As part of a unit study of The Hobbit, class members engage in an activity that asks group to practice the skills needed to reach consensus in a discussion.

As part of a study of immigration and the U.S. economy, class members assume the role of newspaper editors to determine which submitted letters to print on their paper's editorial page to present a balanced view of the debate.

Teenage brains are different! Understanding that the teenage brain is still developing and thus more impacted by substance abuse is the key concept in a three-lesson high school health unit. Participants learn about how the brain and...

After reading The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn and an article about the use of the novel, class members engage in a Socratic seminar focused on whether or not Twain's book should be banned.

Should a criminal's punishment match the crime? An argumentative writing plan explores this question as class members investigate a variety of mixed-medium sources by experts in the field, form evidence-based claims, and support them...

Americans wanted to fulfill Manifest Destiny, and this pattern continued with the Mexican War. The resource specifically teaches about the Mexican War through a variety of exercises including a research project, group work, brainstorming...

Introduce drawing high schoolers to perspective with a series of instructional activity that detail how to draft images in one-, two-, and three-point perspective. Each exercise includes step-by-step, illustrated directions...

Take the class on a first-person field trip through the Dust Bowl. They pretend they are living in the 1930s as they respond to images and critical thinking questions to help them best understand the issues that faced people during that...

Your plane has crashed in the Sahara desert. What do you do? Explore the possibilities with a role-playing activity based on Antoine de Saint Éxupery's The Little Prince. In groups, kids decide whether they would walk to find help...

Several social activities provide showcase the perspective of many prominent figures in World War I history. Students read an assigned case study about a memorable person and complete several activities to further understand this...

The Lincoln-Douglas Debates saw two primary political candidates debating seven different times about one of the most important social movements in United States history. Middle and high schoolers read an article that describes the...

Why do Israel and Palestine have a history of conflict? Learners find out by participating in a simulation. They work through a scenario and take on one of 27–30 roles. They put themselves in the shoes of people from Israel, Palestine,...

Imagine a war being fought to free slaves, with slaves on the front line. Scholars use primary documents, videos, and research in the second installment of a three-part series to guide their analysis of the first African-Americans on the...

As part of their study of the Progressive Era, class groups examine a 20th century version of "The Three Little Pigs" through a New Era lens and identify how ideals such as the value of hard work, creativity, and problem solving,...

Fight for freedom! The lesson delves into the world of African American soldiers during the American Revolution. Scholars read documents, such as the Dunmore Proclamation, to understand how the British government treated African...

To better understand the conflict between Amir and Hassan, two characters in Khaled Hosseini's The Kite Runner, readers assume the voice of one of the boys and craft a letter to the other that explains his feelings and concerns.

Engage your scholars by having them create "magic lantern shows" inspired by the film Dr. Toer's Amazing Magic Lantern Show: A Different View of Emancipation. As they study the South's Reconstruction through primary...

What was daily life like for those attending segregated schools in 1925? Modern learners fill out a KWHL chart as they explore historical background and primary source documents about the Laurel Grove School in Fairfax County, Virginia....

Children who are three to five years old study two rank badges from the Qing dynasty to develop an understanding of social rank, language skills, and symbolism. The instructional activity is discussion-based and requires learners to...

Sometimes a whole story can change based on the perspective of the person telling it. Practice identifying and analyzing point of view in various reading passages and writing assignments with a language arts packet, complete with Common...

Take a longer look at a formative time in history with a lesson that explores the causes of the American Civil War. After viewing a series of images and explanations for various forces at play, middle schoolers choose the images that...

How much can opinion influence a news story? A standalone resource discusses the importance of John Brown's Raid through the lens of journalism. Learners analyze two different texts, one from the perspective of the North and the other of...

The Plessy v. Ferguson case was influential in establishing segregation in the United States. Scholars continue reading the court's decision in the case, seeking to understand the key reasons the court came to its decision. Pupils also...

A story that captured the entire nation's imagination, Gone With the Wind portrays the struggle of the Civil War from the perspective of the South. Do you remember some of the details? Test your understanding and that of your pupils with...