Join the newspaper business with a series of lessons and exercises focused on elements of journalism. The packet focuses on distinguishing fact from opinion, writing effective headlines, sequencing events, and editing and...

Students examine the experience of the middle passage of slaves. They review slave songs and discuss their common themes. They develop a monologue in which they integrate a fragment of an actual slave song into a poem they have written.

Though it's designed to guide a field trip to the New York Botanical Garden, you could take resource like this one to a local park, wilderness area, school garden, or even a weedy empty lot. Middle schoolers identify plant parts and...

This lesson, which promises to improve the essays of your middle schoolers, contains a list of characteristics an essay should include. It breaks it down into the introduction, thesis statement, body, etc. There's also a list of things...

What is advertising? What role does it plan in an election? Middle and high schoolers discuss advertising and its purpose by sifting through different magazines and discussing the products they find. Then they relate advertisements to...

Use the power of primary sources to help young historians understand the conditions Africans endured while being shipped during the slave trade. After reading an excerpt from Eyewitness Accounts of Slavery in the Danish West Indies,...

Use online dictionaries to define vocabulary words and create a visualization of word meanings through digital art. Middle schoolers go online to define assigned vocabulary words. They visualize the meanings of the words in photo...

Middle schoolers study the Pythagorean Theorem. They describe what it means to square a number. Pupilsuse the Pythagorean Theorem to prove the sides of given triangles, and use geometric pieces of paper to create a right triangle and...

A viewing of Disney’s 1993 film of The Adventures of Huck Finn launches an examination of the events in and themes of Mark Twain’s story. Viewers respond to prompts on a film story worksheet, engage in full-class discussions, and select...

Do your historians fully grasp the consequences of being at war? Help them connect past with present through this group research activity, which has students analysing repercussions suffered by citizens of countries in conflict. Students...

Using their discussion notes Middle schoolers engage in a series of learning centers. Each center focuses on a different aspect of Australian geography, history, government, culture, and natural environment. Activities are briefly...

Practice public speaking in this oral presentation lesson. Middle schoolers list the characteristics of a powerful speaker. They watch a video of two speakers, compare them and discuss the qualities of a good speech. Afterwards, they...

Ninth graders interpret a chosen character from the novel Animal Farm and represent that character in original symbolic form and present orally to the class.

High schoolers combine multiple unrelated images into single composition with subtle message or theme They become familiar with pen and ink techniques inspired by illustrator, Edward Gorey. They create a visual language for texture and...

Students read a poem aloud called the "Mexican Version of the Night Before Christmas. They enact the scenes of the poem. They discuss variations of this poem both in English and Spanish.

Students compare and contrast the four main religions of Asia (Buddhism Confucianism, Daoism, and Shinto). This lesson is intended for use in the middle school Social Studies classroom.

Students define the concepts of terrorism and tolerance using various resources. They examine the concept of stereotype, consider stereotypes often applied to Arabs, Middle Easterners, and Muslims, and attempt to discredit these...

Middle schoolers gain understanding of economic history of United States in twentieth century by examining role of Department of Commerce. Student groups each analyze one quarter of twentieth century by researching role of Department of...

Middle schoolers explore the concept of electricity in this lesson plan as they measure the electricity that a lemon gives off. Learners use volt meters to measure the amount of electricity coming from the lemon. Your class will...

In this carbon cycle lesson, middle schoolers review the carbon cycle and visit stations in the room where they experience every phase in the carbon cycle. Students journal about their journey through the cycle and brainstorm ways...

Eighth graders create their survey discussing wording used in surveys and try to create one that is unbiased. They distribute the survey to the middle school but not during instructional time. They then collect and analyze the data...

Pupils demonstrate comprehension of the physical characteristics of the Dead Sea region and its connection to the Red Sea and the African Great Rift Valley. They are given students the opportunity to understand the role of plate...

Young scholars list traits that make them unique. They participate in a Bingo-like game, where they try to identify people by their traits.

An informative learning exercise invites learners to compose essays about animals. Some excellent writing prompts are included in this innovative learning exercise. Use these ideas with a variety of grade levels.