The George Floyd protests have erupted all over the country and sparked a national debate not only over racism and police brutality, but also about the best way to protest injustice. The Abraham Lincoln conversation on leadership would give students …
The Abolitionist Movement, led by the likes of Frederick Douglass and William Lloyd Garrison, showed the world the importance of taking responsibility to speak out against moral wrongs. The Martin Luther conversation would work nicely alongside the teaching of the …
When teaching about the years leading up to the Civil War, I never leave out Harriet Tubman’s role in leading 300 slaves to freedom through the Underground Railroad. The Toni Morrison conversation would work very nicely just before bringing up …
When teaching a history lesson about The Salem Witch Trials, I would ask students to consider these events from the perspective of the accused. Many accused persons were upstanding members of the community, yet often their friends in town refused …
During my unit on the Revolutionary War, students always enjoy learning about the treasonous history of Benedict Arnold. After walking students through the actions that made Benedict Arnold a household name synonymous with “traitor,” I would present the Aristotle conversation …
Emerging research about the psychology behind altruism offer an interesting lens through which students can examine the happiness attained throughout selflessness. I would start this lesson by discussing the Booker T. Washington conversation about happiness, and ask students to share …
A creative way to open a unit on Westward Expansion would be to have a conversation with Dr. Seuss on ambition. What I hope would come out of the conversation is a better understanding of the costs and benefits from …
I want to help the students find some sort of positive meaning from the Coronavirus crisis. The conversation with Sophocles on hardship would be a great tool to encourage self-reflection on the fact that sometimes a person has to go …
Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s “Letter From a Birmingham Jail” would be an ideal primary source to teach the theme of obedience. I could use the Albert Einstein conversation before introducing the letter to get students reflecting on how they …
Sometimes good teaching involves misdirection. You start with a topic that seems unrelated to the class, drift to another activity and then to another. If all goes well, (a big assumption!) your students are emotionally and intellectually invested in learning. …
On their face some essential questions seem simplistic. They don’t involve big words or big concepts– that is, until you really start thinking. High school teacher Justin Riskus constructed one of these questions and used it during an exploration of …