• Bandwagon
• Repetition
• Transfer
• Testimonial
• Exigency
• Glittering Generality
• Card-Stacking
• Innuendo
• Snob Appeal
• Just Plain Folks

This is useful instruction in most Social Studies and we use it with current events and a review of political speeches like the State of the Union address.

Be sure to read our Teaching Guide for the Concept Attainment Strategy first as it provides the methodology and process behind this lesson’s format.

• Subject Areas: Social Sciences, History, Humanities, Government
• Materials Required: Advertisements (easily found on YouTube) are the suggested main data set, but historical posters would work, too.  Optional – whiteboard or display for posting prompts, copies of provided handout
• Time Needed: Typically an entire class period

While doing research about these individuals, students will learn about filtering, sorting, and other spreadsheet commands.

• Subject Areas: Any really, but ideal for History and Social Studies.
• Materials Required: Virtual classroom or other screen sharing tool, or a large screen display with a computer, plus either printed or digital copies of the provided handouts.
• Time Needed: Typically two to three class periods.

We’ve included everything you’ll need in a single zip archive.

• Subject Areas: Language Arts, English.
• Materials Required: Paper, colored pens, pencils, or crayons.  Optional – whiteboard or display for posting prompts.
• Time Needed: Typically an entire class period.

Students may work in groups or independently as they write an essay using deductive inferences.  Essays are then shared in a “read-around” activity.  This lesson packet contains all you need to run the simulation, with directions and step by step guidance for the read-around activity, too, plus additional resources that may be used as extensions of this lesson.

Atlantis typically takes most classes two full periods to complete in addition to a homework assignment.  It may take three to three and a half class periods if the writing is done completely in class.

Please consider adding a good introductory lesson to making deductive inferences by using our “The Flowers of Guatemala” lesson.

• Subject Area: History, Social Sciences
• Materials Required: Printed handouts, optional need for a whiteboard or display, too
• Time Needed: Two full class periods, plus homework, or three in-class work days total.

Creating a successful open ended discussion takes planning. This free teaching guide will provide you with direction and guidance on how to use this teaching strategy to motivate and stir interest in for any topic in your classes.  Open ended discussions are a great way to start a new unit, too, as a means of learning what background knowledge your students may already possess on a given topic.

A few sample lesson ideas are included in this guide in addition to details about how to create your own.

• Subject Area: Any
• Materials Required: Whiteboard or display
• Time Needed: Can be an entire class period or only an introduction item.

• Monarchs/Oligarchies
• Military Juntas
• Democratic Republics
• Democracies
• Constitutional Monarchies
• Anarchies

This is useful instruction in most Government, Civics and History classes and can be very helpful in some Language Arts classes. This lesson plan has been used successfully with both middle school and high school students.

Be sure to read our Teaching Guide for the Concept Attainment Strategy first as it provides the methodology and process behind this lesson’s format.

• Subject Areas: Social Sciences, History, Humanities, Government
• Materials Required: Optional – whiteboard or display for posting prompts, copies of provided handout
• Time Needed: Typically an entire class period

• Terrorism and Guerrilla Warfare,
• Civil Disobedience,
• Martial Law,
• Revolution,
• Civil War,
• Wars of Independence, and
• Coup D’é Tats.

This is very useful instruction in most History classes and especially in Government classes.  This lesson plan has been used successfully with both middle school and high school students.

Be sure to read our free  Teaching Guide for the Concept Attainment Strategy first as it provides this lesson’s methodology and format.

• Subject Areas: Social Sciences, History, Humanities, Government
• Materials Required: Optional – whiteboard or display for posting prompts
• Time Needed: Typically an entire class period.

• How was our game similar to the real world?
• Does Mutually Assured Destruction “work”?
• What facilitates trust?
• What makes M.A.D. stronger and more believable?
• Do these forces work against one another?
• If you could play the game again, do you think you could achieve a better outcome?  Why or why not?

Be sure to also pick up our free Teaching Guide for Instructional Simulation Games to learn about this teaching strategy.

• Subject Areas: Social Sciences, Sciences, Humanities, Government
• Materials Required: Optional – whiteboard or display for posting prompts, printed handouts from this packet
• Time Needed: Typically an entire class period

The teaching team that developed this unit had a Science partner with background in advertising.   He suggested that they do a project involving parents that would get families to talk about all of our lessons and what was being taught at school.    This murder mystery party, and the lessons associated with it, is the results of that effort.

The objectives of the unit are simple; provide students with a vehicle for learning about Roman history, modern criminology and forensics, while also improving their writing skills. As an added bonus, you get parent involvement, and hopefully some great Italian leftovers.

If you are worried that the evening won’t go as planned, just remember — it is supposed to be a mystery!   “Wow! What a mystery we have here! Isn’t this great?”  This party has been used over and over again with great success.

This culminating activity includes:

• Social Studies lessons for teaching about the Romans.  (This includes our Connecting Past to Present – The Fall of Rome lesson plan, our Caesar’s Dilemma, and also The Roman Times lesson plan!)
• Science lessons on fingerprinting and other resources.
• English/Language Arts lessons on using “show not tell” language.  Includes our Monster Drawing lesson.
• A complete guide to running a murder mystery party where parents are the suspects and characters involved in the mystery of who killed Caesar during an Italian themed potluck dinner.

There are handouts, complete instructions, scripts and invitations for the party, and more.

• Subject Areas: Social Sciences, Science, Humanities, Language Arts, Math
• Materials Required: All handouts and necessary lesson plans are included.  A shopping list of props and party items is included.
• Time Needed: This is an entire multidisciplinary unit and will require multiple class periods to complete.  The murder mystery is normally a two hour party.