Teaching Tolerance
News Consumers' Bill of Rights and Responsibilities
Believe it or not, people have rights as new consumers. Scholars read PEN America's News Consumers' Bill of Rights and Responsibilities and work in small groups to paraphrase chosen sections of the text. Next, they create and present...
K20 LEARN
Street Cred: Evaluating Sources
A instructional activity on evaluating sources of information teaches scholars to "think twice" before using a source. Researchers examine a resource's home page, author, and sponsor, as well as the date published and the documentation...
EngageNY
Grade 10 ELA Module 2: Unit 2, Lesson 10
All good things must come to an end! Scholars put all their learning into practice by completing an end-of-unit assessment. They use textual evidence from Julia Alvarez's "A Genetics of Justice" to write essays analyzing how Alvarez...
Learning for Justice
Mary Church Terrell
Excerpts from an 1898 speech by civil rights activist Mary Church Terrell offers young scholars an opportunity to investigate how Black American women fought for civil rights long before Rosa Parks and the civil rights movement of the...
EngageNY
Building Background Knowledge: Colonial Craftspeople
In the first lesson plan of this unit on colonial trade, fourth graders gain background knowledge of different jobs performed by early colonists. The class begins with a slide show presentation that includes a variety of great...
EngageNY
Researching and Note-Taking: Becoming an Expert on a Colonial Trade
Fourth graders work in small groups to become experts on different colonial trades in the eighth instructional activity of this unit. Working toward the long-term goal of writing a piece of historical fiction, young scholars read...
Curated OER
Short and Sweet Science
Readers learn how to summarize scientific text and evaluate the advantages, disadvantages, and challenges in writing summaries. They select science-related articles you've pulled and collected from the New York Times and, with a partner,...
Curated OER
Discovering Saturn, The Real "Lord of the Rings"
Reading, writing, and rings! A lesson from NASA combines space science with authentic reading and writing tasks. Included in this lesson are pre-reading activities, four mini informational booklets on Saturn, a structured note-taking...
Louisiana Department of Education
The Metamorphosis
How can something be true even if it didn't happen? Invite your classes to investigate the truths found in the world of magical realism as they analyze short stories, poems, informational texts, video, and art from this genre.
Curated OER
Justice Is Blind, Colorblind That Is
It's so interesting to see kids respond to articles about education. To start the day, prompt learners to discuss the words colorblindness and diversity. Then, split your class in two and have one side read an article from 2007 and the...
Global Publishing Solutions
Exploring New York City
Your class members will get up close and personal with the Big Apple in this fantastic lesson, which introduces learners to not only the concept of a city, but also provides a thorough overview of New York City itself and its unique...
Earth Day Network
Staying Green While Being Clean
Clean up the environment with a lesson plan that focuses on replacing hazardous cleaning supplies with green, environmentally-friendly products. Using a dirty patch of surface as a control area, kids clean other parts of various surfaces...
Curated OER
Bombs Away!
Examine the different perspectives on the future of United States Navy bombing exercises taking place on Vieques, Puerto Rico with this lesson from The New York Times. Here, young learners read "Islanders to Vote on Vieques Bomb Drills,"...
Curated OER
Putting History in its Place
Examine ways in which historic places and landmarks represent significant themes and events in American history. Then create theme-based travel guides for related historic locations. This lesson plan requires informational reference...
Curated OER
Black Power
Use this New York Times activity to research contemporary leaders in the African-American community. After reading the article "Blacks Weigh the Impact of the Post-Jackson Years," middle and high schoolers discuss the varying viewpoints...
Curated OER
Untying the Knot
What are the current trends in divorce? What contributes to this? Examine celebrity relationship trends and how they relate to the general public with this discussion lesson plan. Middle schoolers analyze the results of a Census Bureau...
Curated OER
Exploring Arizona's Biotic Communities Lesson 4: Which Team Are You On?
Who is not drawn to trading cards? In this lesson, junior ecologists create a trading card of an animal or plant from one of Arizona's biotic communities. Gorgeous sample cards are provided in the lesson plan as well as a plethora of...
Curated OER
What a Relief!
How are disasters addressed by the Federal Government? This New York Times lesson, based on the article "Disaster Aid: The Mix of Mercy and Politics," prompts middle schoolers to discuss the idea of using a disaster declaration as a...
Curated OER
Ben Franklin Timeline
Celebrate inventions such as lightning rods, bifocals, and stoves with a Ben Franklin Day. Young historians conduct research and write a paragraph about an accomplishment of Benjamin Franklin including an illustration or collage that...
Curated OER
When the Wind Blows Lesson Plan
Learners read a book and observe the wind and how it affects the environment. They explore what wind does by looking at pictures, reading a book, and by completing an experiment. They will use their own knowledge of the wind and compare...
Federal Reserve Bank
It's Your Paycheck
Beyond reading and arithmetic, one of the most important skills for graduating seniors to have is fiscal literacy and responsibility. Start them on the right financial track with nine lessons that focus on a variety of important personal...
Curated OER
Heeding Advice
Compare and contrast various foreign perspectives on the George W. Bush administration's plans for military action. Middle schoolers read the article "Blair and Chirac Head to U.S. to Talks and a Show of Unity." Then, they analyze...
Curated OER
Hic-Hic-Hooray!
What is really the best way to get rid of hiccups? Investigate some old wives' tales and folk remedies related to health. Middle schoolers explore the science behind why people might believe these myths to be true and find the real...
Curated OER
Veterans' Voyages
Introduce your middle and high schoolers to a different perspective on war: that of soldier's. Read Guisseppi Ungaretti's poem "Vigil" to kick-start this lesson. After discussing his perspective, read "The Screaming Eagles Fly to the...