What advantages do political cartoons have over written editorials? Scholars discuss the topic by exploring editorial cartoons. Working in small groups, pupils analyze an Uncle Sam cartoon and complete a worksheet. As a fun extension,...

Get those red pens ready! Using the Peer Critique protocol, scholars provide and receive feedback on their editorial essay drafts. They then use class time to work on revisions. 

Introduce learners to the debate format with an activity that uses the National Park Service's controversial Channel Islands restoration program as a topic. Class members learn how to generate provocative debate questions, how to prepare...

The Paradise Papers, a year-long research project from the International Consortium of Investigative Journalism (ICIJ) exposed how political leaders, business people, and wealthy individuals used offshore entities to avoid taxes and hide...

Students work in cooperative groups to read one current situation of Tibet. They respond to a set of discussion questions. Pupils write a newspaper article expressing the current information explored. Students write an editorial or...

The answer is blowin' in the wind. Using the resource, scholars read and analyze a model essay about wind power. Next, they work in groups to write an introductory paragraph that expresses an opinion about the topic. 

Gulliver's Travels tells the story of a man who goes on voyages and encounters strange people. A unit plan introduces readers to the classic text, as well as excerpts from other examples of sarcasm and satire, such as "A Modest...

A free press is entitled to its opinions. While the news pages report the facts of events, editorial pages feature writers' and cartoonists' opinions about events to either directly or indirectly persuade. Introduce viewers to the art of...

Introduce middle schoolers to Edward Bloor's novel Tangerine with a lesson that asks scholars to make predictions about events in the novel based on an article written by the Smoop Editorial team. Predictions are posted in the classroom...

Does your bank pay you for allowing them to hold your money? Class members research three different ways they can earn money using money already in the bank. Topics include certificates of deposit, statement savings accounts, and...

Does your bank pay you for allowing them to hold your money? The instructional activity covers three different ways your money can make money. Topics include certificates of deposit, statement savings accounts, and money market accounts.

Does your bank pay you for allowing them to hold your money? Class members investigate three different ways money can make more money. Topics include certificates of deposit, statement savings accounts, and money market accounts....

Students participate in conversation exercises to introduce themselves and to review verb tenses. They interview each other and share conversations.

Learners are introduced to global warming through analysis of political/editorial cartoons dealing with the subject. They discuss the cartoon and what the feel it means and then discuss the mechanics of and the concerns about global...

Students investigate what sort of person the author is. They listen as the teacher use her notes to introduce Tom Holt briefly. Students are asked if anyone has read any of his books. They work in pairs to find more about Tom Holt as a...

Help your class understand the difference between fact and opinion by exploring the New York Times homepage and articles. In pairs or small groups, pupils complete a scavenger hunt, answering the provided questions. Next, discuss the...

What does it mean to be wealthy? Your learners will consider how carrying debt affects budgeting, and learn about the debt snowball strategy and how is it used in the concept of eliminating debt in order to build wealth.

How much gas does it take to drive around town? The class uses a variety of mathematical procedures to take a look at the use of gas for transportation. Class members use a different unit to determine the cost of driving a car as opposed...

Almost every teen wants a car, but can they really afford one? The lesson walks pupils through how to identify a budget, find all of the costs associated with car ownership, and determine if they should buy the car or keep looking.

Students examine the Amistad revolt and its significance in the American debate over slavery. They review and discuss period newspaper reports about the revolt.

Young scholars recognize bias in a political cartoon, evaluate how the media uses both positive and/or negative political cartoons, and assess the influence a political cartoon can have on a person.

Ninth graders explore the lives of Jewish refugees during WWII. After reading a brief passage about the people and the voyage of the St. Louis, 9th graders discuss how refugees have been treated historically. Reading and testing...

Students analyze the social conditions of Victorian England and focus on the woman's place in Victorian society. In this Victorian England lesson, students read excerpts of Victorian writers and their take on the Industrial Revolution....