Learning to Live
Attributes of a Civil Society
What makes a society civil? High school freshmen search for examples of justice, kindness, peace, and tolerance in news media and brainstorm how they can promote these attributes in their schools, communities, and world. The well-rounded...
Jackson Public Schools
Summer Reading Activities
Provide parents with the tools they need to bridge the summer learning gap with this collection of fun activities. Whether it's creating an alphabet poster with illustrations for each letter, playing a game of sight word concentration,...
Nemours KidsHealth
Asthma: Grades 6-8
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...
Nemours KidsHealth
Fire Safety: Grades 3-5
Three lessons stress the importance of fire safety. Lesson one presents several articles listing fire safety do's and don'ts; using their newly-found knowledge, learners rewrite a newspaper article about a fire incident so that...
Curated OER
Increase Kindness, Defeat Bullying: Lady Gaga's Born This Way Foundation
High-interest content captures your most reluctant readers and class participants. Lady Gaga's Born This Way Foundation, in collaboration with Harvard University, seeks to nurture a culture of kindness and reduce bullying. Excerpts from...
Curated OER
Do Presidential Candidates Need to Be Good Debaters?
Blogs can be a good way for learners to engage in writing, critical thinking, and social media in a formal way. The New York Times has provided learners age 13-18 with an article, background information, and several prompts to get them...
Alabama Department of Archives and History
Alabama's Economic Contribution to the Confederacy
With a presentation and guided questions, help elementary historians understand the role Alabama played in the Confederate economy during the Civil War. The resource concludes with a newspaper article writing assessment.
PBS
Reading Adventure Pack: Environment
A fiction and nonfiction text, The Great Kapok Tree: A Tale of the Amazon Rain Forest by Lynne Cherry and I See a Kookaburra! Discovering Animal Habitats Around the World by Steve Jenkins and Robin Page begins a learning experience in...
Curated OER
"No News Like Ancient News"
Want to know more about Ancient history? Young historians will read a minimum of two web sites to complete the chart "Residents of Olympus". They choose one Greek god or goddess to research. This could be a small group activity or...
Advocates for Human Rights
The Rights of the Child
Don't be fooled by the size of the resource: these few pages provide the blueprint for a substantial, thoughtful unit on children's rights and the different philosophies and approaches that the United States and other countries have...
Curated OER
Spacecraft Launched on Mission to Pluto
Students read a news article about a space mission being launched to the planet Pluto. They study the necessary vocabulary and complete an anticipation guide of questions which they revisit after they read the article.
Curated OER
Scientists Find Fossils of T. rex Relative
Students read a news article that describes scientists finding a fossil of a T. Rex relative in China. They view a picture of the G. wuccai. They respond to the reading using details and by revisiting the anticipation set of questions.
Curated OER
Challenges of the new SAT
High schoolers write a news feature about the changes of the SAT and how students can best cope with them. High schoolers respond to several questions addressing the new SAT. Students research about the changes in the test, and high...
Curated OER
Accident Pinpoints Dangerous Site
High schoolers read about local accident sites and conduct research of areas of high incidence. They interview police and insurance agents and explore what can be done if a site has multiple accidents. They write a news feature about the...
Curated OER
Vandalism leads to locked bathrooms
Pupils research bathroom vandalism in other schools like Freedom High after reading an article about Freedom High and their situation. Students then decide if their school has a similar problem and interview administrators and janitors...
Curated OER
Pet Food Safety A Con
Students use the internet to research pet food safety laws. In groups, they examine what happened during the pet food recall earlier this year and what is being done to improve the situation. They write a news feature story including...
Curated OER
Pay-to-play a costly solution
Students write a news feature or editorial about students paying money to participate in high school athletics. Students interview members of the school community to find out the situation in their school.
Curated OER
Literary Response and Analysis
Examine a variety of literary responses to Abraham Lincoln's death and the impact of perception. Your class can work in writing groups to analyze either poetry, eulogy, or a newspaper article. They retell the events of Abraham Lincoln's...
Curated OER
Levies to decide school funding
Student write a news analysis or editorial about Ohio schools possibly cutting busing, sports, and other extra-curricular activities. Students interview the district treasurer, and then interview community members. Students write about...
Curated OER
Another Look at School Safety
Students research crime and violence in their district, including finding out what has been discussed about safety and addition of surveillance cameras.Students conduct interviews and explore the legal issues involved. After all...
Curated OER
Warriors Don't Cry
Pupils write a journal depicting a day in the life of a character and a newspaper article. In this Warriors Don't Cry lesson, students summarize the main events of integration and find out about the life of Melba Beals. Pupils write a...
Curated OER
Cleveland may gamble on gambling
Students write a news feature or editorial discussing the debate of whether gambling should be legalized in Cleveland. Students research and debate about the issue. Students interview community members to hear views.
Curated OER
Interview Wildlife
Fifth graders study wildlife. In this environment lesson, 5th graders choose a wild animal, write questions to interview the animal if they could, find the answers to these questions by doing research, and write a newspaper article using...
Curated OER
Judy Garland: By Myself
Students investigate Judy Garland's life create a media campaign focusing on the role of drugs and alcohol in her life. Students watch a video and conduct Internet research to find out about Garland's life. Groups write a newspaper...