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...
College Board
2004 AP® Human Geography Free-Response Questions
Human geography involves everything from why people build factories along the United States-Mexico border to how land-use patterns and demographics are related. So, how do test-takers put it all together? Focused questions from an AP...
College Board
2010 AP® Human Geography Free-Response Questions
Economics and demographics—how are they related? A set of questions from the College Board explore complex ideas such as how the location of raw goods drive the economics of where industries develop and what dynamics weaken or...
College Board
2013 AP® English Language and Composition Free-Response Questions
In 2011, the Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial opened in Washington, DC to much praise and some criticism. Part of a series of response questions from the AP® English Language and Composition exam, writers consider what factors...
College Board
2018 AP® World History Free-Response Questions
How were the development of railroads critical to the rise of empires? Scholars delve into the relationship between the two using a documents-based question from College Board. Other prompts explore ideas such as nomadic and sedentary...
College Board
2009 AP® Microeconomics Free-Response Questions Form B
Two transportation companies must decide the best way to compete. How will that decision affect their prices? Using College Board materials, future test takers examine the problem and think critically to solve it. Other prompts examine...
Curated OER
Exploring American Tall Tales
Students explore elements of American folktales and tall tales. In this literature lesson, students read examples of American folktales and tall tales and prepare a monologue or news report to present to the class based on their readings.
Curated OER
CNN Interactive: Reading, Discussing and Writing
Students access the internet for current news articles; increase awareness of issues in world news; to read critically; and to write critical reactions.
Curated OER
Investigative Journalism
Students choose newsworthy topics to research and investigate, narrow focus of investigation, get information from the source through interviews, write stories, and submit to media outlets.
Curated OER
It Ain't Necessarily So
Learners examine characterization of African Americans in literature, popular culture, and opera. In this stereotypes lessons, students conduct research that requires them to analyze the origins and content of stereotypes perpetuated...
Curated OER
A Penny for Your Thoughts, Movies, or Music?
Young scholars investigate copyright violation laws. In this media copyright lesson, students read two articles that discuss copyright laws, then they develop their own perspective on the laws. Young scholars then divide into...
Curated OER
Critic's Choice
Young scholars read two opposing types literature. In groups, they role play the role of a critic to show they comprehend the material. They are introduced to new vocabulary and practice speaking the words in the foreign language.
National Wildlife Federation
Get Your Techno On
Desert regions are hotter for multiple reasons; the lack of vegetation causes the sun's heat to go straight into the surface and the lack of moisture means none of the heat is being transferred into evaporation. This concept, and other...
National Wildlife Federation
Quantifying Land Changes Over Time in Areas of Deforestation and Urbanization
Is qualitative or quantitative research more convincing when it comes to climate change? In the eighth instructional activity during this 21-part series, scholars begin by performing a quantitative analysis of deforestation and...
Odyssey of the Mind
Odyssey of the Mind Curriculum Activity: Performing Arts
The classical arts have made a lasting impact on our society and your advanced learners get to find out why. The activity starts as the children create a list of the arts found in society, they discuss how these art forms impact their...
Louisiana Department of Education
Unit: Hamlet
Encourage readers to determine if Hamlet's madness is actually divinest sense. Class members analyze the words of the play before studying related texts, including T.S. Eliot's "The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock," scenes from...
Curated OER
Hong Kong: Law to Ban Criticism of China
Students compare the governmental policies of Hong Kong before and after returning to the People's Republic of China. They describe and analyze the "Basic Law 23" of Hong Kong statutes and its effect on Hong Kong's political and economic...
Roald Dahl
The Twits - The Twits Get the Shrinks
Turn readers into investigative journalists. The 11th and final lesson that accompanies The Twits by Roald Dahl asks the question "What happened to Mr. and Mrs. Twit?" The lesson uses mind maps and group discussion to help answer...
PBS
Copyright and Fair Use
When is using someone else's copyrighted material appropriate? Learn about copyright and fair use with a lesson from PBS.org. Scholars read through a reference sheet about authors' rights and users' rights, and then create posters...
Encyclopedia Britannica
Campaign Photo Analysis
It's the art of the image! As part of a study of the 2020 Presidential race, groups analyze an image of a candidate, first from an objective point of view and then subjectively. They then prepare a presentation detailing what they...
Nemours KidsHealth
Screen Time: Grades 6-8
How much screen time is too much screen time? Even before COVID, tweens were spending hours watching TV, playing video games, and connecting with their friends by smartphone and computers. Two activities from Kids Health get young...
Curated OER
Invention (Prewriting)
Direct your class as they begin writing. Most slides contain questions that scholars can record and reference while they start the process of research and writing. Help learners get through writers' block, freewrite, and brainstorm to...
Newseum
Slanted Facts and Slippery Numbers
The Internet is known as the information superhighway, but sometimes it's hard to know when to hit the brakes on unreliable sources. Using a well-rounded lesson plan, pupils read and summarize articles about the gender pay gap and...
Anti-Defamation League
Dealing with the Social Pressures that Promote Online Cruelty
Why do people engage in cyberbullying? What can be done about it? These are the questions middle schoolers consider in a very timely lesson. Participants view PSA announcements, read a case study, and participate in scenarios designed to...