Students read an article (which is included in this link) that asserts that all stories across time and medium can be put into one of seven models. Students will then search the newspapers and their own knowledge of books, film, television,etc. to compare and contrast with the nonfiction pieces as well as the article's theory about thematic connections. Any respected newspaper will suffice for this lesson.

In this two-day lesson plan, students examine the struggle for desegregation during the Civil Rights Movement and a current study that finds that American schools are reverting to segregation. On the first day, students examine the notion of ‘separate but equal’ by reading about the Brown v. Board of Education decision and by researching different events, legislation and organizations that influenced desegregation. On the second day, students assess ways in which race relations have and have not changed since this historic decision, examine the recent ‘resegregation’ study, and propose suggestions for addressing the school segregation issue to local, state or national leaders.

Students develop an understanding of the history, development, and social influence of various types of world music through the creation of music museum exhibits.

Students will research the geographical histories of various musical genres and make maps that note important places in music history.

In this lesson, students analyze how education in America affects its youth and the nation by assessing a variety of ways in which American courts and communities are dealing with the unanimous Supreme Court ruling to end ‘separate but equal’ education.

Students first examine the news about the alleged espionage case against spy Robert Philip Hanssen and its implications for the United States government and Russia. Students then work in small groups to research espionage and spy trials of the Cold War era and create oral presentations detailing specific cases.

In this lesson, students explore the historical and social significance of animals as cultural symbols in various countries around the world, as well as the impact that humans have made on the population and natural habitats of these animals.

Students share opinions about cultural clues that can be observed in structures and/or edifices. They then investigate sites in their community from an archaeological perspective and prepare annotated sideshows based on their analyses.

Students will examine their preconceptions about Shakespeare and his work. Then, after reading one theater critic's case for reading and seeing Shakespeare, they will use the Times to explore adaptations of a Shakespearean play they are currently studying. Finally, they will use these as a springboard for staging their own scenes from the play in a new way, using an adaptation they have read about as a model.

Students will consider the nature of stories and learn to write more concisely by reading and writing flash fiction.

Students summarize a piece of scientific text and assess the advantages, disadvantages and challenges in writing summaries. Students analyze the structure an author gives to a text, comprehending how major sections contribute to the overall understanding of the topic. They then select science-related articles from The New York Times or other scientific publications, and, with a partner, generate summaries of the longer pieces. Teachers vary the text according to their needs.

This resource chronicles the extnded decade known as the 1960's and how it changed society.

Students learn the definition of a suggested serving size and re-define their daily food intake in terms of these recommended amounts.

Students estimate the amount of money a non-smoking teen spends in a week, a month, and a year, and compare it with the expenses of a teen who smokes one, two, and three packs a day. They then research other reasons that teens should not smoke, and create an ad campaign geared toward young people emphasizing the financial and health benefits of not smoking.

Students learn about the changing public perception of cigarettes over the century. They then create a visual timeline for classroom display, and design a survey on people?s views on cigarette smoking for homework.

Students use a Socratic seminar to analyze and argue about a recent news topic on which they"™re sure to have strong opinions: the SAT.

Students reflect on how and why music is meaningful in their lives and lives of people around the world. They then create a music soundtrack with liner notes that reflects the concerns of teens across time.

Students will listen to Brazilian folk music and discuss its various sounds and connections to today"™s music. They then record sounds that help define and represent the culture of their school and local community.

How do great authors build suspense and keep us engaged? In this lesson students will discuss how they "read" their favorite televsion shows in order to make predictions about what will happen, then apply these skills to speculate about happens to literary characters after the novel or play ends. Finally, they will use the inferences they gain thorugh close reading to create imagined futures for these characters in comic strips, next chapters, letters, journals, or videos.