While the Constitution requires a "State of the Union" address, it doesn't give many details. In fact, it wasn't until Woodrow Wilson that the periodic update to Congress was given in-person. Using primary sources, recordings and...

Use the accompanying assessment to determine your class's prior knowledge on Martin Luther King, Jr. before beginning a lesson on the famous civil rights movement leader. The resource has young historians thinking about life for African...

Two lessons, "What Does Cyber Bullying Look Like?" and "Factors Influencing My Reporting the Bullying of Others," serve as examples of the 12 included in a Bully Free curriculum. Each plan includes discussion questions, an activity,...

Students examine causes and effects of Great Depression and its significance on twentieth-century life, analyze value of various types of historical information, specifically primary sources, and relate events, issues, problems, and...

After several short 15-minute mini-lessons, your learners will gain an understanding of the characteristics of a non-fiction text. Using the book Map It by Elspeth Leacock, your class will become acquainted with non-fiction terms...

Director George Pal’s film The Time Machine, based on H. G. Wells’ 1895 science fiction novella and starring Rod Taylor, Alan Young, and Yvette Mimieux, is the focus of a lesson that considers the consequences of time travel. Viewers...

What was the most significant tool used by the Chumash? How did the environment make the tool possible? What group behaviors allowed the Chumash be be successful for thousands of years? After watching West of the West's documentary Once...

How much does your class know about psychology? What about empirical evidence? If they could use some time to learn the essentials of psychology, use a quick reference sheet to note what they know before the test, after the unit, and at...

Carbon is in the air; should we care? Teach the class why it is important to pay attention to carbon levels and how the world population and various countries across the globe affect the carbon levels in the atmosphere. High schoolers...

As part of a study of World War I, class members read newspaper articles from the time that urge American involvement, non-involvement, or neutrality. Using the provided worksheet, groups analyze the articles noting the central argument...

Everyone sees the results of public policy, but not everyone understands the strategy that goes into creating an effective one. Now that your class understands the brainstorming process from earlier in the series, they continue on to the...

Planes, trains, and automobiles. How many ways to travel are there? Scholars learn about modes of transportation in the past and how they have changed over time. Budding historians view a timeline, participate in group discussion, and...

Take a virtual trip to see other countries and cultures! After learning about different cultures and populations, English learners think about a place they'd like to visit. Small groups or individuals plan a trip to a country...

Is there a bank for the banks? Pupils analyze the complexities of the Federal Reserve system by breaking it down into easy-to-understand sections. Step-by-step investigation using flow charts and graphs of how the monetary system works...

After the Revolutionary War, the success of the United States was far from guaranteed. Foreign powers coveted the new land, and Great Britain challenged American sovereignty. Learners consider the challenges facing the new nation using...

By digitally organizing research, your class leaves a legacy for future students on the life and times of Mark Twain. Before reading The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, scholars conduct group research projects on one of six (listed)...

Based on the bestselling series, this worksheet details seven habits of highly defective teens, and prompts young learners to consider their own social and emotional tendencies. What kinds of experiences do your pupils have...

From fixed and variable expenses to gross income and net pay, break down the key terms of budgeting with your young adults and help them develop their own plans for spending and saving.

How to meet the needs of people around the globe—a question many ask. The fifth in a six-part series about human population and its effects on the globe, the eye-opening lesson includes discussion, a homework activity, and an in-class...

Students examine an environmental issue. In this global studies lesson plan, students read an article entitled, "Global Climate Change," and respond to the discussion questions that accompany it.

A role-playing scenario has middle-schoolers imagining that they are refugees forced to flee their community and integrate into a new one. Then, some play the roles of members of the new community and the class brainstorms ideas about...

Young historians will learn not to fear primary source materials (or fear itself, for that matter) thanks to this resource that uses Franklin D. Roosevelt's March 4, 1933 Inaugural Address to model how to conduct a close reading of such...

Students study positive and negative aspects of land use laws and zoning ordinances. They participate in a land use planning exercise using a role play activity.

Research the characteristics of leaders who have used nonviolence to change society. The class then applies this information to their own community to find leaders with these same characteristics, creating a wall collage of pictures and...