To Kill a Mockingbird, Hunger Games, Brave New World. Welcome to Banned Books Week. As part of a study of censorship and book banning, class members investigate censorship, the purposes of censorship, and First Amendment rights,...

Looking for a new and exciting way to teach young historians the art of primary source analysis? Jazz up your lesson plan with a resource that asks class members to analyze photos, travel documents, and letters written by some of New...

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...

How can a federal debt accumulate over time? The Federal Reserve Economic Data (FRED) dashboard allows scholars to actively research each aspect of the federal budget. In pairs, they analyze economic data to determine the best way to...

You don't have to be a scientist or even out of high school to contribute to scientific research. In the 12th instructional activity in the series of 21, scholars use this opportunity to add to the growing body of scientific knowledge...

“What is the role or function of controversial art? And, should children, our children, be required—forced—to study certain works they may find painful or humiliating or offensive?” Robert Zalisk’s question, found in his article, “Uproar...

Learn about dichotomous keys, plant identification, and how to care for the planet with a instructional activity that includes several hands-on and innovative activities. Kids go on a plant scavenger hunt and classify the plants that...

Can your class predict the weather? Show them how they can come close with a lesson plan about creating weather instruments, including weather vanes, barometers, wind socks, anemometers, and thermometers. Kids research weather patterns...

Join the tree house detectives in learning about the processes of the water cycle, water conservation, water treatment, and water as a limited resource.

What sort of shoes do frogs wear? Open toad sandals. If your scholars want experience collecting field samples, this is the lesson for you. After learning the proper way to collect field samples, pupils catch amphibians to test for...

Create 21st century learners by utilizing technology and library databases. Scholars explore the concept of comic books as literature and create a superhero who could uniquely solve a 21st century global issue. Databases such as SIRS are...

In a lesson that integrates history and mathematics, class members create graphs that compare military death statistics from World War I with those that resulted from the influenza pandemic of 1918.

How important are symbols and symbolic gestures in society? Middle schoolers have an opportunity to analyze the importance of symbols on American currency with a lesson that investigates the controversies surrounding redesigning the $5,...

This resource is structured with exercises that ask class members to explore hate symbols and hate speech. Learners examine the historical significance and harmful effects of these words and symbols, examine the First Amendment and...

Bring the sun to your class! Young scholars analyze actual solar wind data in the second lesson of a five-part series. Their analysis includes speed, temperature, and density data.

The Civil Rights Act of 1866, which granted citizenship to all males in the U.S., resulted in the first African Americans to be elected to Congress. Class members research 11 of these men, the challenges they faced, and craft...

Everyone loves a good mystery ... can your class actually solve one? Partnered pupils take on the role of forensic investigators during a three-part activity focusing on DNA evidence processing. Learners discover the methods used to...

Satellite photographs prove the dramatic changes to the environment over long periods of time. Young scientists observe photographs and make hypotheses. They then check real data on weather and climate patterns to better understand the...

Help your researchers as they begin to develop a topic for research with these worksheets. Included are two nicely designed graphic organizers that assist students in narrowing and researching their topic, and an efficient...

Three activities introduce upper elementary ecologists to photosynthesis and food webs. In the first, an experiment is set up to determine how plants respond to different types of light. In the second, they connect organism cards with...

That's one complicated address book! To understand the need for a system that keeps track of addresses, pupils trying to find the IP address of their classmates. Then individuals change their IP addresses, which leads to research...

A picture really can speak a thousand words—no matter how old! Scholars become history detectives as they learn how to analyze historical photos and evidence to uncover the past. The fun hands-on activity makes history come alive through...

As part of a study of the Civil War, class members conduct a WebQuest to create a timeline of battles fought by the 10th Alabama Infantry Regimen. They then use Google Earth to pinpoint these battles of the Civil War on a map of Alabama.

How would a Frenchman, Englishman, and Native American have each viewed the French and Indian War? Your young historians will learn about their unique perspectives and the war as a whole through a role-playing activity,...