Students draw self-portraits on die-cut crayon patterns after hearing the poem "A Box of Crayons" in this Art lesson for the elementary classroom. The lesson is ideal for celebrating Martin Luther King Day and includes extra resource...

Information, inferences, and innuendos. Text and subtext. Class members examine telegrams exchanged between President John F. Kennedy and Alabama Governor George Wallace, studying both what is stated and what is implied by the...

Collaborative groups work together to report on the volcanic activity leading to island formation and construct models to demonstrate the process. Consider having each group present their project to the rest of the class. There are many...

Working in cooperative groups, young scientists research and report on how undersea volcanic activity may benefit marine ecosystems. There are many links to websites that you can use to stimulate curiosity or for pupils to use for...

The Gulf of Mexico dead zone, an area of low oxygen that kills marine life, costs the United States $82 million every year. Young scientists research anoxic ocean environments then come up with a hypothesis for the cause of the Gulf of...

The feelings and attitudes of African-Americans during World War II are examined by high schoolers. After watching various clips from "The War," they answer comprehension questions for each section. In groups, they create their own...

Using "mystery bathymetry" shoeboxes, young explorers simulate sonar action to map out the topography of an un-viewable landscape. This classic activity helps physical oceanography learners understand how sonar works. It would be...

Words. Words. Words. Class members create micrography self-portraits combining a high contrast portrait photo with words that express themselves. Complete directions for the project, student samples, along with links to professional...

Pop music and marketing are thrown into the mix to make a fun and engaging lesson. Learners listen to several pop songs and discuss the differences in musical style. They then get into groups and work together to decide how they are...

In groups, learners review one of four selected Supreme Court cases. The whole class watches a video introducing the four cases, and then small groups dive into Internet research in an attempt to write a two-paragraph summary of the...

Before the class makes abstract art, they see contemporary examples and analyze them. They look at art made by abstract artists under the age of 33 then use similar techniques to create an interesting collection of their own. The lesson...

Satires may be designed to expose a bias to ridicule but if misunderstood can they reinforce that bias? Langston Hughes poem, “Minstrel Man” opens a discussion of racist stereotypes, the minstrel tradition, and the musical, “The...

Bring the historical relevance of baseball into the classroom, as pupils discover the lessons learned from the breaking of baseball's color barrier by Jackie Robinson. Learners view video and analyze Robinson’s character, as well as his...

This annotated bibliography and list of websites are valuable resources for any study of the Holocaust and/or of Elie Wiesel's Night.

What would be in your life's scrapbook? Scholars use short video clips, primary and secondary documents, and photos to investigate a 1909 scrapbook. They analyze and uncover what the Rogue Book tells them about the past in Western...

Go West, young man! Scholars use PBS video clips, slide shows, and interactive materials to create a picture of Manifest Destiny in the American West. Using a variety of primary and secondary sources, young historians learn about the...

Project Paperclip, the Redstone Arsenal, and the Huntsville Space Center are all featured in a resource that investigates the contributions of Dr. Werner von Brawn and other German scientists to the US space program....

Track the transformation of Malcolm Little into Malcolm X and then into El Jajj Malik El-Shabazz with the second part of Make it Plain, a documentary on the famous civil rights activist. Viewers consider not only how events shaped and...

Can you move like a photon? Young scholars use a maze to reproduce the straight line motion of a photon. The second in a six-part series of lessons on the sun has learners measure angle of incidence and refraction to determine the path...

One of the great things about technology is that it lets youngsters visit museums that may be many miles away. With this resource, middle and high schoolers can visit the portrait galleries at J. Paul Getty Museum, located in Los...

Sunsets and shadows are lovely subjects for creative projects. Kids take a good look at images of sunsets, then use paint and construction paper to create a silhouetted sunset image. Tip: This project is a great way to illustrate a poem...

Picture this. Class members follow in the footsteps of W. Eugene Smith, Dorothea Lange, James Nachtwey, and Lewis Hine by creating their own photo essay about a local event or issue.

Here is a fun way to encourage a cooperative classroom, drawing skills, and creative expression. Each child draws a design or shape on his paper, then he rotates to the next child's paper where he adds to the previous design. When the...

There are so many ways to tell a story! Develop visual storytelling skills while facilitating an understanding of Greek art and culture. Learners design Greek style images to tell a story through art. They add their designs to Styrofoam...