Sharing Beliefs and Ideas

How do different religions offer explanations for what happens when we die? Invite your learners to consider the variance and complexity of religious beliefs, and to research and compare/contrast the concept of death and afterlife...

History is full of great empires rising to power—and falling into dust. But what does religion and a society's belief system have to do with a civilization's fate? A thorough explanation of the impact of world religions on their...

Introduce expository writing with a unit that asks writers to craft an essay to explain a belief, value, or priority that is important to them. Mini-lessons within the unit focus on crafting thesis statements and conclusions, selecting...

Delve deep into Emily Dickinson's poetry and philosophy with the ninth of ten lessons in a poetry unit. Once they have read an (attached) essay about Dickinson's beliefs and worldview, readers discuss how her ideas inform their...

Designing comic strips is an activity packed with fun and great potential for developing academic skills! From summarizing historical events or scenes in literature, to practicing expressions in a foreign language, this highly engaging...

Fix choppy paragraphs with strong transition words, phrases, and clauses. The video emphasizes that writers should use words that not only create flow, but also illuminate the relationships between two different ideas. Example...

Meat eater or vegetarian? Here’s a series of activities that prepare writers for crafting a persuasive essay. Using the included worksheets, the class works together to craft arguments for and against eating meat. They discuss issues...

John Moir's Smithsonian article, "The Little Owls That Live Underground," is used to model how a writer develops a main idea in a nonfiction text. Viewers are shown how to collect data about the 5H's (who, what, when, where, why) and...

Learners examine cultural diffusion. In this Silk Road lesson, pupils research primary sources to compare and contrast the religious beliefs encountered and shared by those who traded along the Silk Road route.

As a young boy, William Bradford was drawn to the Separatist idea that Christ could be with a person through prayer and worship. But soon after the Separatists arrived to Plymouth, the experiment in the New England had failed. Watch a...