Social Media Toolbox
Why Social Media?
Is social media the best way to convey news in your school? Young journalists dig deep into the social media question in the second of 16 lessons from The Social Media Toolbox. After learning about the relationship between social media...
Social Media Toolbox
Ethical Decision Making
When faced with a dilemma, how do journalists decide how much news to use? Social media scholars explore the philosophies of ethical resolution in the first of a 16-part Social Media Toolbox series. Partnered pupils use a Potter Box to...
American Bar Association
News Literacy Model Curriculum in Social Studies
Scholars investigate news literacy in the twenty-first century. They use technology, legal decisions, writings, and digital privacy to analyze the topic. Using what they learned, a group assignment looks into both the challenges and...
American Press Institute
Media Literacy: Where News Comes From
What actually happens at a press conference? Make sense of the mayhem with a mock press conference activity designed to promote media literacy. Individuals participate as either members of the press or the governor's office to examine...
American Press Institute
High Five: Media Literacy and Newspapers
Teach the five different types of media with the first of three in a media literacy unit. Learners create and propose a final newspaper project, which must address information covered throughout the unit.
American Press Institute
High Five: Go to Press
High school scholars learn valuable information about how to run a newspaper in the third and final installment of a media literacy series. The unit scaffolds learners to success with background information before they plan for...
Novelinks
Zach’s Lie: Questioning Strategy – Cubing
Your class won't be a bunch of squares from using this well-rounded activity! Instead, they'll be expressing thoughtful questions using the cubing strategy. The class brainstorms questions of increasing rigor about Zach's Lie in the...
PBS
Racial Equality: How Far Have We Come and How Far Do We Have To Go?
Is everyone treated fairly in America? The culminating fifth lesson from a series of five has pupils explore racial inequalities from the 1960s and decide whether or not society has changed over time. The lesson comes with a speech from...
Partners Against Hate
Building Community and Combating Hate
Put a little love in your classroom! Help middle school scholars understand differences among people and build a sense of community within their school through 10 well-organized lessons. Each unique lesson incorporates writing,...
ReadWriteThink
Biography Project: Research and Class Presentation
I Have A Dream ... that after the lesson, all individuals master the reading, writing, researching, listening, and speaking skills the biography project helps them develop. Martin Luther King, Jr. serves as a topic example for a model...
Howard Hughes Medical Institute
The Great Elephant Census Modeling Activity
They say elephants never forget—and your class won't forget an insightful modeling activity either! Junior zoologists take part in a mock elephant census using the sample count and total count methods. The included materials provide...
National Society Daughters of the American Revolution
Lesson 3: What Makes Attitudes Towards Education Change over Time?
The struggle for women's rights is not unique to this generation, or even to the 20th century. Class members explore the conflicting opinions of Alexander Graham Bell and his wife, Mabel Hubbard Bell, regarding women's pursuits of higher...
Daughters of the American Revolution
Lesson 2: How Do We Determine the Value of Education?
Have women always had the same educational opportunities as their male counterparts? Young historians read an 1819 essay by Emma Willard on the state of female education in the 19th century before discussing their views regarding women's...
Daughters of the American Revolution
Lesson 1: How Do Society’s Expectations Influence Education?
The history of women's education can be traced back to the delicate stitching of student samplers from the 19th century. Modern-day pupils examine and analyze four primary sources, three of which are images of embroidered samplers, which...
PBS
Lessons in Leadership, Roosevelt Style
It's easy to criticize those in power until you're sitting at their desk, faced with the same decisions. A history lesson plan prompts secondary learners to research the Roosevelt presidencies through the lens of leadership and...
Library of Congress
Thomas Jefferson's Library: Making the Case for a National Library
The United States Library of Congress, the largest library in the world. But such was not always the case. The library was destroyed during the War of 1812. In a persuasive letter to Samuel H. Smith, Thomas Jefferson offered to sell his...
J. Paul Getty Trust
O Greek Shape! O Fair Pose!
Everything old is new again. The Los Angeles J. Paul Getty Museum presents a lesson on how Greek black-figure painting influenced eighteenth century Neoclassical artists. After looking at a series of examples, class members create their...
J. Paul Getty Trust
Looking and Learning in the Art Museum — Lesson 2
Is there a difference between examining an original work of art and viewing a reproduction? Class members are asked to reflect on this question after researching a piece, study a reproduction of it, and the examining the original in an...
J. Paul Getty Trust
Looking and Learning in the Art Museum — Lesson 3
Curator, artist, art handler, archivist, conservator-restorer, guide. Who would have thought there were so many different kinds of museum professionals? After a visit to an art museum, class members reflect on the role of the museum in...
Nosapo
Getting to Know Each Other
How do you do? Guide learners through the basics of conversational English with an extensive set of discussion questions. Class members ask partners more about themselves, including their favorite hobbies, music, and time of day, as well...
National Library of Medicine
Your Environment, Your Health: The Great Debate—Bottled Water vs. Tap Water in Our School
Should bottled water be sold in schools, or should they only provide tap water? The summative unit in the six-part series encourages scholars debating this topic. The lessons teach how to build an argument, how to gain background...
Southern Poverty Law Center
Speak Up at School
When someone says something offensive based on prejudice or a stereotype, it's often difficult to know how to react. A packet on tolerance and standing up for others guides teachers to both learn and instruct members of their class to...
J. Paul Getty Trust
Picturing a Story: Photo Essay about a Community, Event or Issue
Picture this. Class members follow in the footsteps of W. Eugene Smith, Dorothea Lange, James Nachtwey, and Lewis Hine by creating their own photo essay about a local event or issue.
PBS
Stories of Painkiller Addiction: Commitment to Recovery
Recovery from substance addiction is an ongoing process. The final lesson plan in a series about painkiller abuse and addiction prompts learners to research various recovery options before writing a short story about a character who is...