Read this selection about "food deserts," places where high poverty rates limit access to healthy foods with your class. Six multiple choice questions on comprehension, inferences, vocabulary, and citing the text follow the selection and...

After reading about rural, urban, and suburban land use, readers respond to a series of comprehension questions using evidence from the provided passage.

Students recognize the characteristics of a rural area. They analyze land use to determine whether the map is of a rural (country) area or an urban (city) area.

Young scholars read about rural homelessness. In this homelessness lesson plan, students read about rural homelessness and practice their note taking skills. Young scholars discuss rural homelessness as a group and answer the provided...

Write about economic and banking issues of concern to the public. Investigate lending discrimination and the impact of the 1977 Community Reinvestment Act. Use a guide to do research and write an essay.

Students explore homelessness.  In this speaking, listening, and critical thinking lesson, students listen to and discuss 3 scenarios in which families from urban, rural, and suburban communities became homeless due to different...

Students compare and contrast suburban, rural and urban communities. They read books such as The Little Red Hen and identify the type of community in each book. Using computer software, they write about each type of community and...

Fourth graders orally share similarities and differences between their culture and the Masai culture based on their reading of Masai and I, by Virginia Kroll

Young historians will explore the complex causes and effects of industrialization in China by perusing the numerous articles included in this webpage. Throughout the resource, there are many writing and discussion prompts to help direct...

Second graders explore where they are located on the globe. In this maps and globes lesson, 2nd graders use a map to show where they live and  show the cardinal directions. Students identify characteristics of mountains, flat land,...

Young scholars prepare a bulletin board that shows the changing identity of their state before and after statehood.

Students explain what causes light pollution and how it can be curtailed. They consider the negative consequences of nighttime lighting, enabled by the invention of electric lights at the close of the 19th Century.

Students examine several elements that would cue them into a newspaper article about community change without reading the main copy text. They discuss the details and write notes about the article. They first skim and then thoroughly...

Third graders explore homelessness in their local community. In this service project/social studies lessons, children research local areas where homeless people reside, discuss global acceptance and unity, and visit a local food bank.

Readers listen and critically read fictional prose to answer prediction questions at designated stopping points, and then they give a summary of the short story. This lesson is ideal for English language learners developing English...

Students understand the differences in communities by reading "City Mouse, Country Mouse" by Isabelle Chantellard. In this types of communities lesson, students find that although communities are different, one is not better than the...

Second graders write sentences in a graphic organizer about communities and what they include.  In this community lesson, 2nd graders will also draw a picture based on their description.  

Learners examine what goes into hero worship and establishing unlikely friendships. They probe the deeper meanings in "'Magic' Pablo" through small group dialog and use a variety of ways to process the story's meaning. They see the...

Students research another country and its people.  In this diversity lesson, students work in groups to research an assigned country and develop a short oral report.  Students use diversity beans to represent the people of...

Read the story Make Way for Ducklings and introduce little ones to the five themes of geography. Reread the story, while displaying transparencies to reinforce the five themes. In groups, learners view pictures and identify the themes on...

Students explore global water contamination and water shortage problems. In this geography/ecology lesson, students gain information about the lack of safe drinking water in many countries. Students read, use websites, and complete...

Learners investigate the idea of community by taking a field trip.  In this civics lesson plan, students participate in a supervised walk around their neighborhood while identifying characteristics and objects that make their home...

Learners choose Depression era art to print out from the Internet. They write paragraphs about how the artists interpreted facts about the Depression in their art. The paragraphs and prints can become a student art critic book.

Students analyze the artistic responses to the changing landscape during the interwar period. In this art analysis lesson, students analyze landscape images and consider the ways artists depicted the changing landscape. Students complete...