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The Minority Majority
Students design a census class and school, then tabulate the results. They respond to a sample census, then reflect on why questions of race and national origin are different.
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Food, Glorious Food?
How are the reactions between American and European consumers different when it comes to genetically modified foods? Use the New York Times article "Consumers in Europe Resist Gene-Altered Foods" to inform your middle schoolers about the...
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Warm Thoughts About the Cold
“What do you think life is like at the South Pole?” After responding to this journal prompt, class members read and discuss the New York Times article, “At South Pole, New Home for a New Era.” Using resources available from the Times’...
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Deep Impact
How can acknowledging opposing viewpoints reinforce one's argument? Use this New York Times lesson to study consumerism and the environmental impact of new products. After reading the article "Whether a Hummer or a Hybrid, the Big...
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Prisoner in One's Own Home
Examine the internment of Japanese-Americans during World War II. After reading an article from the New York Times and exploring the author's word choice, young readers find the central idea in the text and work on researching additional...
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Critically Surfing the Web
The New York Times article “Online Diary,” launches this study of websites and how to assess them. Richly detailed, the lesson includes warm-up activities, procedures, journal prompts, discussion questions, and links to valuable...
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Technical Merits
What is technical knowledge? The class explores what technical knowledge might mean to an Olympic athlete. They catalog the different types of information that athletes would need to compete in various Winter Olympic sports and develop...
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Steer Clear of Trouble
Inform teenagers about safe driving techniques. Young journalists use the Internet to investigate safe driving practices and technologies then publish a manual for the teen drivers in their life.
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Direct Effect
Discover the damage that was caused by the terrorist attacks on September 11th with your class. They will learn about the events of that day and the litigation process for damages incurred that day. Their research will cover the various...
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Trade Secrets
Young analysists explore how global trade and free market policies might personally affect them. They read an article, view a series of documenteries, and engage in a class discussion. Great instructional activity!
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Local Motives
Investigate current local elections across the United States with this New York Times reading lesson. Using informational text, middle and high schoolers research local elections and create their own news reports about what they...
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Funding a Way to the Top
Review economic vocabulary, presidential election campaigns, and current campaign budgets (2004). Your class will determine how they feel about the amount of money spent on presidential campaigns, they will read an informational article,...
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Be That As It Maya
Creative projects are a great way to engage your class and can be a fun way to assess mastery! Learners create brochures and postcards that might have been created by and for travelers to ancient Mayan cities. They read and discuss the...
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For the Record
Students read a New York Times article in order to examine the importance of cultural artifacts. They create essays from the point of view of one cultural artifact to demonstrate the knowledge they gained by doing research.
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Showdown on the Frontier
Especially critical following a series of shootings in schools, theaters, and religious buildings, it's safe to say that we need to evaluate the current laws on gun control. Eighth graders read a New York Times article in order to better...
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Up For Renewal
Want to know more about China's energy resources? Scholars will explore renewable resources implemented in China's energy plan. The will discover various types of renewable energy sources and discover how China is taping into these types...
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Down for the Count?
The New York Times article “Supreme Court, Split 5-4, Halts Florida Count in Blow to Gore” provides the opening to an assessment of the United States Supreme Court decision in the case of the 2000 presidential election. Assuming the...
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Weighing the War
Study opposing viewpoints with this lesson, which examines President Bush's September 2004 address at the United Nations. Middle schoolers study the text of the address, and then stage formal debates arguing for or against the reasons to...
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Stop the Fighting and Start Uniting
Research current and proposed peace talks around the world with this New York Times lesson, Using the Darfur peace talks in Abuja, Nigeria as a starting point, middle schoolers create a news program on the subject. They propose a future...
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Robbing the 'Hood?
Students investigate historical figures and how they play a role in tourism by reading and discussing the article "When Robin Hood Supped, Was it Yorkshire Pudding?" In groups, students investigate issues related in the article in...
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New Gun Control Politics: A Whimper, Not a Bang
Using an article from The New York Times, students answer discussion questions about gun control. They are divided into four groups to research different standpoints on gun control, including the Executive Office, Congress, Gun Control...
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All the World's a Stage
Is the circus a form of theater? Read "A City of Clowns? What Else Is New?" to sway your class that a circus, is indeed, a theatrical performance. Critical thinkers compare/contrast various forms of theater and identify what makes the...
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Social Studies Wonders: An Exploration
Help middle schoolers conduct Internet research and develop a working definition for the discipline of social studies. From a list of websites, they develop classification skills and differentiate between primary and secondary sources....
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The Gay '80s, '90s and '00s
After reading and discussing a news article from the New York Times regarding gay and lesbian issues of the last thirty years, students engage in several activities to explore current events. They create a timeline, either electronically...