Individuals complete a pre-assessment to gauge their ability to determine the main idea and supporting details in nonfiction text. They examine a new piece of nonfiction reading by looking at the table of contents, headings, and index...

How did the struggle for Civil Rights during the 1950s transform American society and politics? Why are American schools integrated today? Class members explore these essential questions by examining a series of primary and secondary...

Fourth graders combine art and history to assess the importance of the "Old 300." They explore a group of colonists that Stephen F. Austin brought to Texas as the first settlers and then create a time line of major events leading to the...

Energize biologists with colorful images in an activity that captivates the imagination while demystifying the subject of cellular respiration. Participants build comprehension skills and access core content knowledge by analyzing text...

Young scholars write a rap or hip-hop lyric about the life of a famous Black American. They explore famous Black Americans in history and explore how the rap form compares to other forms of poetic expression.

Interested in trying literature circles but concerned about accountability? Check out this resource. The class is divided into discussion groups, members are assigned specific roles, and provided with a worksheet that describes...

Who has the power? The founding fathers asked the same question when the United States was formed. Learners explore issues that arose during Madison’s presidency that raised constitutional questions. Through discovery, discussion, and...

Students explore the use of voice and title in William Faulkner's, "As I Lay Dying". They identify and discuss the use of image, symbols and narrative voice in the story.

To war! To war! Every nation in the history of the world has had to deal with warfare on some level. Scholars go through a series of activities and discussions surrounding the development of the Constitution to help them better...

How much power is too much power for the federal government? Scholars use primary documents and constitutional research in groups to analyze the creation of the Second National Bank under James Madison. This is the second lesson of a...

As I Lay Dying is a beautiful book and a wonderful vehicle for understanding, interpreting, and comparing themes. The class reads and analyzes the novel, discusses possible interpretations, and characterizations. They compare the themes...

Students discuss the importance of and ways to report sexual exploitation. They complete a worksheet and draw pictures of themselves and caption the drawing with an empowering message.

Students examine Marco Polo's route from China to Sumatra. They investigate the geography and climate, the religions and architecture of modern Indonesia. They study the use of spices and why they were so important in medieval times.

Students read a variety of Cinderella tales from different cultures. They discuss the differences in character, plot, and conflict resolution in the stories from different countries.

Conduct research on the Internet about labyrinths and mazes to learn about proportions and ratios. Inquisitive minds design their own maze, one maze is chosen and proportionately enlarged to 20 feet by 30 feet. This is a fun challenge...

Introduce starting space scientists to the electromagnetic spectrum, expecially the portion of visible light. Teach them about wavelength and frequesncy. Then give them a roll of adding machine tape and a manila folder to make a...

Middle-schoolers still enjoy playing with bubbles! In this series of eight laboratory activities, science learners explore convex and concave surfaces, angles, gas laws, buoyancy, density and more! 

All revolutions in science and technology have both pros and cons. Kids examine the advent of the green revolution, nuclear growth, use, and the countries that are considered nuclear powers. They'll construct three responses to each of...

Over several days, learners communicate and defend an argument regarding environmental justice issues in Chester, PA. After discussing the issue and viewing a video about the location of several toxic waste facilities in Chester, they...

Students are challenged to investigate the physical and chemical properties of plastics and use them to design a system that could be used to separate them. 1st year chemistry students use density for separation, students gathered...

Bring this lesson on hubris to your short story unit. After reading Jack London's "To Build a Fire," young readers discuss the role of hubris in the protagonist's death. The lesson has connections to other short stories, such as "The...

Choosing a poet or a theme, eighth graders conduct research in the world of poetry. They conduct Internet research and select five poems that fit their poet or theme, and create a seven slide PowerPoint presentation on their selected...

Sixth graders select a book from the Newbery list and read it. They write a short summary of the book without giving away the ending and then research the book's author. They write a book review and, finally, incorporate all of this onto...

Stories from "The Great Lakes Mariner" provide pupils with an opportunity to practice their synopsis-writing skills. The tabloid, which focuses on the Great Lakes region, is filled with stories written by sea captains, that are filled...