extensive involvement in volunteer action in the local, national, and global arenas. Define and explore concepts -- philanthropy, citizen,...

The women working for equal rights in the early 20th century weren't a part of one large group; rather, they were members of dozens of small groups focused on social reform. Explore the ways groups in the Progressive Era like National...

Beginning with a quick writing prompt, young historians write about what they will remember most about President Obama's legacy. The activity opens up a larger discussion and exploration of his accomplishments, milestones, and...

Do citizens need protection from the federal government? Scholars investigate why the framers of the Constitution created the first 10 amendments and what these amendments mean to citizens of the United States more than 200 years later....

Of the images that have permeated history to define American courage, perseverance, and patriotism, the 1945 photograph of United States Marines raising the flag at Iwo Jima is one of the most well known. After researching the pivotal...

Beginning with a brief history of our 26th president, Theodore Roosevelt, then followed by a discussion of his interest in nature, young scientists take to the outdoors to locate and observe local plants and insects....

The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas became a quick hit in the young adult literature genre before its adaptation in the 2018 film of the same name. Use a thorough instructional activity, discussion guide, and series of activities to...

Not all colonials supported the American Revolution. A resource from the American Revolution Museum at Yorktown ask young historians to investigate the reasons why some colonial Virginians were loyalist and continued to support King...

What obstacles did India face during their post-colonial formation after gaining independence? Topics discussed in the lesson include Pakistan's conflict over Kashmir, the Indian Constitution, economic development, and the...

Do the ends justify the means? Getting a drug approved in the US is a long and involved process. But at some point out, it involves testing on humans. The ethics of such testing is the focus of a resource that uses Dr. Albert...

S.E. Hinton's The Outsiders is still relatable to teenagers today, even though it was written more than 50 years ago. Explore how the figurative language of the story works to establish characterization, and how foreshadowing lays...

Before Woodstock, there was Newport. Get plugged in to the social changes of the 1960s with a instructional activity that looks at Bob Dylan's performance at the 1965 Newport Folk Festival as a symbol of the radical changes that marked...

Using Upton Sinclair's The Jungle, guide your class in the process of identifying unknown terms using context clues and formulating text-based answers. The lesson plan includes a useful worksheet incorporating scaffolding questions on an...

The Articles of Confederation sounds like one big, fancy title to middle schoolers. Here, scaffolded steps help to ease novices into understanding this all-important American document. Discussion questions, activity activities, and ideas...

A brief overview of the location of coal reserves in the United States can be helpful in a unit about fossil fuels. You can assign students each a different coal-containing state and have them research the local impact of mining the...

Introduce some nonfiction reading into your classroom! This resource contains seven comprehension questions pertaining to an article from The New York Times website about the first middle schoolers to ever win the United States Chess...

Middle schoolers survey the loss of forests around the world. In this environmental lesson plan, students read an article that outlines how forests are being lost and government interaction which encourages forests to be rebuilt. ...