Before Heritage Middle School began working with the Participate Learning team to connect lessons to real-world issues, the teachers and leadership had established a goal to encourage students to become more empathic about issues in their community. Although a handful of students and teachers who participated in the school's gardening club were…

Developed specifically for grades 6-8, this resource presents classroom-ready lessons that support the ISTE Standards for Students. Use the lessons, which focus on four essential skills--communication, collaboration, critical thinking, and creativity--to take instruction and learning to the next level through the use of technology. Each chapter…

Young people now must compete in a global, knowledge-based, innovation-centered economy; they must acquire not just academic knowledge, but also character attributes such as intrinsic motivation, persistence, and flexibility. To accomplish these ambitious goals, the National Research Council (2012) of the United States recommends the use of…

Children cannot be truly literate without knowing about history, science, art, music, literature, civics, geography, and more. Indeed, they cannot satisfactorily comprehend what they read unless they possess the background knowledge that makes such comprehension possible. Yet most American primary schools have been marching in the opposite…

In an age of increasing global and multicultural forces, the social studies is usually the subject charged with promoting a deeper level of understanding in regards to cultural diversity. To achieve this mission, many social studies teachers have turned to the use of world fairs. However, these activities often end up promoting surface level…