The lessons in this unit provide you with an opportunity to use online resources to further enliven your students' encounter with Greek mythology, to deepen their understanding of what myths meant to the ancient Greeks, and to help them appreciate the meanings that Greek myths have for us today. In the lessons below, students will learn about Greek conceptions of the hero, the function of myths as explanatory accounts, the presence of mythological terms in contemporary culture, and the ways in which mythology has inspired later artists and poets.

WNYC Studios and Futuro Studios present “La Brega: Stories of the Puerto Rican Experience”: a seven-part podcast series that uses narrative storytelling and investigative journalism to reflect and reveal how la Brega has defined so many aspects of life in Puerto Rico. Available in English and Spanish.

This is a BlendSpace lesson on the persuasive appeals - ethos, logos, and pathos. It involves note-taking, an understanding check quiz, and an application assignment in which students analyze a commercial or print ad for its use of ethos, logos, and pathos.

Malala Yousafzai (born 1997) is a Pakistani activist for female education and the youngest ever winner of the Nobel Peace Prize. Malala is from the Swat Valley in northwest Pakistan, where the local Taliban has banned girls from attending school. Malala, whose family ran a chain of local schools, publicly stood against the Taliban's actions and launched an international movement. On October 9th, 2012, a gunman from the Taliban boarded a school bus and shot her in the head. Malala remained in critical condition in the days following the attack, but survived. Since then, she has continued to advocate internationally for women's education.
As you read, consider what drove Malala to overcome tremendous adversity.

Sheldon Allan "Shel" Silverstein (1930-1999) was an American poet, cartoonist, and author of children's books. "Masks" is a poem from Silverstein's book of poems called Everything On It.

This kit explores the ways in which King and his legacy have been portrayed in various media forms. The first lesson follows a chronology of King's life through interactive decoding of rich media documents (comic books, billboards, songs, music videos, etc.). The following lessons use excerpts of Dr. King's speeches from 1963, 1967 and 1968 to examine his views on social change; explore the portrayal of King in magazine covers, advertisements, Web sites, film clips and monuments; and use letters to the editor about celebrating King to explore challenges to change.

Migrant workers are people who move from place to place to complete seasonal work, usually difficult labor in the fields. Due to the United States' proximity to Mexico, and Mexico's previous ownership of California, many of these workers are of Mexican descent. In this interview, Felix Contreras asks his father about his experiences as a former migrant worker.
As you read, take notes on what Luis Contreras experienced as a child migrant worker, and what eventually improved the conditions of migrant workers.

In this unit students study the California migrant farm workers’ fight for justice. Lead by Cesar Chavez and Dolores Huerta, this time period is often referred to as the start of the Latino civil rights movement. Over the course of the unit students will explore what life was like for migrant farm workers in the 1960s and the barriers that prevented them from obtaining better wages and equitable working conditions. Students will then learn about how the farm workers were able to band together under the leadership of Larry Itliong, Cesar Chavez, and Dolores Huerta to launch a multi-year movement focused on using nonviolent tactics as a way of making meaningful, long-lasting change. In particular, students will analyze how different types of nonviolent protests (boycotts, pickets, marches, strikes, and fasting) helped educate the public and influence change. Understanding the history of migrant farm workers and their struggle for justice is important for helping students understand the world around them. It is important to note that this unit is based in history. Many of the ideas and concepts in this unit are connected to current events; however, the focus of the unit is on this period in history.

In reading, this unit helps students continue to build their informational reading skills. Over the course of the unit students will be pushed to think about the connection between two or more historical events and people. Unlike previous units, this unit contains a variety of primary sources and videos that require students to use different reading and speaking and listening strategies in order to synthesize and summarize key ideas.

This text is part of an advice column for kids called "Ask Arizona" in Highlights. An advice column is part of a newspaper or magazine where people going through a hard time can write a letter to someone asking for help. In the answer, the author gives them ideas on how to solve their problem. In this letter, "Confused in Concord," writes to Arizona looking for help on how to handle their feelings about spending Mother's Day without their mother.

After reading “The Most Dangerous Game” students will comb through the text to pull out the best examples of imagery from the story. They will work together in groups of three to collect five examples (per person) of imagery. Students must be able to see each other’s examples, so they don’t repeat them, but also help each other identify which imagery is being documented.

This is a Physical Science journal that supports student investgation of forces of change and nanoscale.

This teacher's edition provides suggestions for using the Nanoleap Student Journal in the classroom. Nanoleap is a Physical Science journal that supports student investgation of forces of change and nanoscale.

In this unit of study, students will research topics in nanotechnology and attempt to identify a mystery mixture of different powders using a scanning-electron microscope. This unit integrates nine STEM attributes and was developed as part of the South Metro-Salem STEM Partnership's Teacher Leadership Team. Any instructional materials are included within this unit of study.

In this lesson students will familiarize themselves with the Western landscape through both Native American folklore and George Catlin's paintings of the prairie. After reading several Native American legends, students will compose and illustrate their own legend.

Natural disasters such as volcanoes, earthquakes, hurricanes, and wildfires happen all over the world. Understanding how natural disasters happen and why helps children feel less anxious and more prepared. Therefore, this unit focuses on teaching students the science behind each natural disaster while also explaining what to do if they live in an area prone to a particular natural disaster. Over the course of the unit, students hear about many famous natural disasters, but the unit places more of an emphasis on how the disasters happen rather than exploring the devastation or destruction caused by previous natural disasters. The unit provides many opportunities for students to learn more about recent natural disasters, including a culminating research project.

The texts in this unit were chosen because of their wide variety of text features, content, and accessibility. Over the course of the unit, students will read texts that are very technical and rely heavily on text features, diagrams, and illustrations, as well as texts that are written as informational narratives. Students will be challenged to think about the structures the authors use to help the reader interact with and learn the content. Additionally, students will learn the importance of referring to specific details from the text and using those details to explain and teach back the newly learned material. This unit serves as the foundation for building strong reading habits and routines and setting high expectations for text consumption. Clear models should be included in the unit to help students build a deeper understanding of how to actively read and annotate informational texts for key ideas, text features, and vocabulary. This unit also serves as a launching point for strong discussions. Students will frequently be challenged to debate questions from the text; therefore, strong habits of discussion need to be introduced over the course of the unit.

The NFL kicked off its new season last night with new safety measures that may lessen the chance of injury for players. Video, teacher page, and student handout included.

The following chart displays the array of inquiries being developed for each grade level. By viewing the topics for each inquiry, curriculum teams can begin planning their work to develop additional inquiries for the remaining grade-level topics.

The following chart displays the array of inquiries being developed for each grade level. By viewing the topics for each inquiry, curriculum teams can begin planning their work to develop additional inquiries for the remaining grade-level topics.

This search provides a variety of art-related resources that teachers can utilize in lesson planning.

In this unit, students explore the meaning of family, community, and identity by reading the core text One Crazy Summer. Through the eyes of eleven-year-old Delphine, readers experience life in Oakland, California, in 1968, the height of the Black Panther movement. Delphine and her two younger sisters, Vonetta and Fern, spend a summer in Oakland visiting their estranged mother who sends them to spend their days at a camp run by the Black Panthers. Over the course of the summer, the girls learn about what it means to be part of a revolution, what the Black Panther Party was fighting for, and why the Black Panther Party was important during this time period. Through it all, they build confidence in themselves and their relationships with others as they learn to challenge and respond to social issues in the community. It is our hope that this unit, in conjunction with others in the series, will help students understand the way experiences shape our identities and beliefs, and how children can help bring about change in the community.

In reading, this unit continues to build on reading strategies and skills covered in previous units. It is assumed that students are able to quote or paraphrase accurately from the text, interpret figurative language, and summarize sections of the text. These skills should continue to be spiraled throughout the unit; however, the main focuses for this unit are determining theme and analyzing how it is developed over the course of the novel or poem, analyzing point of view and the impact it has on the way events are portrayed, and comparing characters and their responses to situations.