Do young people care about elections? Host a discussion about the role of young citizens in the electoral process with an engaging social studies lesson. As high schoolers read and respond to four statements about youth interest in...

Despite the recognized atrocities of the Holocaust, anti-semitism continues. The 11th and final installment of the Teaching the Holocaust series explores the long-term effects of the Holocaust on modern anti-semitism, asking pupils to...

Are you looking for background information on Cervantes and his Don Quixote? How about a study guide and discussion questions or project ideas? Even journal prompts, tests, and quizzes? A 98-page teaching guide simplifies the quest with...

Why did African American voters switch from the Republican Party to the Democratic party during the Depression Era? That is the question young historians attempt to answer as they study primary source documents from the period. The focus...

The debate over voting rights continues. To begin their study of voting rights, class members first vote on proposed new classroom rules. After a discussion of the activity, groups are given a copy of the 1965 Alabama Literacy Test and...

Imagine waking up to find a giant bug staring back at you in the mirror! Think about the plight of Franz Kafka's Gregor in The Metamorphosis with a group discussion activity. Class members reflect on what it would be...

Should voting in the United States be compulsory? In 2004, fewer than 60 percent of eligible voters cast ballots in the American national elections. After reviewing arguments for and against compulsory voting, your young citizens will...

Teach your class about compassion and empathy with Jamee Riggio Heelan's Can You Hear a Rainbow? As kids read about Chris, a boy who is deaf, they discuss the things he likes to do, as well as the ways he communicates with the world.

Lead your class in exploring their local communities as well as the general environment. As they determine continental distributions by investigating minerals, rocks, and fossils located in their local region, pupils construct...

Surprise! is the theme of a unit covering such topics as consonants, blending, short vowels sounds, high frequency words, and number words. The unit's lessons also include teachable moments covering story structure, illustrations,...

Scholars participate in chants, grand discussions, and complete practice pages in a We Can Do It! themed unit. Designed to provide extra support, the assortment of lessons cover topics such as r-controlled vowels, comparatives...

What is a community? Find out with a lesson that sheds light onto the different types of communities—school, local, and global. Scholars read informational text detailing the life of a young girl from Cape Verde and take part in a...

How can December 21 be the shortest day of the year when all days are 24 hours long? Pupils see how to build a model showing the differences between winter and summer solstices and equinoxes. Using this model, classes can then discuss...

Discover the ways America has opened its borders to international refugees, and the ways other countries have been more or less welcoming, with an informational passage about United States and international policies on refugees....

Beginning in 1851, Thoreau recorded the dates of the first spring blooms in Concord, and this data is helping scientists analyze climate change! The culminating instructional activity in the series of four has pupils graph and analyze...

A discussion of bioluminescence launches an investigation of animal adaptations. After re-watching the opening minutes of Dark Water, class members listen to a reading of What Do You Do with a Tail Like This, and then create a new...

How did Charles Darwin support his controversial theory of evolution with evidence? Use an excerpt from his 1859 work On the Origin of Species to reinforce the importance of making inferences within an informational text, and to...

Happy teens are healthy teens! Pupils embark on a self-reflective journey using a series of assessments and discussions to promote personal development. The lessons focus on identifying low and high self-esteem attitudes and behaviors,...

E. E. Cummings' "Spring is like a perhaps hand" offers young scholars an opportunity to try their hands at analyzing a simile. After a warm-up activity and a close reading of the poem, class members discuss what they think the poem is...

Some patterns are so small, we can't see them without the help of technology. The same is true for cosmic microwave background radiation. During this activity and discussion, scholars examine both anisotropic and isotropic items and...

Oedipus may be the king, but he certainly does not rule—or see—all. Analyze his interaction with Teiresias in an instructional activity focused on the central idea of Sophocles' Oedipus the King. As pairs of ninth graders discuss...

Is this a statistical question? The opening lesson in a series of 22 introduces the concept of statistical questions. Class members discuss different questions and determine whether they are statistical or not, then they sort the data...

What exactly is consciousness? Readers look at paragraph three of the chapter "Of Our Spiritual Strivings" and discuss how Du Bois introduces the ideas of double consciousness and true self-consciousness. Scholars track the development...

Excellence, ethics, and engagement are the three E's featured in a unit that promotes good work among elementary scholars. Through discussion, reflection, read-alouds, activity worksheets, and written responses, participants gain...