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Lesson Plan
NASA

Seasonal Science: Building Claims from Evidence

For Teachers 6th - 8th Standards
A lot can change in a year! Investigators observe a video of Earth over the course of a year and complete a KWL chart. Astronomers view a second video, participate in a guided discussion, and discuss the rubric for successfully...
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Lesson Plan
NASA

Introduction: Building Claims from Evidence

For Teachers 6th - 8th Standards
Making a claim without supporting it has little value. Learners work on their claim-making skills in a well-designed instructional activity. They view still images from a video and make claims using support from the visual...
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Lesson Plan
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Nemours KidsHealth

Concussions: Grades 6-8

For Teachers 6th - 8th Standards
Teach middle schoolers to learn how to prevent concussions, recognize the symptoms of a concussion, and what they should do in case of a concussion. After reading articles that provide background information, groups create factsheets...
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Lesson Plan
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Nemours KidsHealth

Obesity: Grades 6-8

For Teachers 6th - 8th Standards
Screen time and fast foods, sugary drinks and greasy fries have lead to one-third of tween and teens being overweight or obese. As part of the Health Problems Series scholars analyze the nutritional value of the school food services menu...
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Lesson Plan
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Nemours KidsHealth

Diabetes: Grades 6-8

For Teachers 6th - 8th Standards
After reading a series of articles that provide background information about Type 1 and Type 2 diabetes, class members design a meal plan and an activity plan for a weeklong summer camp for 5- to 8-year olds with diabetes. A second...
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Lesson Plan
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Nemours KidsHealth

Eating Disorders: Grades 6-8

For Teachers 6th - 8th Standards
Raise awareness of eating disorders with a two-activity lesson with middle schoolers reading articles to gather background information and then create audio messages and advertisements that promote healthy self-esteem and body image.
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Lesson Plan
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Nemours KidsHealth

Cold and Flu: Grades 6-8

For Teachers 6th - 8th Standards
Wouldn't it be lovely if people were immune from colds and flu? Alas, such is not the case; however, there are things we can do to avoid getting or spreading these pesky health hazards. Middle schoolers read articles that provide them...
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Lesson Plan
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Nemours KidsHealth

Asthma: Grades 6-8

For Teachers 6th - 8th Standards
Two activities teach middle schoolers about asthma and how it can affect people's lives. After reading a series of articles and watching two videos that provide background information about asthma, pupils design an interactive game that...
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Lesson Plan
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Nemours KidsHealth

Online Safety: Grades 6-8

For Teachers 6th - 8th Standards
Recognize risky behaviors and avoid them! That's the big idea behind two activities designed to teach middle schoolers to think critically about online safety. After reading background articles about protecting online identity,...
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Lesson Plan
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Nemours KidsHealth

Bike Safety: Grades 6-8

For Teachers 6th - 8th Standards
Two activities teach tweens and teens about bike safety. After reading articles about bike safety, class members design tags with important safety reminders that can be attached to bikes. Groups then create a dance video that...
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Unit Plan
Humane Education Advocates Reaching Teachers

Justice for All - Educating Youth for Social Responsibility: Grades 6-8

For Teachers 6th - 8th Standards
Teach middle schoolers how to develop healthy relationships with activities and lessons designed to create a kind and inclusive classroom. Pupils create guidelines to develop a safe and civil learning environment. They learn how to...
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Lesson Plan
EngageNY

Identifying How Text Features Support Arguments: “The Exterminator"

For Teachers 6th Standards
Half and half. Split the class in half to gain a full understanding of sidebars. Pupils work in groups to discuss sidebars in text. Half of the groups read Seriously Sick, and the other half reads Killer Genes. They read using...
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Lesson Plan
EngageNY

Mid-Unit Assessment: Tracing an Argument in an Article and a Video

For Teachers 6th Standards
Pesticides—unnecessary pollutants or positive application? Learners watch a video about DDT and read Rachel Carson: Sounding the Alarm on Pollution for their mid-unit assessment. They complete graphic organizers, answer multiple-choice...
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Lesson Plan
EngageNY

Getting the Gist and Tracing an Argument: “Public Fear” Excerpt from “The Exterminator”

For Teachers 6th Standards
Only fear fear itself. Scholars read Public Fear from The Exterminator. Triads work together to annotate and determine the gist of the text. They then complete a Tracing an Argument graphic organizer to identify arguments, claims, and...
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Lesson Plan
EngageNY

Annotating the Text and Identifying Argument, Claims, and Evidence: “Double Whammy” Excerpt from “The Exterminator"

For Teachers 6th Standards
That's a double whammy! Scholars read the excerpt Double Whammy from The Exterminator. After identifying the gist of the text, they annotate by marking the author's claim. The group discusses what is meant by double whammy and complete...
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Unit Plan
Crabtree Publishing

State Your Case Series

For Teachers 6th - 8th Standards
Four lessons make up a unit focused on writing persuasive essays. Each unit builds on the last, ultimately taking pupils through the writing process. Scholars make a claim, create an argument, debate both sides, then state their opinion....
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Lesson Plan
EngageNY

Planning for Writing: Studying Model Writing and Determining a Theme in The Lightning Thief

For Teachers 6th Standards
A theme runs through it. Scholars analyze how a common theme runs through the myths they have read and The Lightning Thief. They complete graphic organizers and view a four paragraph model essay. They analyze the essay for structure and...
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Lesson Plan
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Nemours KidsHealth

Media Literacy and Health: Grades 6-8

For Teachers 6th - 8th Standards
Internet suffers could drown in the volume of information available on line. Here's an activity that can be a lifeline and buoy confidence in middle schoolers' ability to find reliable information and credible sources. After reading...
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Unit Plan
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Echoes & Reflections

Contemporary Antisemitism

For Teachers 6th - 12th Standards
Despite the recognized atrocities of the Holocaust, anti-semitism continues. The 11th and final installment of the Teaching the Holocaust series explores the long-term effects of the Holocaust on modern anti-semitism, asking pupils to...
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Unit Plan
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Echoes & Reflections

Perpetrators, Collaborators, and Bystanders

For Teachers 6th - 12th Standards
After the Holocaust, the world grappled with how to bring justice to the Nazis. But what to do with the thousands—if not millions—who allowed it to happen? Young historians consider the issues of guilt, collaboration, and responsibility...
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Lesson Plan
Stanford University

Declaration of Independence

For Teachers 6th - 8th Standards
Scholars work in pairs to decide whether leaders wrote the Declaration of Independence for the rich and powerful or for every man. To draw their conclusion, pairs read excerpts from two historians and complete a graphic organizer citing...
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Lesson Plan
The New York Times

Where to Draw the Line: Balancing Government Surveillance with the Fourth Amendment

For Students 9th - 12th Standards
The question of how to balance Fourth Amendment Rights with national security concerns becomes critical in an age of planned terrorist attacks, election interference, and fake news. Get young social scientists involved in the debate with...
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Lesson Plan
Newseum

Putting the Consumer's Questions to Work

For Teachers 6th - 12th Standards
Who, what, when, where, why, and how are good questions to ask when evaluating a source. First, scholars find two sources of information relating to a chosen topic. Next, pupils complete a worksheet to gauge the source's credibility....
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Lesson Plan
Newseum

E.S.C.A.P.E. Junk News

For Teachers 6th - 12th Standards
Fair, balanced, and reputable information? There's an acronym for that! Scholars learn the E.S.C.A.P.E. method for evaluating news sources. Then, pupils work in small groups to read and analyze a news story and discuss the activity to...