Guided by close-reading questions, groups examine the similarities and differences between the Declaration of Independence and the Bill of Rights. In addition, they look at how the principles are presented in these two foundational US...

Assess whether your class members can comprehend complex informational text with a series of drills based on selections from Emerson, Thoreau, and G.K. Chesterton. The exercises could also be used for group work or a full-class discussion.

Provide some group brainstorming and story-planning time with the fifth lesson in a series on examining and creating documentaries. After you've explained the purpose of each section of a documentary, groups meet to plan the beginning,...

Storyboarding is an essential part of planning a film. Introduce your class to storyboarding and allow groups time to plan out their documentaries in this sixth lesson in a series about creating documentaries. Class members review an...

Ask learners about their personal writing habits, such as whether they keep a journal or a blog, or if they'd ever want to. Though this is not a fully developed lesson, you can use this article and question to provoke discussion and...

Students determine the workings of the Braille alphabet and how people with visual impairments learn how to use it. In this Braille lesson, students study the associated vocabulary, read about Helen Keller, and complete associated...

Students study the criteria for evaluating web sites and use information found in authoritative web sites to create questions for a game of Jeopardy. They evaluate three different web sites, some with minor errors and some with major...

You have the power! Scholars learn that they have power of the pen in their writing. After reading and viewing various sources about standardized testing, they express their own opinions about the testing by writing letters to the...

The United States is built on the presumption of equality—yet we have not passed the Equal Rights Amendment to the Constitution. Using video clips featuring historians, a museum tour, and an interview with Ruth Bader Ginsberg, learners...

students discuss the vehicles used by media to feed images to consumers. In small groups, 9th graders are given magazines and asked to pick out the ads that appeal to them. They write responses to the questions:

Ninth graders examine money management. They study percentages, inequalities, fixed and variable expense calculations in order to develop an understanding of how these concepts apply to budgeting a lifestyle for a specific career.

Eighth graders determine how mass media influences human sexuality by looking at advertisements for their sexual content and how the ads affect their decision making. After evaluating the advertisements in a PowerPoint presentation they...

Seventh graders investigate media protrayal of railroad trespassing incidents. They write a legal action letter against one of the media companies.

Students develop criteria for determining statements of opinion. They practice discerning statements of opinions in advertisements.

Young scholars investigate new vocabulary words with a fun, collaborative activity. Given a deck of word cards, pairs of students flip over one at a time and independently look up the term in a dictionary. They then take turns rolling a...

Eighth graders investigate the acoustic properties of materials in order to develop soundproofing products.  In this soundproofing lesson students research different resources, design and perform experiments and fabricate, test and...

Students investigate why the hip hop is sometimes called the CNN of black youth. They explore the political themes in American hip hop. Students examine the connection between art, media and social justice in hip hop.

Young scholars employ information literacy skills to research topics. They develop topics using a graphic organizer. They draft, revise and edit research projects. They write an expository essay. They create a web page in Microsoft...

Eleventh graders examine the roles of trading and pilgrimage in promoting exchange of goods and ideas. They appreciate the roles played by Xuan Zang and Marco Polo in the material and cultural exchange among the peoples of the Silk Road.

Students read, write and reflect on Science articles, this approach will promote both literacy and critical thinking skills. Critical thinking skills learned in the science classroom from these activities will impact students in many...

Young scholars view examples of political advertisements during the years of 1952 through 1964. After viewing, they discuss how the Cold War and the threat of Communism affected the development of the United States. They compare the...

Students develop their knowledge of HTML. They use an HTML template to analyze the function of basic HTML elements and develop web pages for the school web site. II. use the HTML editor HTML Assistant to develop web pages for the school...

Students develop their abilities to solve problems both in school and in a variety of situations similar to that they have encountered in life. They define the term ecosystem in nature by comparing them to familiar organizational...

There are some words out there that just make you say, "Wow!" Encourage your class to find and use these words in their writing to make their work more interesting and complex. This packet goes through the writing process, beginning with...