Practice responding to controversial information with the New York Times activity provided here. Middle schoolers watch a video interview with the director of The Lost Tomb of Jesus. After reading a companion article, they identify...

What are the differences between homeschooling, traditional schooling, and unschooling? Middle and high schoolers examine the opinions of their peers on these varied types of education. After reading a New York Times article, they...

Encourage your middle and high schoolers to share their memories of a recent event. After reading a New York Times article, they discuss Elie Wiesel's memoir, Night. They write their own memoir about a significant event that affected...

Lead your class in a discussion about how they believe money influences politics. After reading "Go Ahead, Try to Stop K Street" from the New York Times, they evaluate the claims in the article about the current lobbyist scandal in...

Make history come to life by using the Frontier House series to engage students in the past. Your class will "prepare" for a trip to 1833 Montana. They will learn about homesteading, frontier life, inflation, and cost of living. Using...

Students examine life in Babylonia during the time of King Hammurabi. They read and discuss excerpts of the Code of Hammurabi, participate in a simulation of advisors to the king, complete an online interactive activity, answer...

U.S. immigration is the focus of a unit on social justice. Over the course of a school year, young historians read a variety of texts to learn about four waves of immigration that have occurred over time in the U.S. An emphasis on...

What do the homecoming experiences of soldiers who fought in WWII, Vietnam, Iraq, and Afghanistan reveal about the politics and culture of the US during the time period of each war? Young historians view The Way We Get By, which tells...

Students examine the many changes in the Tarzan character from Edgar Rice Burroughs' first novel to Disney's newest movie version to explain how student movies are often used to mirror and promote cultural attitudes and beliefs.

Students analyze census data from 1915, 1967 and 2006. They read an article about how the world's population is growing at an alarming rate. They use primary source documents to create a timeline on the information they gathered. They...

Students share their reactions to hearing a false rumor. After reading an article, they discover how a variety of newspapers responded to printing incorrect information. They prepare their own questions and contact sources for their...

Learners of all ages talk about the meaning of the word "unique," and draw a truly unique person, one part at a time. They create a totally unique person, with a head drawn by one student, a torso drawn by another student, and lower body...

Students investigate hot melt glue using a hot melt glue gun as an an injection molding simulator and a melt index viscometer. They evaluate the effect of heating and cooling by weighing the glue extruded over a constant time period.

In order to give young scientists experience with critical thinking skills, introduce them to a current controversy and prepare them to debate. Choose a topic, such as genetically modified organisms, and assign groups to represent...

A two-page instructional activity provides seven Punnett squares for practice in determining genotypes and phenotypes. Each is an example of incomplete dominance or codominance. After your bright biologists have mastered Punnett squares,...

While science Jeopardy games are a dime-a-dozen, this one has some pretty unique categories that are still relevant to a middle school physical science curriculum. The topics include: leading nations, famous Americans (who invented...

Students look back at this year in history and evaluate important events, discoveries and people from 1998. They, in groups, create 1998: Year in Review. While 1998 has come and gone, the idea and intent for this lesson plan can be used...

Students read an article that explains the dangers of household bacteria. In this lesson, students explore items in a home that easily hold bacteria, then complete several activities to reinforce comprehension of the article.

Students sing along to a hello song. They develop skills of phonemic awareness, literacy and social awareness. They think of words that rhyme with their names to add to the song.

In this Gold Rush worksheet, students fill out a chart for the job or business, the products or services provided, what we have today, and the services it provides. Students complete this for 14 jobs during the Gold Rush.

Students create living artifacts dealing with different times and cultures. They explore Ancient Rome, the Middle Ages, Islam, Africa, and the United States.

An excellent lesson plan on the classic book, Where the Red Fern Grows. Learners view the W. Wilson Rawls website and engage in a series of activities generated by the website. They write in their reflective journals, watch a video, and...