After a lesson like this one, your class won't hesitate to negotiate! Pupils pair up and negotiate opposing sides of a conflict during the ninth installment in a 15-part series. Once they determine their wants and needs, individuals...

War-torn Kosovo is experiencing another crisis—thousands of broken-down cars clogging the damaged highways, making travel impossible. Which local auto shop owner will get the contract to clear the road for progress? After some research,...

Examine the role of the Securities Exchange Commission. Upper graders watch a short Bill Moyers video, analyze a political cartoon, complete a graphic organizer on the SEC, and develop SEC reform strategies to rebuild investor confidence.

What exactly is the fiscal cliff? What are the effects of changing income tax rates and payroll tax rates? Your learners will begin by reading news articles and examining graphs illustrating the "Bush tax cuts" of 2001 and 2003. They...

What makes an event newsworthy, worth a reference in a news magazine or textbook? Who decides? These are questions Marilyn Nelson asks readers of her poem "Making History" to consider. To begin, class members list details they notice in...

The Secret Life of Bees provides high schoolers an opportunity to connect the events in the novel to events in America’s history. After choosing a topic from a provided list, individuals research how the event affected the Civil Rights...

Two lessons, "What Does Cyber Bullying Look Like?" and "Factors Influencing My Reporting the Bullying of Others," serve as examples of the 12 included in a Bully Free curriculum. Each plan includes discussion questions, an activity,...

Exchange rates are dependent on a variety of factors. Scholars tease out these factors using a prompt from College Board. Another query examines the economic health of a country with barometers such as gross domestic product and wages. A...

Students explore the concept of social capital. In this sociology lesson, students define social capital and discuss how it is developed in a culture.

Students examine the concepts of equal protection, discrimination, affirmative action, and racial profiling. They analyze the Equal Protection Clause, participate in a mock trial, and discuss the different parts of the trial.

Ninth graders publish a magazine during a ten week marking period. They make individual contributions to the group project that is based on career choices. They write and publish articles, poems, entertainment pieces, and a play that...

Students use puppets and plays to examine the role of African Americans throughout history. After being read a story by a puppet, they respond to each one in writing. Individually, they write a story about a place they have wanted to...

What is the definition of bullying, and how can you deal with it? Elementary and middle schoolers discuss verbal, physical, social, and cyberbullying before talking about strategies to avoid and stop bullying in their school.

Unless you are a lawyer, you might not understand just how unrealistic Law and Order and other legal dramas actually are. Here's a great resource to help scholars of criminology gain a more realistic perspective. The lesson outlines the...

Students perform a folk dance and discuss its cultural and historical meanings. They review the dance and perform it, beginning with four individuals who dance with confidence right from the start.

Students review purpose and timing of opening statements in mock trials, discuss particulars of what should be included in opening statements, and write individual opening statements based on facts of their case.

Learners examine federal and state constitutional law relating to search and seizure. They analyze various scenarios, participate in an opinion poll, and discuss difficulties in balancing individual privacy rights with the need to fight...

Learners, working in groups, research people who have made significant contributions in history. They compile biographies about their chosen individual, including what they think might have happened if this person had not made the...

Students investigate the concepts related to the concept of self-knowledge and self-esteem. They conduct construct a life skills binder and complete a series of worksheet activities centered around self discovery. The goal is for...

Students explore the U.S. Census and come to understand more about it. In this census lesson plan, students build reading confidence, explain who is counted in the census, and recognize the connection between census information and...

Students work in groups to compose their own "Duty of Care" for pets and make their own individual list from this discussion and illustrate it with drawing or images taken from magazines, websites or newspapers.

Students create individual examples of the Chinese Zodiac using pizza boards, pictures of zodiac animals, and art supplies. Evaluation of student progress is done through full-class and small group discussions.

After listening to and analyzing a series of FDR's Fireside Chats, groups create their own recordings, and using New Deal programs, address a current economic condition.

Why did the Articles of Confederation fail? Your historians will find out firsthand through this simulation activity, during which they will use money (consider using extra credit) to demonstrate the inherent flaws. It's simple: each...