Students are directed to compose three arguments for either the people of Ember or Sparks and to "support each argument with evidence," using the provided "The Debate" activity page to organize claims and support. They are asked to read their arguments aloud and then "identify which statements in your arguments are facts and which are opinions" and to "discuss statements that appeal to the emotions of the audience." The Student Activity Page provides structured spaces for Position, three Arguments, and supporting details, encouraging students to produce claims and accompanying reasons/evidence.

Students are asked to gather information about a chosen war or plague and record answers to guided questions ("What were the causes?", "What were the effects?", "How and why did it end?") on a Research Organizer. Students are directed to locate information from a variety of sources and to use trusted websites, libraries, and to put information into their own words, with a space provided to list sources. Students must integrate their research into products (timeline, map, newspaper report) and the rubric explicitly evaluates the research, information integration, and the inclusion of key factual elements.

Students read and analyze two primary-source journals (a schoolgirl's diary and a POW journal) and are prompted to discuss the perspective of each author. The Skills list and parent guidance ask students to distinguish between fact and opinion, explore bias and emotional factors, and summarize the author's purpose and stance. Activities ask students to identify facts and opinions in the primary sources and to compare differing viewpoints.

Students read a primary-source Civil War speech ("Constitution Ratification") and are instructed to record three factual statements and three opinion statements and to identify at least two statements that could be propaganda intended to change listeners' attitudes. Students then examine Civil War posters and are asked to explain how each picture could have been used as propaganda to sway Northerners. The Parent Plan Skills list explicitly includes exploring bias, hidden messages, propaganda techniques, identifying underlying assumptions, and drawing conclusions based on evidence or reasons.

Students read assigned pages and answer comprehension questions about characters and events, giving them practice with extracting information from text. Students design a Civil War propaganda poster and are prompted to consider what type of poster would influence characters and how the poster's message would influence a reader. The parent-plan skills explicitly ask students to explore bias, propaganda techniques, underlying assumptions, and to draw conclusions based on evidence, reasons, or relevant information.

Students are asked to consider both sides of an issue, make lists of pros and cons, and choose two arguments to support their position and one opposing argument to refute. The directions require students to use information learned from books on the Civil War and to "support the position with organized and relevant evidence," and the rubric includes criteria for "use of knowledgeable sources" and "logical arguments." The prewriting and outline pages require students to state arguments, provide multiple supports, and write a refutation explaining why an opposing argument does not hold merit.

The Parent Plan lists a skill to "provide evidence from text to support understanding," and to "synthesize and make logical connections between ideas within a text and across two or three texts," which indicates students will practice citing text-based support and comparing sources. In Reading and Questions, students answer why Einstein was passed over for the Nobel Prize, asking them to identify reasons (e.g., committee preferences, jealousy, anti-Semitism) drawn from the text. In Activity 2, students compare an encyclopedia entry, a biography, and videos and explain how each source contributed to their understanding, describing benefits and limitations of each medium.

Students are asked to record at least three statements that are facts and at least two statements that are opinions after watching a biography video, and the skills list explicitly includes "Distinguish between fact and opinion" and "Use critical thinking skills and create criteria to evaluate print and non-print materials." Students complete a biography web that asks them to fill in four major events from the war and answer guided comprehension questions about Einstein's actions and motivations (e.g., why he moved to America and how his feelings about the war changed). The discussion prompt asks students to consider whether Einstein's letter to FDR was right or wrong, which invites reasoning about a historical decision.

The lesson asks students to identify the author's belief and support for it: QUESTION #3 asks, "What does the author believe drove Einstein his entire life? How is this evidenced in his life?" Option 2 of Activity 3 directs students to "provide one or two examples from the book that demonstrate how the author fulfilled each element" of a biography, prompting students to cite text examples. The skills section explicitly lists "provide evidence from text to support understanding," indicating students will locate supporting details from the nonfiction text.

Students are asked to analyze propaganda posters, paying attention to techniques and the message each poster presents and to summarize each poster's message in a sentence. Activity instructions tell students to interpret and discuss the messages and intentions behind each poster and to design their own persuasive poster aimed at influencing attitudes. Student pages prompt learners to identify symbolism and explain why symbols impact readers.

Students read the book's Afterword to discover which parts of the story are based on historic fact, which asks them to compare text details to factual claims. Students conduct additional research using the provided museum and BBC links, are told to put information in their own words, find memorable quotations, and indicate source links for any quotes or images. Students use a graphic organizer labeled for constructing an argument (with a "QUOTE" box) and a rubric that asks them to include specific facts, details, and evidence to guide and inform the reader's understanding.

The Parent Plan skills list explicitly tells students to "Paraphrase major ideas and supporting evidence in formal and informal presentations," which requires identifying evidence. The Think-Tac-Toe Cards include tasks such as "writing an article as if reporting for a newspaper" and research assignments, which require students to gather and use information to make claims. The Number the Stars test asks students to judge a propaganda poster's origin (Nazi or American), which asks students to interpret a persuasive claim in a historical artifact.

Students are instructed to record three quotes or actions from the book that describe how characters feel about living forever, labeling the character for each quote and categorizing them as pros or cons. Students prepare and deliver a two-minute opening argument and a closing statement that state a position and reasons, and they prepare and answer targeted questions from an opponent. The "Rules of Debate" and parent notes prompt students to avoid presenting opinions as facts and to evaluate arguments for sound judgment and relevant reasoning.

Students are asked to record examples of discrimination on the "Recognizing Discrimination" pages, noting who was involved, what happened, and how each instance is an example of discrimination. In Activity 2 students watch primary-source Civil Rights Movement videos and write a three- or four-sentence journal response describing what they learned and which interviews or events stood out to them. The lesson asks students to analyze chapters 1–12 by identifying and explaining instances of unfair treatment, which requires citing events from the text.

Students read the informational flyer "Integrated Bus Suggestions" and are asked to "consider how the statements promote peace yet encourage strength and pride" and to underline the three suggestions they think were most important and explain their selections to a parent. Students are asked to read about the Montgomery Bus Boycott (including a video link) and to explain what they learned about the boycott and discuss whether the Logans' boycott will pressure the Wallaces to change their practices. These tasks require students to make judgments about the importance and likely effectiveness of claims made in historical/informational text.

Students are asked to create slides/posters that present a problem, provide examples of discrimination "based on what you learned from the story as well as what you learned about the Jim Crow laws and other related video and text presented in the unit" (Slide 2). The Skills list instructs students to "support opinions with detailed evidence and with visual or media displays," and the Presentation Rubric evaluates whether visuals and the speaker support and convey ideas clearly. The end-of-unit test and prompts require students to answer questions about Jim Crow laws, sharecropping, and the Civil Rights Movement using information from the unit.

Students are instructed to read pages 82–89 of What Was the Great Depression?, watch linked videos, and record interesting quotes about the Dust Bowl in their journals. They use a U.S. map with scale to estimate migration distances and then create a poster titled "The Dust Bowl" that includes printed or drawn images and the quotes they recorded. These tasks require students to locate and record information and direct quotations from literary nonfiction and multimedia sources.

Students listen to two interviews with Mexican migrant workers (primary-source literary nonfiction) to learn about camp life and discrimination. Students examine a provided list of reasons workers might strike and record information from the novel that could support those reasons, summarizing examples and providing page numbers on the "On Strike!" organizer. Students are asked to explain examples from the text that support why some workers chose to go on strike during parent/teacher discussion prompts.

Students are asked in Question #3 to explain the irony in the poem "206," and the prompt explicitly notes that the poet's numerical claim about T. rex bones is factually mistaken, prompting comparison of the poem's claim with factual information. Activity 2 requires students to research a prehistoric animal's habitat and life in order to write an obituary, which asks students to gather and use informational evidence about a subject. Activity 3 has students excavate fossils, giving them a hands-on way to obtain physical evidence about prehistoric life.