Social Studies

This lesson focuses on the issues of immigration during times of economic desperation.  It focuses specifically on the problems and difficulties faced by the immigrants as they wrestle with the dilemma ...

Last year at Seth Johnson Elementary, in Montgomery, Ala., the fourth- and fifth-grade students participated in the National Mix It Up at Lunch Day. In preparation for the day, we challenged fifth-graders to ...

In Greensboro, North Carolina, on Nov. 3, 1979, in the absence of a dissuasive police presence, a caravan of white supremacists confronted demonstrators preparing for a “Death to the Klan” rally. The rally was ...

Racial profiling occurs when law enforcement agents impermissibly use race, religion, ethnicity or national origin in deciding who to investigate. This lesson focuses on racial profiling. Students learn what ...

This lesson asks students to think about how school districts can address the needs of increasingly diverse populations. It takes as its starting point a debate in New York City’s public schools.  ...

I capitalized on my 10 th -graders’ obsession with their hair by devising a writing exercise that I hoped would open a dialogue between my black and white students. As part of a unit on individuality, I ...

This lesson focuses on the different means that the Constitution provides for people to bring about change. While each of the methods the lesson presents worked in the Civil Rights movement, all three are ...

Who Has Hair? explores one of the things mammals share in common: hair! Our hair may be different—Polar Bear's doesn't look exactly like Orangutan's or like yours— but we all have hair and ...

This lesson uses the strategies of “student questioning for purposeful learning” (SQPL) and jigsaw grouping to engage students in examining Constitutional issues related to school-based grooming policies. ...

Explore the U.S. Census data and create your own! So your class will understand the importance of the U.S. Census, ask them to research how the federal government uses census ...

The purpose of this lesson is for students to grapple with three separate definitions: primitive , civilized ( civilization ), and technology .  Students examine or re-examine their own definitions ...

In this lesson, students will work in pairs and use expert reading strategies to analyze the Court’s ruling in Hernandez v. Texas . After participating in a carousel discussion, students will write a ...

“Taking a Closer Look at Religions Around the World” offers a starting point for exploring religions and faith traditions, creating an ongoing respectful dialogue about religious tolerance. By understanding ...

Jennifer Greene’s story tells of Chief Charlo and a small band of Salish being forcibly removed from their home, the Bitterroot Valley, in 1891. To the Salish, home was not a structure, a town or even a ...

Termites, small and overlooked, can knock down forests and turn buildings to powder; intolerance operates in much the same way. It’s not uncommon to hear students — including ...

Core samples are fascinating columns of rock and mineral cut from deep below the earth's surface with a drill. They are marbled with shades of color. This activity helps students to identify their own ...

Whenever I feel that students are starting to pick on each other and get disrespectful, I use this activity to get them to think about their behavior. For this activity, you need a tube of toothpaste, a ...

On the first day of each school year, my students and I form a circle and I ask them these questions: Do we all have the same hair color? Do we all have the same eyes? ...

Students always have passionate opinions about controversial social topics. They also often become friends with others who reinforce their ideology. And students don’t often possess the skills to disagree ...

Students will develop a framework for speaking with kindness and respect toward each other. Framework For educators who hope to create a democratic classroom, one of the ...

Students will understand difference and community by exploring a special place in their lives.  Framework We all come from somewhere. Place is prominent in all of our ...

Associate Justice Sonia Sotomayor is the first Latina to sit on the U.S. Supreme Court. This lesson helps students look at her confirmation process in historical perspective. ...

Little Rock isn't the only city or town with a civil rights history. The Civil Rights Movement and other struggles for justice have impacted every community in the United ...

Web Exclusive activities for John Lewis’ Reflections on a Dream Deferred from Teaching Tolerance No. 33. Before reading this essay, discuss its title: "Reflections on a ...

Three new lesson plans for grades 9-12 offer educators fresh, engaging strategies to deepen students' understanding about race and racism throughout history and today. In March ...

Use these ideas in the classroom to explore racial and ethnic imagery in school mascots. 1. If your school has an Indian team name or mascot, find out when the image was adopted, who ...

A guide to classroom activities exploring arguments about what blues music is "authentic" Whose BluesSome artists, educators and others caution that the "voice" ...

Projects that examine various aspects of  migrant life in depth 1. To acquaint students with notable as well as little-known figures from migrant culture, have them research the ...

This lesson encourages students to investigate domestic hunger in the United States as well as in their own communities and offers resources to support youth in the fight against hunger. ...

Many schools observe Women's History Month as a way to highlight contributions women have made in the past. This month, Mix It Up encourages you to help students explore the positive impact of girls and ...