Sixth Grade - ELA
• Literacy
1: Environment and Cycles
Unit 1: Weather and Climate
Lesson 1
Weather and Climate
Students are asked to find one or two sources for weather data and are given specific digital sources to use (AccuWeather and the National Weather Service). Students watch local forecasts on television or online and gather forecast information from local print and online newspapers. Students practice selecting relevant information by brainstorming audiences and rewriting a forecast tailored to a chosen audience. Students are directed to explore the suggested websites for additional weather and climate information.
Lesson 3
Wind and Air Pressure
Students are directed to read pages 22–28 in the textbook and to watch multiple linked videos (Earth's Atmosphere, Solar Radiation, What Are Weather Fronts?, How Does a Barometer Predict the Weather?) and to use websites (AccuWeather, Atmotube) to find current air pressure, wind direction, and speed. Students are asked to record these measurements and predictions in a weather journal and to use an online chart and activity pages to interpret and compare barometric pressure and wind data. The lesson also asks students to use the resources explored in a prior lesson to find current local measurements and to use those figures (with arrows) to predict weather changes.
Lesson 5
Precipitation
Students gather information from multiple print and digital sources: they watch a linked video, read pages 35–45 in a textbook, read poem excerpts, and are provided web links for art. Students are directed to use the "My Environment's Water Cycle" pages, fill charts, draw diagrams, and use examples from those sources to describe local water-cycle components. Students are explicitly told they can "try doing a Google search using your street address" to find a map for their local water-cycle diagram, which involves using a digital search.
Lesson 6
Clouds
Students are instructed to read pages 52–56 of the textbook and to "use information from the following websites, and from page 52–55 of Weather and Climate" to research each cloud type. The Cloud Chart directions tell students to "research each cloud type by using the links on your book's website" and to take notes in the chart's boxes (description, altitude, type of weather, clues). The materials include specific digital sources (NOAA page, a YouTube video, and a cloud identification flowchart) that students must consult and use to complete their chart and weather journal.
Lesson 7
Wild Weather
Students are asked to research one type of wild weather using books, the Internet, YouTube, and provided web links (Activity 1). Students complete a 'Wild Weather Search' worksheet that prompts them to record a description, causes, effects, survival tips, a famous occurrence, and other facts from their sources. A parent note specifically encourages students to develop research skills and to find resources as needed.
Lesson 8
Geography and Climate Change
Students are directed to gather information from multiple digital sources: videos and web pages about jet streams, ocean currents, and climate (e.g., YouTube videos, PBS/National Geographic resources, NOAA, SciJinks, Wikipedia). Activity 3 explicitly instructs students to use the NOAA search box to find recent weather data for their city and to consult linked pages (Gulf Stream, California Current) and suggested climate maps (Trewartha, Köppen). Students create a local "My Weather and Climate" activity page using information from these sources and show and explain their world map to a parent.
Unit 1: The Wanderer
Lesson 1
Charting the Course
Students are directed to review an external author biography (Britannica) and answer specific questions about Sharon Creech, showing they gather information from a digital source. Students are asked to use an atlas or Google Maps to locate and label journey stops (Connecticut, Martha's Vineyard, Grand Manan, Block Island, England, Ireland), which requires consulting print or digital map sources. Students review and use the "Parts of a Sailboat" diagram and sailing terminology sheets to collect domain-specific information from provided materials.
Lesson 4
Grand Manan
Students are directed in Activity 3 to "explore the following websites" and three external web links are provided for recycled crafts, so students can access multiple digital sources for ideas. The Parent Plan also instructs students to view websites of scrap artists for art appreciation, reinforcing use of online sources. Students are asked to find something old and turn it into something new, which implies gathering information or examples from those digital sources.
Lesson 6
Marine Life
The lesson asks students to "Research some of the different types of whales and dolphins" and provides multiple digital links (Getty Images, NOAA species pages, YouTube videos) for students to refer to. Students are directed to use these internet sites to help create a nautical mobile or origami animals and are told they may need help with the internet sites and gathering materials. The activity therefore requires students to gather information from multiple print/digital sources to complete a product.
Lesson 8
Changes
Students are asked to research either Ireland or England (Activity 2) and to locate the two countries on a map, which requires gathering information about what one might see and do when visiting. The lesson provides multiple digital web links (Discover Ireland, National Geographic Kids, Britannica Kids) as explicit sources to use. Parents are prompted to help the student locate additional websites, implying use of multiple sources for the postcard project.
Final Project
Character Lapbook and Test
Students are asked to record a character quote and the page number in the Character Quote bi-fold mini book, and parents are instructed to check the quoted page in context. Students are directed to refer to internal print materials such as the character timeline and the "Lapbook Layout" sheets when creating mini books. The lesson includes a single external digital link (a YouTube video) that students can use to learn how to fold the file folder into a lapbook.
Unit 2: Geography and Landforms
Lesson 3
Landforms
Students are directed to read specific pages in The Geography Book and to watch linked videos and websites (e.g., Continental Drift video, NASA mountains site), indicating use of multiple print and digital sources. Students are explicitly told to use the National Geographic Education site and to "Type each term into the Search Box," which requires them to use search terms to locate examples. Students are asked to record information from these sources on activity pages (e.g., write definitions, real-world examples, and sentences about each feature).
Lesson 5
Human Geography
Students are directed to read an online United Nations article about population and to use Prisoners of Geography (print book) pages to gather information about regions, showing they collect information from multiple print and digital sources. Students are asked to find city population data for their state using an atlas, state road map, or the Internet and are given an explicit search-term example: "10 largest cities" plus the state name. Students record data on activity pages and use provided web links (printable state and world maps) to support their map-making and research.
Lesson 6
Interacting with the Land
Students are instructed to search online by typing their state name and "resource map" into a search engine to find maps and use those maps to locate resources. Students are asked to create a resource map of their state by researching where important natural resources are found and representing them with symbols and a map key. Parent guidance explicitly states that students practice locating information from reliable sources and interpreting resource maps as they explain why resources are found in particular parts of the state.
Lesson 7
Water Everywhere
Students are directed to read specific print pages from The Geography Book and to use multiple provided digital sources (YouTube video, EPA My Waterway, Nature Conservancy, and local water system websites) to find information about their watershed and household water sources. Students are asked to visit their water system's website and to locate online water quality reports, and then record findings on the provided activity pages (My Watershed, The Water at Home, Water Use Chart). The Parent Plan and activity instructions explicitly require that students use online resources to complete the research-based tasks.
Lesson 8
World Map - Part I
Students are directed to read specific pages in the print book Prisoners of Geography and to use that book to label countries and geographic features on their world map. Students are asked to look up images and "find more information about [a feature] online" when creating a postcard and are given multiple web links (WorldAtlas and YouTube) to consult. Students use both print (the assigned book) and digital (provided websites and suggested online searches) sources as part of their activities.
Lesson 9
World Map - Part II
Students are assigned to read specific pages of Prisoners of Geography (a print source) and to use those pages as references for map-labeling activities. In Activity 2 students are directed to "look up images of the geographical feature or location, and try to find more information about it online," and several web links are provided as digital sources. Multiple map activities explicitly tell students to use the book pages as references for labeling features across different regions.
Final Project
Local Geography Book
Students are asked to gather information by visiting the place in person and taking notes and by consulting maps and online map sources (e.g., park websites and road maps) to help draw their own map. The project instructs students to "do some research" to find out how people make use of the natural resources and to use activity pages (Written Descriptions, Human Activities) to record information. The unit also asks students to "write brief summaries of key concepts in your own words" when preparing for the test, which encourages paraphrasing and synthesizing information from sources.
Unit 2: The People of Sparks
Lesson 1
The City of Ember
Students are directed to locate word definitions in a dictionary and record context-appropriate meanings and sentences, which requires gathering information from a print source. Students are instructed to read and/or watch movie reviews online and are given two example links (Scholastic News Review and Rotten Tomatoes) to use as digital sources. The movie-review activity asks students to consult reviews to understand what to include in their own review, prompting them to use multiple sources for background information.
Final Project
Wars and Plagues or A New Environment
Students are instructed to "visit a variety of websites and/or consult resources from the library" and to use the Research Organizer that includes a blank "Sources" section for recording where they found information. The lesson tells students to use trusted sources (news organizations, museums, universities, government organizations) and directs them to "put any information you find into your own words." The rubric and newspaper/ timeline tasks require students to integrate researched information into a final product.
Unit 3: Our Changing Earth
Lesson 1
The Rock Cycle
Students are directed to gather information from multiple sources: they watch a "Rock Cycle" video, read pp. 90-91 of a print book (Dirtmeister's Nitty Gritty Planet Earth), consult the Rock Science Kit brochure and booklet, and visit multiple websites (the Cliffs of Dover links and geology.com) to research a chosen rock. Students are asked to use the kit brochure and to "research the rock online to learn more about where it might be found," and they use information from the video and reading as a guide when categorizing rocks in Activity 1.
Lesson 3
Igneous Rocks and Volcanoes
Students read assigned pages from a print textbook and watch two linked YouTube videos, and they use the geology.com page and the USGS webpages to complete activities. Students follow Activity 3 and Activity 4 to read the USGS page about volcano types and to explore the USGS volcano map, then use those digital sources to identify and describe a volcano and complete matching and drawing tasks. The lesson explicitly directs students to use the USGS information when the textbook conflicts with other sources.
Lesson 4
Earthquakes and Moving Plates
Students are instructed to read specific pages (pp. 34-39 and 42-43) of Dirtmeister's Nitty Gritty Planet Earth. Students are directed to find and use the "Earthquake Shaking Hazards in the United States" page (source shown as http://www.fema.gov) and to use the map to determine hazard levels for their state and adjacent states. Students use these print and digital materials to answer questions and complete map-based activities.
Lesson 5
Metamorphic and Sedimentary Rocks
Students are asked to gather information from multiple print sources (assigned readings: pp. 62, 66–67, and 84–89 of Dirtmeister's Nitty Gritty Planet Earth) and from digital sources (two provided web links and an instruction to "search online if you'd like to learn more"). Students use the Rock Science Kit booklet and Rock Types chart as additional print/digital resources while completing observation pages and experiments. Several activities explicitly direct students to look up more information online about specific rock samples.
Lesson 7
Erosion
Students are directed to read specific pages (pp. 72–75 and pp. 114–115) of a print book (Dirtmeister) and to use the Student Activity Pages to plan and report experiments. The activities invite students to look at pictures online for the flip book and instruct parents to help find images online, providing both print and digital sources for information gathering.
Final Project
Presenting the Rock Cycle
Students are told they may "use information from the book as well as the Rock Cycle chart from your science kit to help you," and the lesson includes a web link to the Unit Review Sheet for review. Students are explicitly directed to "look for photographs, illustrations, and images online to help explain each answer" when designing slides or visual aids. The project rubrics and templates require students to gather content (e.g., stages of the rock cycle, effects of volcanoes/earthquakes) and to use at least six slides or visual aids, which implies collecting multiple pieces of information and media.
Unit 3: Short Stories
Lesson 2
Short Story Genre
Activity 3: Mars Research directs students to use provided websites, library books, or other online sources to research Mars and to record facts about the planet in their journal. The lesson supplies two specific digital sources (NASA and ESA) and asks students to read about the planet and look at images as they collect information. The Parent Plan reiterates that students research Mars using provided resources and record key facts to build background knowledge for the story.
Lesson 3
The Dog of Pompeii
Activity 4 directs students to "Research the history of Pompeii using books or online sources" and to record ten important facts on the Volcano Research page. The lesson provides specific digital sources (National Geographic Kids and HISTORY.com) and tells students to gather information from the links or other online sources or books. Students are then asked to use their gathered information to create a RAFT product (a poem or song) to be presented to an audience.
Lesson 4
Rip Van Winkle
Students are asked to locate the Catskill Mountains and to "locate pictures and information about these beautiful mountains online" (Activity 1) and to "research information about the Catskill Mountains in an encyclopedia" (Activity 1, Option 2). The lesson provides digital links to the story on Wikisource and to a poem PDF that students are asked to read and compare. Students read the original text and a verse version, which requires consulting multiple print and digital sources.
Lesson 6
Women in Short Stories
Students are directed to read stories from both the Classic Short Stories Collection and an online PDF (a provided web link to "A White Heron"), so they access at least one digital and one print source. The Skills section asks students to "make reasonable assertions about a text through accurate, supporting citations" and to "clarify understanding of text by creating reports," which implies using sources and citing evidence. Several activities (the short story critique and reports) require students to refer to the text and include specific references in their responses.
2: Force and Power
Unit 1: Slavery and the Civil War
Lesson 2
Slavery
Students are asked to gather information from multiple print and digital sources: a video, chapters from A History of US (secondary), WPA slave narratives (primary), and optional websites. Activity 1 directs students to take notes and organize information in KWL and topic-based activity pages while watching/reading. Day 2 explicitly asks students to consider how reading primary sources differs from reading secondary sources, and Activity 3 asks students to synthesize gathered information into a quilt or mural.
Lesson 4
Leadership and the Civil War
Students are assigned chapters from the textbook A History of US: War, Terrible War 1855-1865 and instructed to look up leaders in the book's glossary and fill in biography cards with background, roles, and notable events. Students are told they may find or draw images and are explicitly pointed to the Library of Congress "Civil War Photographs" collection and to use other sources if they choose, and they are allowed to research an additional Civil War figure of their own choosing.
Lesson 5
The Wartime Experience
Students are directed to gather information from a print source by reading A History of US: War, Terrible War 1855-1865 (chapters 15–16). Students are asked to explore digital sources through provided web links (Valley of the Shadow, Love Letters from the Civil War, Daily Life of a Civil War Soldier) and are given the option to use library books as alternative print sources. Students are prompted to apply what they learn from these sources to activities (diary entry, Pack Your Haversack, final project), which requires using information from multiple sources.
Lesson 6
Major Battles of the Civil War
Students are instructed to read specific chapters of A History of US: War, Terrible War 1855-1865 and to use that book to add events to a timeline and to locate battles on a map. Students are given web links to National Park Service pages (Manassas, Antietam, Shiloh, Gettysburg) and told they can use a search engine with the terms "National Park Service" and "Civil War" to find additional digital resources. Students are also told they may conduct research at their local library or, with parental help, on the Internet to investigate battles not covered in the text.
Lesson 7
The Homefront Experience
Students are asked to read Chapters 22–24 in A History of US, providing a print source for information about the Civil War homefront. Students are directed to obtain modern prices either by visiting a grocery store or using an online grocery, and a web link to Confederate money is provided as a digital source. The Rising Prices activity includes a cited source line for the historical price table (North Carolina Museum of History collaboration), so students use at least one named archival source for data.
Lesson 8
Gettysburg and Beyond
Students read multiple print sources: chapters 25–27 of A History of US and the full texts of the Declaration of Independence, the Emancipation Proclamation, and the Gettysburg Address. Students highlight important ideas and phrases in each primary document and complete a three-way Venn diagram to identify similarities and overlapping ideas across those sources. Students also record events and dates from the lesson readings on a Civil War timeline and fill in map pages for listed battles.
Lesson 9
End of War and Reconstruction
Students are assigned multiple print and digital sources to read (chapters 28-31 in A History of US and a provided weblink about freed people, the Freedmen's Bureau, and the Black Codes), showing they gather information from more than one medium. Students read the full texts of the 13th, 14th, and 15th Amendments and are prompted to "restate this amendment in your own words," which requires paraphrasing. The student activity pages and a noted website link offer additional research resources that students can consult for information.
Final Project
Remembering the Civil War
Students are given explicit web links and are told how to find digital resources (for example, they are instructed to search for "Library of Congress" and "American Memory" to find maps and photographs). The Parent Plan skills list asks students to "Differentiate between, locate, and use primary and secondary sources," and students are told to use the two books from the unit and their previous timelines and activity pages as sources for their projects. Projects (museum exhibit or documentary) require students to gather images and information from multiple print and digital sources to create displays or film segments.
Unit 1: Bull Run
Lesson 1
Background on the Civil War
Students are asked to gather information from multiple digital and print sources: Activity 2 and Activity 5 provide several web links (ThoughtCo, Wikipedia, Ducksters, civilwar.org) and prompt students to read online or in other reference sources. Activity 4 has students read two primary-source journals and the Parent Plan asks students to identify facts and opinions and compare perspectives. Activity 2 and the Parent Plan explicitly tell students to put information in their own words when recording the statehood steps.
Lesson 2
Pink and Say
Students read the picture book Pink and Say and also read several Civil War primary-source letters and student activity pages, providing multiple print sources to gather information. In Activity 1 students record factual information from the picture book in a journal, and in Activity 5 students identify the writers and recipients of letters and note the writers' perspectives and opinions. In Activity 2 students choose a passage and rewrite it from another point of view, which requires them to paraphrase original text in their own words.
Lesson 3
Joining the Ranks
Students are asked to research towns to determine which state a character's home is in and to place character nameplates on a map, which requires gathering information beyond the text. Students read multiple primary-text items (the novel pages, a Civil War speech, and propaganda images) and are instructed to record factual and opinion statements and to identify possible propaganda. Students examine posters and a speech and explain how each picture or passage could have been used to sway attitudes, practicing analysis of content.
Lesson 4
Ready for Battle
Students are asked to locate propaganda posters from other wars and are given web links to examine historical examples. Students design a Civil War propaganda poster and must consider audience influence, including analyzing what type of poster would have influenced characters from Bull Run. Students are prompted to make informed judgments about propaganda, explore bias and hidden messages, and identify underlying assumptions of an author/creator.
Lesson 7
Fleeing and Death
Students are asked to reread character accounts and "cite evidence from the book to support your ideas" when describing Toby's feelings before and after Bull Run. Students are directed to reread selected pages for a chosen character and to practice reading or presenting those accounts aloud, which involves quoting or paraphrasing the text. The Character Quilt and other activities require students to label character details and depict memorable scenes, prompting students to extract and summarize information from the novel.
Final Project
Argumentative Essay
Students are instructed to "use information you learned from the books you read on the Civil War and information you know about the time period" to support their arguments, which requires drawing on prior print sources. The Essay Rubric includes a criterion labeled "Use of knowledgeable sources?" under Ideas, prompting students to incorporate sources when providing relevant details and information. The prewriting and outline pages require students to summarize supports and organize evidence for each paragraph, implying students must select and record supporting information.
Unit 2: Force and Motion
Lesson 3
Gravity
Students are asked to read Chapter 2 (pages 19-25) of the textbook Explore Forces and Motion! and to refer to specific book pages (e.g., "What Is Happening?" p.17) as part of activities. Students are directed to watch multiple linked online videos (Danger: Falling Objects!, What if We Lost Gravity for 5 Seconds?, World's Biggest Vacuum) and to use these sources to answer questions and draw conclusions. Activity pages prompt students to record observations, conclusions, and explanations based on their readings and video viewings.
Lesson 4
Laws of Motion
Students are instructed to read Chapter 3 of the textbook and watch an assigned video, and the activities explicitly direct students to use the book, the lesson video, the provided NASA web page, and other online resources when creating their poster and planning activities. The lesson provides multiple print and digital sources (textbook pages, video links, NASA site, and resource links) that students are told they may consult for ideas. The Force Experiment and poster tasks require students to gather information and examples from those sources to illustrate Newton's laws.
Lesson 5
Magnetism
Students are directed to read Chapter 4 (pages 46–52) in a print text and to read web sections titled "How can we measure magnetism?" and "Comparing magnetism," and they watch two assigned videos about magnetic field lines. Students answer explicit content questions (QUESTION #1–#4) based on those print and digital sources and complete activity pages that refer back to the web/video content. Students use information from these multiple sources to record predictions, results, and conclusions on their experiment and field-line mapping activity pages.
Lesson 7
Forces at Work
Students are directed to read Chapter 6 (pages 72–79) in the textbook Explore Forces and Motion! and to read descriptions on a web page and watch linked videos, so they gather information from both print and digital sources. Students answer specific content questions (e.g., what a fulcrum is, how wedges relate to inclined planes) based on those readings and videos. Station hints and parent notes explicitly reference book activities and page numbers that students can consult while completing hands-on challenges.
Final Project
Force and Motion Stations
Students are directed to review multiple print materials (the "Reading and Questions" pages, activity pages, and the Unit Review Sheet) and to use provided web links for inspiration. Students use the Station Planning sheet and sample station cards to record possible activities and materials drawn from those sources. Students are asked to consult demonstrations in the book and online experiment lists to adapt or design their own station procedures.
Unit 2: Albert Einstein
Lesson 1
Who Is Albert Einstein?
Students are instructed to "research the life of Isaac Newton online or in an encyclopedia" and to "take notes on note cards" (Activity 1), and two web links are provided as digital sources. The parent notes reiterate that students can "find information online" and should record "6-10 facts" on note cards. Activity 2 asks students to generate questions and then look for answers in the reading, which directs students to gather information from sources as they read.
Lesson 3
University Days and Beyond
Students are asked to read Chapters 3 and 4 (print) and answer questions in complete sentences and to add events to Einstein's timeline, which requires summarizing or paraphrasing key information. The Parent Plan explicitly lists the skill to "summarize or paraphrase what the reading was about, maintaining meaning and logical order." Students also complete a Biography Web activity that has them select and place important life events. Students use a digital resource (the Beyond Roots website) for games and online quizzes.
Lesson 4
Research and Discovery
Students read specified print chapters (Chapters 5 and 6) and complete related comprehension questions and timeline/biography web activities, which requires them to extract events and details from the text. Students watch two named videos and are instructed to take notes on important ideas and information and then write a video summary using those notes. Parents are prompted to encourage the child to listen for statements that are facts versus the narrator's opinions, which asks students to distinguish factual claims from opinion in media sources.
Lesson 6
Fame
Students are asked to gather information from multiple sources by reading a biography, watching video documentaries, and looking up an encyclopedia entry on Albert Einstein. Students complete a 'Forms of Media' activity in which they compare the style and content of the encyclopedia entry to the biography and videos and describe benefits and limitations of each source. The materials also prompt students to review different informational sources and discuss situations where a certain source might be most helpful.
Lesson 8
Peace
Students are prompted in Activity 2 to think about where they will look for information, whether others have asked the question, and what experiments could help find answers, and to select one question and attempt to find the answer. Activity 1 asks students to continue researching any unanswered questions they recorded earlier. The lesson provides and directs students to multiple digital and print sources (web links to PBS/NOVA resources, reference to videos and an encyclopedia) for further research.
Final Project
Biography Scrapbook
Students are asked to use their biography web and timeline to assist in finding information and to locate at least three photographs of Einstein, including printed images from the Internet. The Parent Plan lists skills that students will "conduct research (with assistance) from a variety of sources" and "integrate main idea and supporting details from multiple sources". The project requires students to fill factual details (e.g., on the birth certificate) and to produce items (letter, journal entry, memorabilia) that rely on gathered information.
Unit 3: World Wars I and II
Lesson 1
World War I Begins
Students read a print source (Where Poppies Grow: A World War I Companion, pages 4-21) and are given a web link titled "Military Technology in World War I" as additional digital information. Students analyze photographs and are prompted (in Parent Plan guidance) to identify whether images and captions are primary or secondary sources. Activities ask students to describe technology and trench life based on the book and the provided web link, encouraging use of both print and digital materials.
Lesson 5
Mobilizing for War
Students are assigned specific print and digital sources to read and use, including chapters from Joy Hakim's A History of US and linked primary sources on the National Archives website (Roosevelt's speech and recording). Students are directed to examine World War II posters in the book and to visit online exhibits such as the National Archives "Powers of Persuasion" and the National WWII Museum article to analyze and plan their own posters. Students may also be directed to optional Library of Congress "Man on the Street" interviews as an additional digital source for perspectives after Pearl Harbor.
Lesson 6
Wartime Skills
Students are assigned a specific print source to read (pages 139–152 of Joy Hakim's A History of US) and are given two external web links (Navy History code dictionary and Navajo Code Talkers site) to consult. The Navajo Code activity includes a declassified source citation for the Navajo Code Talkers' Dictionary and gives a URL for the original dictionary. An optional extension invites students to create and exchange codes and to explore the provided links for more information.
Lesson 7
War in the Pacific and North Africa
Students are directed to read specified print pages (Joy Hakim, pages 153-162) and to use the book index to look up "weapons," encouraging them to consult those pages. The lesson points students to digital sources by suggesting library or Internet research and by providing Library of Congress links with instructions to "Search the Collection" and limit searches to particular wars or digitized interviews. The Weapons of War activity asks students to use a provided website to complete worksheet prompts about specific technologies, which requires them to gather information from an external digital source.
Lesson 8
War in Europe
Students are directed to gather information from a print source (A History of US: War, Peace, and All That Jazz by Joy Hakim, pages 163-179) and optional digital sources (the USHMM Holocaust learning site and online radio broadcast links). Students are asked to consult the book for accuracy when writing their radio script and to use maps and book pages as references for map-labeling activities. Option 2 of the radio vocabulary activity and the student activity pages require students to write definitions in their own words and to compose a script using selected vocabulary drawn from the provided sources.
Lesson 9
The End of World War II
The lesson requires students to read a specified print source (A History of US: War, Peace, and All That Jazz) and tells students in Activity 2 that they can use Internet resources to take reporter-style notes about Hiroshima or Nagasaki. Students are instructed to take objective notes answering who/what/when/where/why, and parents are asked to check the student's "Daily News" page or recording for accuracy.
Unit 3: Number the Stars
Lesson 4
In Hiding
Students are asked to "use the Internet or other resources to find information about the Jewish people and the Jewish religion" and to record that information on a menorah graphic organizer. The activity explicitly allows family members to contribute information, indicating use of multiple print/digital and human sources. The directions require students to gather facts across categories (Foods, Holidays, History, Tradition, etc.), which involves collecting relevant information from different sources.
Lesson 6
Aunt Birte is Dead
Students are directed to visit a PBS web page about Barbara Rodbell, read her story, and retell it to a parent, which requires consulting a digital source. The Parent Plan skills list instructs students to paraphrase major ideas and supporting evidence in presentations. As literary luminaries, students choose passages from the book, read them aloud, and explain their reasons for selection, which involves quoting and explaining others' words.
Lesson 8
Little Red Riding Hood
Students read Chapters 14–17 of the novel and are instructed to record connections between the book and the outside world in their journal. Students read two printed versions of Little Red Riding Hood (Perrault and Grimm) and use a graphic organizer to compare similarities and differences with Annemarie's story. In the character sketch activity, students must list two of Annemarie's traits and provide examples from the text that reveal each trait.
Lesson 9
A Magazine Article
Activity 2 directs students to consult two specific web sources and allows them to use other trusted websites or library resources, so students collect information from multiple print and digital sources. The text instructs students to put information in their own words to avoid plagiarism and tells them to copy quotations exactly, enclose them in quotation marks, and indicate where they got quotations and images by including the web link or title and author. Parent notes reinforce that students should include website or source title and author when using quotations or pictures.
Final Project
Think-Tac-Toe
Students choose activities that require research from print and digital sources (for example, the "Online Holocaust Museum Center" square and tasks like researching Alexander Hamilton or the Han Dynasty). The skills list explicitly expects students to paraphrase major ideas and supporting evidence and to present findings in a specified format. Several Think-Tac-Toe tasks ask students to create research products (scrapbook, essay, article, skit) that imply gathering information from sources.
3: Change
Unit 1: Matter
Lesson 1
Elements and the Periodic Table
Students read a printed book (pages 4–11 of Fizz, Bubble, and Flash!) and watch a video as part of the Reading and Questions section. Students are also directed to use a periodic table (page 10 in the book or an online periodic table) and to consult activity pages and charts (pie charts of atmosphere/ocean/crust, tables of common compounds) to locate elements and gather data. Students use those sources to identify the 12 most common elements and to build models of compounds based on chemical formulas shown in the materials.
Lesson 2
Introduction to Metals
Students are directed to read specified pages in the print book (Fizz, Bubble, and Flash!) and to watch a related video. Students are also given a provided web link (Interactive Periodic Table) and asked in Activity 4 to read about a chosen metal in the book and online and then create a collage or informational poster using that information.
Lesson 3
Introduction to Metalloids
Students are asked to read multiple print pages in Fizz, Bubble, and Flash! (pages 41-42, 44, 45, 47-49 and insets on pages 9 and 113) and to consult a specified video (with a timestamp to the 'Metalloids' section) and an interactive periodic table website. Activity 2 explicitly directs students to "find out more" about a chosen metalloid not covered in the book and to use the video and interactive periodic table as needed. Students gather facts to create a poem or a mini-book, recording atomic number, symbol, usage, characteristics, appearance, facts, and locations.
Lesson 4
Introduction to Nonmetals
Students are asked to pick one gaseous element to research and are told they can use information from the book as well as the provided Interactive Periodic Table website. The activity directs students to "go online and search for pictures" and to show a parent examples of where the element is used or found in daily life, and to tell the parent three things they learned. The student activity page requires students to write a question, materials, procedure, observations, and conclusions, supporting collection and recording of information from print and digital sources.
Lesson 7
Classifying by Magnetic Properties
Students are directed to read specific pages (107, 109, and the "Bird Brains" section on page 110) from the print book Fizz, Bubble, and Flash and to answer questions based on that reading. Students are asked to visit a provided webpage (https://scitoys.com/...) to view an image and read a section, and to examine a periodic-table image on the Student Activity Page to classify elements by magnetism. Students copy and label diagrams and complete parts of the activity using information from these print and digital sources.
Lesson 8
Classifying by Conductivity
Students are asked to read an article at a provided web link and to read about tungsten and yttrium on p. 101 of Fizz, Bubble, and Flash!, which gives them both a digital and a print source to consult. The Wrap-up also points students to a specific video link about superconductors, adding another digital source. Students answer specific comprehension questions based on those readings and record observations from hands-on activities that reference information from those sources.
Final Project
Mystery Elements
Students are instructed in Part 5 to research elements using an interactive periodic table link and to compare their test results with information gathered throughout the unit. The activity lists multiple resources (a named book, unit lesson pages, and the online periodic table) for students to consult when identifying mystery elements. Students are told to "use resources from Activity 5 to assist" and to research elements they have not eliminated.
Unit 1: Tuck Everlasting
Lesson 4
The Tucks
Students are asked to 'Do some research to determine if the water in your community comes from a groundwater source,' which prompts independent information gathering. The lesson provides multiple sources students can use: the book chapters (print) and a linked groundwater video (digital), plus a hands-on Investigating Groundwater activity that supports observation and data collection. Students read text about groundwater movement and statistics (e.g., groundwater makes up more than 90 percent of available fresh water), which they can use as evidence in their research.
Lesson 5
At Home with the Tucks
Students are explicitly instructed in Option 1 to put quotation marks around any words or phrases taken directly from the text to show they are the author's words, not their own. Students are told in Option 2 to record words and phrases from the text and to remember to put quotation marks around them when comparing the Fosters' and Tucks' homes. Students are asked to use the author's descriptions to write paragraphs or record phrases, requiring them to identify and extract author language for use in their own work.
Lesson 9
The Plan
Students read multiple sources: two Norse myths on the student activity pages and a linked web article about the Fountain of Youth (Wikipedia). Students are asked to compare three similarities and three differences between these myths, the Ponce de León story, and the novel, and the Parent Plan notes reading a variety of texts, including myths.
Final Project
A Debate
Students are asked to record three quotes or actions from the book and note the character who made each statement, which requires locating and quoting text. The Student Activity Page includes a "Your Own Words" section where students summarize considerations about immortality, which asks them to paraphrase or synthesize ideas. Students are also instructed to ask others' opinions and record their ideas, showing that they gather information from more than one (oral) source.
Unit 2: Civil Rights
Lesson 1
Life Under Segregation
Students are instructed to read pages 4–7 of the print book Nobody Gonna Turn Me 'Round and to watch at least two minutes of a video showing images of racial segregation. Students must answer questions that require using information from the book (e.g., interpreting the painting on pp. 6–7) and from the video (e.g., identifying places shown as segregated). The activities direct students to use these sources to define terms, classify scenarios, and list places that would have been segregated.
Lesson 2
The Montgomery Bus Boycott
The Research Workshop activity asks students to brainstorm what they know and list questions they want to explore, preparing them for either an oral-history interview or an independent research project. The Optional Extension provides multiple specific web links and suggests using online sources and the public library, directing students to consult print and digital materials. Parent guidance and the final-project description indicate students will use their interview or research as the core of a unit project, implying collection of information from multiple sources.
Lesson 3
School Desegregation
Students are directed to read print material (Nobody Gonna Turn Me 'Round) and to use multiple digital web links (CNN, OurDocuments, Library of Congress, Illinois Public Media, NPS, iCivics) to prepare their reports. Activity 3 asks students to look up individuals in a public library catalog and to identify Internet-based sources with a parent's help, and the Illinois Public Media link specifically mentions using the Search feature. The parent notes explicitly warn about unreliable online results and advise that parents help students search effectively and identify useful, accurate research sites.
Lesson 4
Sit-Ins and Freedom Rides
Students are assigned a print source to read (Nobody Gonna Turn Me 'Round by Doreen Rappaport) and are asked to answer content questions, which shows practice using a print source. The Research Workshop and the "Writing Research Questions" and "Oral History Interview Questions" activities require students to develop research questions and plan interviews or biographical research, prompting them to gather information and use primary accounts. The activities instruct students to study and investigate sources to find answers and reach conclusions, which frames basic research work.
Lesson 6
Martin Luther King, Jr.
Students are directed to gather information from both print and digital sources: they are asked to read pages 40–43 of Nobody Gonna Turn Me 'Round and to read/view material at the provided web link to the "I Have a Dream" address. Students are asked to look at examples of stamps, coins, and bills (print or digital) for inspiration when designing commemorative currency. Students are asked to perform or memorize a portion of King's speech, which requires consulting the printed speech excerpt and the linked full text online.
Lesson 7
Freedom Summer
Students read a specified print source (Nobody Gonna Turn Me 'Round, pages 44-55) and answer comprehension questions, demonstrating gathering information from a print text. Students conduct an interview (face-to-face or by phone/computer), record or take notes, and then listen to or review those notes for use in a follow-up activity. A web link to a digital archive of historical advertisements is provided as an optional resource, and students are instructed to "draw on the words of your interviewee" when creating a magazine advertisement.
Lesson 8
Conducting Your Research
Students are asked to gather multiple print and digital sources: the activity requires identifying at least three books at the library and two or more Internet sites. The Research Sources activity page prompts students to record bibliographic details (author, title, publisher, date) for books and URL and access date for websites. The Part 2 research notes instructions require students to record the source of any information they write down (for example, "(Source #5, pages 26-27)") so students link facts in their notes to specific sources.
Lesson 9
Legacies of the Movement
The Option 2 activity asks students to research a modern example of discrimination using a newspaper, news magazine, or the Internet and to use search engines (the parent guide even suggests searching for "discrimination" and narrowing results to news items). The activity also instructs students they may use magazines, newspapers, or the Internet to locate images for their object-analogy presentation and assigns a specific print reading (Nobody Gonna Turn Me 'Round) as a source. These directions require students to gather information from multiple print and digital sources and to use search terms and search filters to find relevant material.
Final Project
Presenting Your Research
Students are asked to conduct independent research in the library and/or on the Internet and to use unit readings and interview material as sources for their presentations. Students are instructed to transcribe portions of interviews, include carefully chosen excerpts in a podcast or listening station, and to incorporate readings into scripts and presentations. The Book Review option requires students to list author, title, publisher, and publication date for a book they used.
Unit 2: Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry
Lesson 1
School's In
Students read the novel (a print source) and are directed to watch a linked video described as a primary source, then record a three- or four-sentence journal response about what they learned. Students complete 'Recognizing Discrimination' graphic organizers to record examples from the text, and the Parent Plan skills list explicitly includes exploring a variety of sources and using critical thinking to evaluate print and non-print materials.
Lesson 2
A Visitor
Students are instructed in Activity 2 to "research the state of Mississippi" and are given three specific web links (KidsKonnect, InfoPlease, Mississippi State Website) to use. Option 1 asks students to record information on a "Mississippi Facts" graphic organizer and directs them to use an encyclopedia. Option 2 requires students to find and paste a picture from the Internet and include statistics and facts in a tri-fold brochure, which requires gathering data from digital sources.
Lesson 4
T.J.
Students read Chapter 4 and record instances of discrimination on a "Recognizing Discrimination" page, engaging with a print text and extracting relevant details. Students use a provided web link to a mortgage calculator while completing the Interest & Mortgage activity, showing use of a digital source to support calculations. The Parent Plan indicates students practice critiquing the credibility of characterization and realism, which asks students to assess the trustworthiness of narrative information.
Lesson 5
The Market
Students are asked to read Chapter 5 and the "Things to Know" section about Jim Crow laws and to watch an assigned video via two provided web links, indicating use of both print and digital sources. The Parent Plan Skills explicitly list connecting and clarifying main ideas by identifying their relationships to other sources and related topics, which directs students to relate information across sources. Activities prompt students to watch the video and discuss it with a parent, providing practice in extracting information from digital media.
Final Project
Unit Test and Presentation for Change
Students are asked to 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," which asks them to draw from multiple unit sources. Students must review vocabulary and the "Things to Know" sections across lessons and use the PowerPoint Organizer to collect and plan the information they will put on their four slides. The lesson includes a web link labeled "Online Resources -- Presentation and Slideshow Tools," which directs students to digital tools they might use when creating their presentation.
Unit 3: The Giver
Lesson 2
Baby Gabriel
In Option 2 students are asked to "create a collage of images" and may "print them from the computer, and/or cut them from magazines," and a Parent Plan note explicitly states you may need to help your child "find images on the Internet or from magazines." These directions require students to gather visual materials from both digital and print sources for their collage.
Lesson 8
Love
The lesson instructs students to "pick four of the acronyms listed and, using a dictionary or the Internet, write out what each acronym stands for," and earlier asks students to "Try to guess what some of them stand for and then look up their meaning to see if you were right." Students are also directed to "look out for abbreviations and acronyms that are in all capital letters" and write these in a journal, which requires locating information in print or digital sources.
Lesson 9
Rosemary
Activity 2 asks students to locate paintings in online art galleries, select images in which a color is dominant, copy or right-click images, paste them into a Word document, and print them. The lesson provides three specific web links (Gallery Today, Medium article, Garden of Praise) as places to start and includes a Life Application link to a Color Psychology article for further online reading. Students are instructed to record feelings associated with colors and to compare their emotional responses to the images they gathered.
Final Project
The Final Chapter
Students are instructed to find or print images online or in magazines to include in their storyboard and are given a web link (Storyboard Examples) to an external digital source. The materials include multiple Student Activity Pages that contain an acceptance speech excerpt students read and respond to, providing at least one print/digital text for use. The project requires students to gather images and text excerpts to illustrate memories and to use draft and final pages to assemble their work.
4: Systems and Interaction
Unit 1: North and South America
Lesson 1
Geography of North America
Students are directed to read print material (Prisoners of Geography) for multiple activities and to "look up images" and "find more information about [a feature] online" for the postcard activity, with two web links provided as digital resources. Activities require students to use information from the book and online sites to label maps, complete a timeline, and write a postcard describing a geographical feature. The lesson explicitly asks students to use maps and online resources to gather facts and images for their work.
Lesson 2
North America Economies
Students watch two videos and answer comprehension questions, which requires them to gather information from digital sources. In Activity 2 students collect data about product origins by checking packaging or using a computer and record countries of origin across multiple days. The parent notes and activity prompts explicitly invite online research to learn more about industries, so students are directed to consult additional print/digital information when needed.
Lesson 3
The Cultures of North America
Students are asked in Activity 3 to "research" an American holiday using a library or parental assistance and to fill out an "American Holidays" research page with details about date, history, celebration, symbols, foods, and traditions. The Life Application and parent notes explicitly tell students to "use library resources or the Internet to learn more about each holiday's history." Students will collect information to prepare and give a presentation to their family using items from home as props.
Lesson 6
Economic Systems of Central and South America
Activity 4 explicitly tells students to search the Internet using targeted search terms (e.g., "Peru's Economy" or "Peru's Agriculture"), teaching use of search terms. Activities 1, 2, and 4 direct students to consult multiple digital sources and specific links (National Geographic, Britannica, Wikipedia, etc.) to collect information about countries' economies. Activity 4 also tells students to "focus on using reliable sources such as educational websites, government sites, or online encyclopedias," which directs students to prefer credible sources.
Lesson 7
Central and South American Culture
Students are directed to gather information from multiple digital and print sources: they watch several videos, follow multiple web links, and are encouraged to check out books from the local library to learn about foods, designs, and music. Students are asked to use online recordings and provided websites (e.g., Smithsonian Folkways, Mama Lisa) to learn songs and to visit image sites and library resources to find examples of South American patterns. Students complete charts and activity pages (Foods of Central America, South American Designs) that require collecting and recording information from those sources.
Final Project
Embassy Reception or Trivia Game
Students are directed to research their country or create trivia questions using multiple print and digital sources (Prisoners of Geography, encyclopedias, atlases, the local library, and the Internet) and two web links are provided. Students must record findings on structured activity pages (Embassy Presentation Research pages, economy/history/culture sheets) and write answers on trivia cards, which requires gathering information from those sources. The rubric and parent notes reinforce using a variety of sources and consulting Prisoners of Geography when verifying answers.
Unit 1: Esperanza Rising
Lesson 1
Tragedy in Mexico
Students are directed to read a nonfiction book (What Was the Great Depression) and examine multiple primary-source accounts and photographs, and they are given several web links (Library of Congress gallery, PBS Dust Bowl photos, online atlas) to locate digital images and map information. Students are instructed to find images online, copy/paste them into a document or slideshow, and to cut/glue printed images into a photo journal. Students are also told to "indicate where you got the picture to give credit to the source."
Lesson 2
Escape
Students read multiple texts (the chapters "Las Papayas" and "Los Higos," the poem "The Phoenix Bird," and a provided web link to Mythopedia) and are instructed to locate passages to discuss. The lesson explicitly teaches use of quotation marks, distinguishes quoting from summarizing, and directs students to practice inserting quotation marks on the "Quotation Marks" student activity page. Students are asked to write two sentences that use quotation marks for different purposes, and the answer key shows instances of quoting exact text and using titles in quotation marks.
Lesson 3
Train Ride
Students are asked to read chapters of the novel (print source) and to create discussion questions and analyses based on that reading. In Option 2, students are explicitly directed to use two provided web links about the Mexican Revolution to fill in Venn diagrams comparing Mexican and U.S. social and political systems. Students also reread text passages about the train and use those textual details as evidence for drawing and comparing class systems.
Lesson 4
Los Angeles
Students read print material (pages 82–89 of What Was the Great Depression?) and use provided digital links (USDA Dust Bowl photos and PBS Dust Bowl videos). Students are instructed to watch videos, pause and rewind, and record interesting quotes in their journals. Students gather images from the Internet (or draw) and paste them on a poster along with the recorded quotes and use a U.S. map with scale to estimate migration distance.
Lesson 8
Christmas
Students are asked to be a Line Locator by finding three to five lines or short passages from the chapter and either copying the lines or recording page and paragraph numbers, which practices quoting and documenting source locations. In the Cesar Chavez activity, students must choose one of Chavez's quotes, write it down verbatim, explain its meaning in their own words, and relate it to Esperanza's story, which practices paraphrasing and connecting someone else's words to new context. The student activity pages provide space for recording quotes and explaining meaning, showing direct practice with quoting and paraphrasing.
Lesson 9
The Strike
Students are directed to listen to two interviews via provided web links (digital sources) and to examine reasons for strikes using those recordings. Students are asked to record information from the book (a print source), summarize examples found in the text, and provide page numbers. Students are asked to write a four- or five-sentence summary of chapters, practicing concise paraphrasing of the text.
Unit 2: Cells
Lesson 3
Plant Cells
Students are directed to read specific print pages (pages 14-15 of The Basics of Cell Life) and to use multiple digital web links (a plant cell diagram archive link, a how-to build models page, and an example diagram image) as resources for labeling, drawing, and building a 3D model. The activity pages explicitly instruct students to refer to the weblink and illustrations from the reading when drawing and to use the provided diagram image to check answers, which requires gathering information from those print and digital sources.
Lesson 4
Systems of Plant and Animal Cells
Students are directed to read specific pages in a print book (The Basics of Cell Life with Max Axiom, Super Scientist) and to watch a named video (Levels of Organization) to gather information for activities. Students are given explicit web links (kidshealth.org and byjus.com) to use as references when sketching diagrams of organ system organization. Students also examine labeled electron-microscope images and use those digital images to identify plant and animal cells, showing use of multiple print and digital sources.
Lesson 5
Large Systems of Life: Ecosystems
Students are instructed to review information at provided web links and to watch a video, and they read the "Planktonic and Benthic Habitats" pages and other habitat pages to answer questions. Students are directed to locate the "Benthic Ecosystem" and "Planktonic Ecosystem" pages and to use those readings and habitat images as references for diagramming and activities. The experiment and activities require students to gather and use information from multiple digital pages and media provided in the lesson.
Lesson 6
Classifying Life
Students are instructed to watch a classification video and read a Britannica webpage, and to answer questions based on those sources. Students are asked to use the Internet or other resources to find scientific names for animals for the collage and to explore an interactive bacteria model and a prokaryotic cell diagram. Multiple web links and printed/digital resources are explicitly assigned for use in Activities 1–4.
Final Project
Cells and Life on Earth
The Parent Plan tells parents to help the child "look up answers using the Internet or other resources" if unsure, and Activity 3 asks students to review sketches and the book and to use the "Four Kingdoms" sheet to make notes for a poster. Activity 5 requires students to create a poster that may include images of organisms and labeled cell illustrations, which implies students will gather information or examples to include. The test review directs students to reread lesson sections and write definitions on index cards, showing use of printed lesson materials as sources.
Unit 2: The Tree That Time Built
Lesson 3
Prehistoric
Students are directed to research their chosen prehistoric animal by reading examples of obituaries in their local newspaper or online and by using provided web links to video resources (BBC clips and a National Geographic video). Students are asked to reread a model text, "Obituary for a Clam," and then write their own obituary, which requires them to gather details about habitat and how the animal lived. Students are also given a Student Activity Page that prompts them to fill in factual info (date died, cause of death, native location, species name) based on that research.
Lesson 5
Amphibians and Reptiles
The Found Poem activity asks students to find a piece of writing from a book, magazine, newspaper, or any other source and rearrange it to create a poem, requiring students to locate and extract text from print sources. Option 2 and the dash activities require students to identify and copy lines from specific poems in the book (listing poem titles and page numbers) and to explain how dashes are used, which has students gather relevant passages from the provided print text. The parent prompts ask students to explain how they chose their text and what changes they made, prompting reflection on source selection.
Lesson 7
Birds
Students are instructed to collect bird images from a variety of sources including stickers, magazines, catalogs, greeting cards, images printed from the Internet, and nature journals, which indicates gathering from multiple print and digital sources. Students read printed poems (pages 118-127) and answer analysis questions, demonstrating use of print sources to extract information. Students also select and analyze a poem, identifying devices and themes, which engages them in extracting data and conclusions from texts.
Lesson 8
Mammals
Students practice working with quotations and omitted material in Activity 2, where they compare a paragraph to the original and insert ellipses to show omitted words. The lesson defines an ellipsis and gives examples of its use in quotations (the Candlemass/Groundhog Day example) and in poetry (lines from "Secretary Bird"), and asks students to explain why poets used ellipses in selected poems and an epigraph from Life magazine.
Final Project
Poetry Lapbook
Students are directed to peruse examples online and to perform a Google search for "lapbook images," which requires using digital sources and search terms. Students are given web links (YouTube videos and SlideShare) to follow assembly instructions and are told they may print pictures from the Internet to add to their lapbook. Students are also instructed to copy or paste their lyric poem into the layered book, demonstrating a basic use of digital text transfer.
Unit 3: Incas, Aztecs, and Maya
Lesson 3
Three Cities
Students are directed to read specific print/digital pages (pp. 22–25 and pp. 34–35 in DKfindout!) and to watch three virtual field trip videos about Tenochtitlan, Chichén Itzá, and Machu Picchu. Students are asked to answer comprehension questions (e.g., why Tenochtitlan was a "floating city" and similarities/differences among the three cities) and to complete activities that require synthesizing details from those sources (timeline, matching cities, and descriptive phrases). A linked KidsDiscover article about the Aztec Sun Stone is provided as an additional source for an art/history activity.
Lesson 4
Sharing Knowledge in Ancient Civilizations
Students are asked to read specific pages of DKfindout! (a print/digital book) and to watch a linked YouTube video, and an optional web game is provided, so students gather information from multiple print and digital sources. Students study codex images in the book and use those images as sources to create their own codex, and they use the readings to answer content questions about number systems, writing, and medicines.
Lesson 6
Warfare and Gold
Students are asked to read specific pages (pp. 32–33 and 50–51) in DKfindout! Maya, Incas, and Aztecs and to complete related student activity pages that require recalling and organizing information (e.g., Incan Metalwork questions and the Warfare cut-and-order activity). Students are also directed to watch a linked Britannica video about Incan gold, providing a digital source in addition to the print pages. Several activities prompt students to list, describe, and draw artifacts and to explain historical uses and outcomes (e.g., questions about what the Spanish did with Incan gold).
Lesson 9
History and Archaeology
Students read assigned textbook pages and watch two online videos, taking notes and then writing two paragraph summaries of the fall of the Aztec and Incan empires. Students are asked to research an Incan artifact from books or online sources (e.g., DKfindout!, Google Arts & Culture) and complete an "Incan Archaeology" page recording the object's name, date, place, materials, use speculation, and cultural insights. Students produce written responses that require them to paraphrase information (topic sentence, supporting details, concluding sentence) and sketch or describe artifacts based on gathered sources.
Final Project
Time Machine
Students are directed to use specific print and digital sources when researching: they are asked to refer to DKfindout! Maya, Incas, and Aztecs, their earlier lessons, and a provided Unit Review Sheet web link. Students are instructed to review the "Things to Know" sections, timelines, maps, and previous activity pages as they study for the unit test and complete their Time Machine journal. Students are asked to incorporate information from those sources into their journal and to review and edit their entries for accuracy and detail.
Unit 3: Secret of the Andes
Lesson 2
The Valley
Students are directed to "explore the Incan culture at the following websites" and to add information they find to an "Elements of Incan Culture" chart, with specific web links (Britannica, Ducksters, and a PBS link) provided. The Parent Plan skill explicitly states students should "Locate and explore the full range of relevant sources addressing a research question and systematically record the gathered information." Student activity pages prompt students to record important information about government, family roles, technology, holidays, and other cultural elements using words and pictures.
Lesson 4
The Journey
Students are asked to "Research some of the wildflowers in your state" and to "locate websites/books to find examples of wildflowers" for a Wildflowers Photo Journal, which requires gathering information from print and digital sources. For the Peru Photo Collage option, students must "locate pictures of the Andes mountains and the country of Peru" and may "print pictures from the Internet" to use on their collage. Parent notes explicitly state that the child "may need help in locating websites/books" and to "check to see that she included different cultural elements as described in Lesson 2."
Lesson 6
Llama Training
Students are instructed to "use the websites provided as sources of information" and to research online images and descriptions when creating the Guide to Incan Landmarks book. The Skills list explicitly includes "Locate and explore the full range of relevant sources addressing a research question and systematically record the gathered information" and "Synthesize research into a written or an oral presentation." Student activity pages include lined spaces for written descriptions of each site, prompting students to record information from the provided links.
Lesson 7
The Temple
Students read multiple print passages (the Incan myth on page 69 and the Aztec Creation Myth activity page) and are provided with a digital source (a linked YouTube video of the Inca Creation Myth). After watching the video, students are asked to retell the myth to their family using two visual aids, which requires them to paraphrase and present information from a digital source. The activities require students to identify sequence/transition words in a printed myth, showing engagement with print source details.
Lesson 8
The City
Activity 2 supplies multiple print and digital sources (YouTube, WorldHistory.org, Wikipedia, Discover-Peru, PBS, National Geographic Kids, and Grammarly) and directs students to "learn more about the Spanish conquest of the Incan Empire" using those links. Students are asked to use the websites to research the Spanish conquest and to use that information when writing a poem or brainstorming what to preserve about their culture.
Lesson 9
Belonging
Activity 2 explicitly directs students to "read about llamas in a reference book or on one of the following websites" and lists three specific web links, so students gather information from multiple print and digital sources. The slideshow option requires students to create a five-slide presentation with 2–3 sentences or bullet points per slide, which asks students to extract and organize information from those sources. The craft and slideshow options both require students to use facts from referenced materials to create a product, reinforcing the practice of gathering and using information.
1: Semester 1
Unit 1: Egypt and Mesopotamia
Lesson 2
Archaeology
Students are asked to read specified print pages (pages 8–9 of Ancient Civilizations) and to explore an online archaeological dig (Option 2) using provided web links such as the Interactive Digs site. Students collect information from these print and digital sources by recording artifact details on the Analyzing Artifacts pages and by completing a Dig Site Map that notes location, depth, and descriptions. The lesson also recommends watching documentary videos and visiting museum or archive links, encouraging use of multiple media to learn about archaeology.
Lesson 3
Mesopotamia
The lesson asks students to conduct additional library or online research for Activity 8 and provides specific web links to use as sources. Students are instructed to write the URL underneath any images they print from online for their poster, and the Reading and Questions/Activity 6 explicitly ask students to summarize pages in their own words and practice note-taking to avoid copying. Multiple activities provide web links (Avalon Project, British Museum, National Geographic) that students can consult during their work.
Lesson 4
Ancient Egypt
Students are directed to read specific pages in a printed textbook and to use online sources (an Ancient Egypt map link and an Ancient Egyptian paintings link) to complete activities. The trading card activity explicitly tells students to "look up the ruler so that you'll be able to choose the correct information," which requires them to find information beyond the provided pages. Students also use the textbook pages and timeline cards to locate dates and place items on a timeline, showing use of multiple print and digital resources.
Lesson 5
Egyptian Religion and Myths
Students are instructed to read pages 14–17 of a print textbook and to use multiple web links (BBC gods gallery, Mythopedia, Rick Riordan site, Ancient.eu, a YouTube creation myth, and a mummification PDF) to gather information. Activity 3 directs students to read at least two myths from online sources and explicitly allows them to search for other myths on the Internet with parental assistance. Option 2 requires students to "write out the myth in your own words" for a picture book and Activity 1 asks students to record details about four gods from the provided online sources.
Lesson 6
Daily Life in Egypt
Students are directed to use multiple print and digital sources (pages 14-15 of Ancient Civilizations, library books, and several specific web links) to complete activities such as the "Life and Work in Ancient Egypt" tables and the Nile graphic organizer. Students are asked to gather information from those sources to fill in tables and activity pages and to use web resources (e.g., PBS, British Museum, ancient.eu) for details about daily life. The Parent Plan even suggests that, with supervision, students may perform web searches and gives an example search term ("tools ancient Egyptian craftsmen").
Final Project
Expedition or Web-based Tour
Students are asked to explore several websites and to identify three websites for Mesopotamia and three for Egypt, using the "Web-based Review Pages" to record website title, URL, description, and personal impressions. The lesson directs students to use Internet searches (with parent permission) and suggests museums, universities, PBS, and National Geographic as good resources, and it asks students to bookmark selected sites. For artifacts found online, students are instructed to print images and write the URL of the website where the picture was found underneath the image.
Unit 1: The Hydrosphere
Lesson 1
The Hydrosphere and the Nature of Water
Students are directed to read Chapter 1 in the book Water: The Story of the Hydrosphere (a print source) and watch linked videos (digital sources), and they must answer questions that ask them to use at least one example from the chapter or the video. The final project asks students to investigate a local water source and to explain ideas using evidence from what they have learned. Activities (e.g., Surface Tension Investigation and Pepper Problem) require students to collect data, compare results across trials, and use that evidence to explain observations.
Lesson 3
Oceans and Ocean Currents
Students are directed to read Chapter 3 of Water: The Story of the Hydrosphere and to watch a linked YouTube video, providing at least two distinct print and digital sources to gather information. Students observe demonstrations and collect data (e.g., food coloring dispersal) and are asked to answer guided questions and communicate findings in writing and orally. The parent plan and skills list explicitly note that students should "observe, collect, organize, and analyze data" and "use oral and written language to communicate findings," indicating practice in gathering and synthesizing information from provided sources.
Lesson 4
Freshwater and Groundwater
Students are asked to gather information from multiple sources: they read Chapter 4 in a textbook, view a linked website about groundwater and aquifers, watch a video, and read an article and chart about freshwater withdrawals. Students use those sources to answer guided questions, analyze a data chart comparing water required for different foods, and complete activity pages that require synthesizing observations from the model and media. The Parent Plan also lists using technologies and information systems to research, gather, visualize, and analyze data as a skill.
Lesson 5
Aquatic Ecosystems
Students are directed to read Chapter 5 in a printed textbook and use multiple provided web links (e.g., pages and videos about Asian carp, zebra mussels, and oil spills) to investigate a real-world aquatic problem. Students are explicitly prompted to "find one of your own" sources and even contact a local water official, and the Skills list notes using technologies and information systems to research and gather data. Students are asked to use these sources to develop an inquiry question and to collect notes on the provided activity sheet.
Lesson 6
The Water Cycle
Students read Chapter 6 of a printed book (Water: The Story of the Hydrosphere) and watch a linked online video about the water cycle, then answer guided questions that require using information from both sources. Students also build and observe a Ziplock-bag model and complete activity pages that ask them to explain processes (evaporation, condensation, precipitation) and compare observations to the video and text. The activities require students to gather and use information from these print and digital materials to explain how the water cycle works.
Lesson 8
Water Pollution
Students are instructed to read Chapter 8 in the book Water: The Story of the Hydrosphere and to watch a linked YouTube video, providing both a print and a digital source. Students analyze Graph 1 and Graph 2 and use evidence from those graphs and from the experiment cups to answer guided questions and construct explanations. The Parent Plan repeatedly prompts students to "use evidence" from graphs, investigations, and the video to explain impacts on water quality.
Final Project
Local Water Investigation
Students are instructed to research their water source online, including a specific prompt to type the water source name into Google (e.g., "Is [your water source] freshwater or saltwater?") and to use Google Image Search to identify organisms. The skills list and parent plan explicitly state that students will "use technologies and information systems to research, disseminate findings," and students are given a Review Page link to gather information for the unit test and project.
Unit 1: The Pearl
Lesson 1
Steinbeck
Students are instructed to research the life of John Steinbeck using three provided web links (nobelprize.org, notablebiographies.com, steinbeck.org) and to answer specific biographical questions on a student activity page, which requires them to gather information from multiple digital sources. The activity asks students to read the linked pages and write responses to questions about Steinbeck's background, themes in his work, and connections to his life, demonstrating extraction of relevant facts from those sources. Students also use example sentences from the novella vocabulary pages as textual evidence when creating their own sentences.
Lesson 4
Related Research
Students are instructed to use multiple sources: specific websites are provided and the directions require using at least one book or an encyclopedia as a reference. Students record information on graphic organizers (Student Activity Pages) and take notes on note cards (with a requirement of at least 15 cards) to gather and organize data. Students synthesize gathered information into a product by creating a travel brochure or writing a one-page script and delivering an oral presentation with visual aids.
Final Project
Think-Tac-Toe
Students are asked to synthesize ideas "within a text and across two or three texts" in the Skills list and to complete a Compare/Contrast activity using a Venn diagram to compare The Pearl to another story. Students read and discuss an external poem ("Money" by Carl Sandburg) and are asked to relate its themes to the novel. Several tasks (the Kino mock trial, speech, and short-answer questions) require students to use evidence from the text to support arguments or conclusions.
Unit 2: Africa Today
Lesson 1
Overview of Africa
Students are assigned a print source to read (Geography of the World, pp. 204-207) and are prompted to keep up with current events in Africa through regular explorations of news sources. The guidance encourages students to visit the local library or use the Internet (with permission) to learn more about topics they are wondering about and suggests working with an adult to find resources online or at the public library. These elements require students to gather information from both print and digital sources.
Lesson 2
Northwestern Africa
Students are asked to locate 1–2 news stories per lesson using print, radio, television, or Internet-based sources and to use provided links (Google News, BBC, NPR, CNN, Reuters) to find relevant items. The Current Events Report page directs students to record the news source (name or URL), date, region, significant people, and to write a 2–3 sentence summary of the story. The lesson tells students to focus Internet searches on the countries being studied and notes that a parent may help with search terms.
Lesson 3
Northeastern Africa
Students are asked to read assigned print pages from Geography of the World (pages 214–219) and to use other print sources such as Ancient Civilizations by Joseph Fullman for information on ancient Egypt. Students are directed to use resources to complete the "Cultures of Sudan" comparison table and to add 1–2 news stories on Africa to a current events journal, and a National Geographic web link is provided as a digital source. These tasks require students to gather relevant information from multiple print and digital sources.
Lesson 4
West Africa
Students are directed to read specific print pages (Geography of the World, pp.220-231) and to use that book for the country comparison activity. Students are asked to find a West African folktale via the local library or online (a Librivox link is provided) and to add 1–2 news stories on Africa to a current events journal. Students use online links (National Geographic Kids) and the course text to record facts about climate, resources, and economies for the map, activity page, and letter options.
Lesson 5
Central Africa
Students are asked to use Geography of the World and "other research sources" to record information about two countries (Activity 2) and to add 1-2 news stories from Africa to a current events journal (Activity 3). The activities explicitly prompt students to consult print (library, historical atlases, encyclopedias) and digital sources (suggested web links) and to record "Source(s) for information" on their activity pages. Parent notes and instructions prompt supervised Internet use and suggest specific online resources for student research.
Lesson 6
Central East Africa
Students are directed to read textbook pages (pages 238–245) and to consult additional print and digital resources (library books, documentaries, and several provided web links) as they research tourism, wildlife, and regional issues. Students are asked to add 1–2 news stories to a current events journal and to conduct research for a brochure or poster, with explicit instructions to "do additional research" and to "work with a parent to identify appropriate sources." The lesson provides specific web links (National Geographic, World Wildlife Fund, WHO, etc.) and prompts students to find answers to research questions about problems, causes, and responses in the region.
Lesson 7
Southern Africa
Students are directed to read specific print pages in Geography of the World (pages 246-253 and 270-271) and to add 1-2 news stories on Africa to a current events journal, which requires locating news sources. The lesson provides multiple web links and suggests using the public library or online research to learn more about apartheid and governments, and asks students to "use the definitions... to help you define each form of government listed below in your own words," which asks for paraphrasing. Activity instructions ask students to compare contexts using a Venn diagram, prompting them to collect information from different sources.
Final Project
African News Report
Students are asked to research each country using the Internet, Geography of the World, or other sources and to record background information on the "Final Project Notes" pages. Students must find a current events story for each country and are instructed to "use your own words" when writing news stories or broadcast scripts. Students are required to create a citation for each source using the "News Report Citation" page, which lists author, title, date, URL/website, and access date, and the rubrics require citation information for current events.
Unit 2: The Atmosphere
Lesson 2
Layers of the Atmosphere
Students are instructed to read Chapter 2 of Air: The Story of the Atmosphere and to record information (altitude, temperature, unique characteristics, importance) on activity pages, which shows direct practice gathering information from a print source. The Layer Sorting Challenge asks students to "use evidence from Chapter 2" to explain placements, which requires students to quote or paraphrase chapter content in their explanations. An optional life-application suggests watching a YouTube video and instructs students to "Search online: 'weather balloon launch near me'" to find local launches, providing an instance of using search terms and a digital source.
Lesson 3
Air Pressure and Density
Students are directed to read Chapter 3 of Air: The Story of the Atmosphere (a print source) and to watch a specified video (a digital source) and to "Use the reading and video to answer the following questions." Students also analyze a five-day weather data table and are asked to "Use evidence from the data" to explain and predict weather, showing they gather and use information from provided sources.
Lesson 4
Energy from the Sun
Students read Chapter 4 of Air: The Story of the Atmosphere and use multiple online maps (NASA snow cover, NASA vegetation, National Geographic deserts, and a world ocean map) to identify and shade surface types on a world map. Students are directed to check their six chosen locations using the provided online maps and to use those print and digital sources to determine and justify energy-absorption levels.
Lesson 7
Air Masses and Weather Systems
Students are asked to read Chapter 7 and use multiple print and digital resources (a linked YouTube video, weather.gov interactive snowfall data, Wikipedia and other web links, and weather maps) to answer questions and complete activities. Activity prompts explicitly require students to analyze weather maps, case studies, and historic snowfall data and to "use evidence" from maps and case studies to explain storm formation and predictions. Several student pages and answer keys direct students to extract data from these varied sources and to compare and apply findings (e.g., Severe Storms Case Study, It's Snowing!, Weather Front Investigation).
Lesson 8
Human Impact on the Atmosphere
Students read Chapter 8 (a print source) and examine graphs and data in the Climate Data Analysis activity to gather evidence about atmospheric changes. The Designing Solutions activity explicitly tells students to use the provided web links and to "search the internet using terms such as reducing air pollution, ways to lower carbon footprint, renewable energy examples, how to reduce emissions, or community environmental solutions" to gather information. Students collect observations from their agar experiments and compare those observations with data from the readings and websites to inform their proposed solutions.
Unit 2: A Girl Named Disaster
Lesson 1
Nhamo
Students read the novel A Girl Named Disaster and are asked to record cultural information in a journal for the first four chapters, which requires gathering details from the print text. Students are directed to "peruse the following websites for about ten minutes" (countryreports.org and BBC) to "learn even more," providing explicit digital sources to consult. Students are asked to use information from the book and the provided links to complete activities (map labeling, a Mozambique quilt, or Mozambique trivia), which requires pulling relevant facts from multiple print and digital sources.
Lesson 2
Sickness
Students are assigned the role of Investigator and told to "dig up some background information" on topics related to the book (geography, weather, culture, history, author, pictures, objects, or word derivations). Students are instructed to record four or five bits of information in their journal and are directed to consult parts of the novel (for example, the back of the novel for word derivations). The vocabulary activities require students to extract definitions and example sentences from the text, which has them pull information from a print source.
Lesson 6
Abandoned Farm
Students are asked to become a Line Locator while reading chapters 17–20 and to find three to five lines or short passages that reflect good writing or are key to the story. Students must copy the lines or record the page and paragraph numbers in their journal and explain why they are examples of good writing or important to the story. These tasks require students to gather relevant information from a specific print source and to quote or record passages directly.
Lesson 7
Baboons
Students are instructed to "research baboons, looking closely at the social dynamics in a baboon troop" and to write an 8–10 sentence museum plaque, which requires gathering information. Students are also asked to "print a picture from the Internet to paste" for the guidebook and to select five animals and write 1–2 sentences about each, which requires using digital or print sources to collect facts and images.
Unit 3: Australia and Oceania
Lesson 1
The Rainbow Serpent
Students are directed to read print pages (Stories from the Billabong, pp. 8-11 and 56) and to select a second creation story from library or online sources, with two web links provided as starting points. The activity asks students to locate another creation story (print or digital) and to use the "Comparing Creation Stories" worksheet to record what existed at the beginning of time, how the world was created, the order of creation, and similarities/differences between stories. The text also tells students they may do Internet searching (with a parent's help), which implies gathering information from multiple sources.
Lesson 2
Overview of Australia and Oceania
Students are directed to gather current events from multiple print and digital sources (newspapers, radio, TV, and Internet) and are given specific web links (The Age, New Zealand Herald, Google News, The Guardian, NPR, CNN) to consult. The lesson gives explicit search guidance (e.g., search terms like "Newspaper + Name of City" and entering a country name in Google News) and asks students to note the news source or URL on their Current Events Report page. Students complete a "Written and Non-Written Sources" activity that has them brainstorm and compare types of sources and answer questions about what each kind of source can reveal.
Lesson 3
Australia and Papua New Guinea
Students are instructed to consult multiple print and digital sources (Geography of the World, encyclopedias, local library, and several provided web links) for Activities 2, 3, and 4. Students are directed to take notes in the "A Reporter's Notebook on Aboriginal Rights" activity and to list any sources used, with guidance to list author/title/page for books and URLs for websites. The lesson provides specific online sources and asks students to record facts, dates, and comparisons from those sources.
Lesson 4
Stories of the Yorta-Yorta People
Students are asked to gather information for the "Amazing Australian Animals" activity using Stories from the Billabong, the library, and online sources; three specific web links (Perth Zoo, Australia.com, Tell Me About Australia) are provided. Students complete a research organizer that requires them to record the animal's name, habitat, diet, five facts, and adaptations. For current events, students are instructed to find a news item about Aboriginal Australians and to record the News Source (including the URL) on the Current Events Report. Option 2 (Uluru) directs students to revisit the reading or explore the Uluru park website to support their writing or design activity.
Lesson 5
New Zealand
Students are instructed in Activity 2 to browse several artifacts from multiple sources (the Auckland museum website, the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, books, or other online sources) and to record information on the "Maori Art and Artifacts" page. The activity explicitly suggests search terms ("Maori art" or "Maori artifacts") and provides specific web links (NewZealandNow, Encyclopedia of New Zealand, Google Images) for students to use. The Student Activity Page also directs students to use books or online sources to find images and information about Maori objects.
Lesson 6
Peoples of the Pacific Ocean
Students are asked to conduct research on a Galápagos animal using library or online sources and are given several web links to begin that research. The Current Events activity directs students to find a news item and write the News Source (name or URL) and suggests search terms like "Oceania," specific nation names, or "Pacific Islands." Option 2 requires that if a student pastes an image they must include a note stating where the image was found (title, author, page number, or URL), and several student pages prompt students to record source information.
Lesson 7
Polar Regions
Students are instructed to use Geography of the World and may consult "other research sources" (Activity 1) and local library or Internet sources (Parent Plan) to gather information about life in the Arctic. Activity 3 asks students to find a news item about Antarctica and record the "News Source" (name or URL) and write a brief summary, which requires locating and using a digital or print source. The mapping activities direct students to use pages 267 and 269 of Geography of the World to confirm the accuracy of their maps, and several external web links are provided as optional research resources.
Unit 3: The Lithosphere
Lesson 1
Shifting, Drifting, and Spreading
Students are directed to read Chapter 1 - Part I and Part II in the textbook Earth: The Story of the Lithosphere and to answer comprehension questions, providing explicit use of a print source. Students are also directed to use a U.S. Geological Survey webpage (digital source) to print images and follow model-building instructions for the sea-floor spreading activity. The activities require students to extract information from the textbook and the webpage to build models and answer related questions.
Lesson 2
Plate Interactions
Students are directed to read Chapter 1 - Part III in Earth: The Story of the Lithosphere and to use multiple web links (USGS tectonic plates image, PBS interactive, and a mountain image) as resources. Students are asked in Option 1 to "explain in your own words" what happens at each type of plate boundary, which requires them to paraphrase information from those sources. Students are prompted to use the interactive presentation to learn how each type of plate boundary behaves, demonstrating use of digital sources alongside the print text.
Lesson 3
Rocks and Minerals
Students read a print source (Chapter 2 in Earth: The Story of the Lithosphere) and use multiple digital sources (the Rock Cycle image and several rock/mineral identification websites) to gather information. Students use the Rock and Mineral Hound activity pages to record observations and consult online identification keys to match properties and narrow identifications. Students collect real-world samples on a rock walk and then consult the provided websites to identify those samples, demonstrating information gathering from both print and digital sources.
Lesson 4
Seismic Waves
Students are directed to gather information from multiple print and digital sources: they read Chapter 3 in Earth: The Story of the Lithosphere, watch a NOVA/PBS video about seismographs, and use several web links (PBS, National Geographic, USGS, weatherwizkids, IRIS) provided in the lesson. Students are asked to research an earthquake hazard or seismograph designs online (the seismograph option explicitly invites students to "search for other seismograph models online") and to complete activity pages that require reporting findings and historical details. Students may draw or paste images and record factual details (e.g., when and where a historical hazard occurred, lives lost, cost of damage).
Lesson 5
Earthquake and Volcano Research
Students are asked to research a specific earthquake or volcano using provided web links (Option 1 lists four URLs) or to find online articles and news sources (Option 2). Students complete structured research pages ("Find Out!" or "Real-Life Research") that prompt them to record dates, locations, damage, causes, and other factual details. Students then organize and present gathered information in a slideshow, poster/oral presentation, or written report and are instructed to include images found online.
Lesson 6
Geologic Time
Students are asked to read Chapter 5 in Earth: The Story of the Lithosphere and answer questions, which requires gathering information from a print source. The lesson provides multiple web links (Geological Time Periods, Geologic Time Scale, Rock Layers, and radioactive dating) that students may consult as digital sources. An excerpt from a Wired.com article is included with a bibliographic attribution (Romans, Brian...), giving an example of a source citation.
Lesson 7
Pedosphere and Soil
Students are directed to gather information from multiple specified print and digital sources: the University of Idaho "Twelve Soil Orders" webpage, the USDA "State Soils" pages (PDFs), a YouTube video, and online texture/USDA guides. Students are asked to read these sources, take notes, and use the information to complete Venn diagrams, answer comprehension questions, and fill out the "My Local Soil" activity page. Students also perform local investigations (soil sampling and testing) that require consulting the linked resources to interpret results.
Unit 3: The Hobbit
Lesson 2
Trolls
The lesson directs students to read about J.R.R. Tolkien using two provided web links and asks them to gather information to complete tasks (write interview questions with reasons, list three future items to share, or create a collage representing aspects of his life). Parent plan skills explicitly include summarizing information and determining importance, and students are asked to consider similarities/differences and to record key facts (early life, interests, accomplishments, family, change, interesting fact). Students are instructed to use the listed digital sources to learn about Tolkien and then produce written or visual products based on that information.
Lesson 10
The Dragon
Students are asked to look through a variety of sources "on the Internet and in newspapers and magazines" and may use a camera to collect local examples, indicating gathering from multiple print and digital sources. Students are told to record examples in their journal with two- or three-sentence descriptions and to classify or rank the items they find, which has them extract and summarize information from those sources. Option 2 explicitly directs students to look in books, newspapers, magazines, and online for historical and current examples, showing expectation that students will compile evidence from multiple media.
Lesson 12
The Arkenstone
Students are explicitly asked to "print and paste pictures from the Internet" to represent elements of the quest when making the Quest Cube, which requires locating digital images. Students read Chapters 16 and 17 and answer questions in complete sentences, drawing on the text for evidence to explain characters' actions. The lesson provides W. H. Auden's six elements of a quest as a named framework students can use when selecting or explaining images.
Lesson 13
The Battle
Activity 1 directs students to "read a couple of the following early reviews or responses to The Hobbit" (including a provided web link to C.S. Lewis's 1937 review and a scanned letter by Rayner Unwin) and then write a two- or three-sentence journal summary identifying whether the response is positive or negative and describing major points and literary elements. The activity therefore has students gather information from multiple print/digital items and requires them to paraphrase the critics' responses in their own short summaries.
Final Project
Responding to Literature
Students are instructed to support their opinions with examples from the text and may use direct quotes, figurative language, and events to support ideas. The rubric explicitly includes a 'Textual Evidence' criterion requiring use of direct quotes and reference to the text. The prewriting web, outline, and drafting sections require students to identify evidence and incorporate it into body paragraphs.
Unit 4: Ancient Asia
Lesson 1
The Caste System of Ancient India
Students are directed to read and use multiple print resources (Life in the Ancient Indus River Valley, Geography of the World, maps, and timeline cards) to complete activities such as the map, timeline, and religion comparison. The lesson guides students to use the index in Geography of the World to look up coordinates and tells students to synthesize information from several sections of the reading to complete the comparison table. Students also use map keys and answer keys to check geographic and factual details across sources.
Lesson 2
Life and Culture in Ancient India
Students are assigned specific textbook readings (pages 22-25 and 26-32) to gather information from a print source. Students are asked to explore a provided website (Treasure of National Museum, India link) and complete a Website Review form that requests the title, URL, who created the website, a brief description, and ratings that include accuracy and whether they learned from the site. Students are also encouraged (via the parent guide) to locate additional websites and to record site details on the review form.
Lesson 3
Life in Ancient China
Students are asked to read specified pages in Life in Ancient China and to use Geography of the World pages and timeline cards, which requires gathering information from multiple print sources (textbook pages, atlas maps, and timeline cards). The map activity and the dynasties activity require students to locate and synthesize geographic and historical details from those print resources. The lesson provides explicit web links (National Geographic Kids and DLTK) and an optional extension that tells students they can find quotations through Internet searches with a parent's help. The Tao Te Ching passage is provided with a source URL and students are instructed to copy a section of the text into a booklet (an instance of quoting).
Lesson 6
Culture in Ancient Japan
Students are directed to read pages 18-31 of Life in Ancient Japan and to use the map from Lesson 5, the provided web link (Typhoon Tracks), and local newspaper classified ads for Activity 4, showing that they will gather information from both print and digital sources. Option 2 explicitly tells students that if they use images from other sources they should provide a list on the back of the activity page including the title and URL or book/page information. Several activities require students to locate and use specific sources (timeline cards, textbook pages, map activity), so students will collect relevant material from multiple named sources.
Final Project
Puppet Show or Presentation
Students are directed to look through the three books from the unit and to check a local library catalog or websites for folktales, and the lesson includes multiple web links as potential sources. The multimedia slide option explicitly instructs students to include image citation lines listing title, creator, and where the image was found, and warns about using only public domain or Creative Commons images. The lesson tells students to use planning pages and rubrics that require accurate, well-organized slides addressing each country, implying use of multiple sources for content.
Unit 4: Ecosystems and Ecology
Lesson 1
What Is in an Ecosystem?
Students are assigned a print source (Read pages 1-6 of Changing Ecosystems by Alicia Hemphill) and are provided one digital web link (ThoughtCo: Biotic vs. Abiotic Factors in an Ecosystem). The Parent Plan skills explicitly tell students to "use technologies and information systems to research, gather and analyze data, visualize data, and disseminate findings to others" and to "analyze and evaluate information from a scientifically literate viewpoint by reading, hearing, and/or viewing scientific texts and articles." Students collect information in a survey table and use that information to create diagrams representing relationships among components.
Lesson 2
Diversity within Ecosystems
Students are instructed to read specific print pages in Exploring Ecology and an online version if they do not have the book, and to refer to biome graphics in the Changing Ecosystems booklet. Students are directed to use the Internet (or local ecosystems) to collect information and are given multiple web links (World Biomes, Missouri Botanical Gardens, UCMP) as digital sources to research biomes. Students are asked to record information on survey tables and to use technology (Weebly or other site) to build a website or portfolio to organize and present their research.
Lesson 3
Energy Transfer in Ecosystems
Students are directed to read specific print texts (pages 8–10 of Exploring Ecology and pages 1–3 of Changing Ecosystems) and to use digital resources (a 'Photosynthesis Infographic' link, an online version of Exploring Ecology, and a BBC interactive link), which requires gathering information from multiple print and digital sources. The Parent Plan explicitly lists 'Analyze and evaluate information from a scientifically literate viewpoint by reading, hearing, and/or viewing scientific texts and articles,' indicating students are expected to work with multiple scientific sources. The lesson provides alternatives for accessing texts (print vs. online), so students practice locating and using assigned sources in different formats.
Lesson 4
Ecosystem Relationships
Students are asked to review specific print pages in the Changing Ecosystems booklet and Exploring Ecology and to read online equivalents, which requires gathering information from multiple print and digital sources. The lesson directs students to watch two online videos (Symbiotic Relationships and Zombie Parasites) and to consult an online textbook page (Ecological Niches) and other online sources as needed for environment descriptions.
Lesson 5
Ecological Succession
Students are directed to read specific pages in a print text and watch an online video (and optionally an animation), which provides multiple print and digital sources to gather information. The activity explicitly tells students to "consult online sources as needed" and gives suggested search keywords (e.g., "succession + pioneers") and a Google Images link to find pictures. Students are instructed to save images to an "Images" folder and use those images to create a slideshow or portfolio with captions, which practices online searching and collecting digital resources.
Lesson 6
Natural Hazards and Natural Disasters
Students are asked to read specific pages in a printed book (Changing Ecosystems, pp. 6-15) and to search online image collections (Google Images or another search engine) to find photos showing volcanic island succession. The activity provides sample search terms (e.g., "Volcanic activity," "Volcanic landscape," "Volcanic wasteland") and directs students to multiple web links (Volcano Discovery, Smithsonian Global Volcanism Program, National Geographic Kids). Students must save images from these digital sources and assemble them with captions and descriptive write-ups on a Weebly page or in a portfolio.
Lesson 7
Succession and Natural Disasters
Students are instructed to search the Internet for images (e.g., provided search terms like "succession + Mount St. Helen's," "Mount St. Helen's + before 1980," and "Mount St. Helen's + after 1980") and to save pictures to an Images folder for use in a slideshow or portfolio. Students must collect graphics or pictures of the area, label which stage of succession each graphic represents, and write captions and descriptive paragraphs explaining changes and predictions. The lesson asks students to investigate a natural disaster using online resources (Option 1) or to conduct a broader investigation (Option 2), implying use of multiple digital sources for images and information.
Lesson 8
A Carbon Journey
Students are directed to read specific pages in the print text Exploring Ecology and to watch the "Carbon Cycle Song" video, giving them at least one print and one digital source to draw information from. Students are asked to use information from those sources "for ideas" when creating a short story, poem, or comic strip and to include informational captions in speech bubbles, which requires them to put information into their own text/graphics. The activities ask students to represent carbon's journey using content from the assigned sources and diagram on p.14, which encourages extracting relevant facts from those materials.
Lesson 9
Ecosystems and Their Environments
Students are directed to review specific print pages in Exploring Ecology and Changing Ecosystems and, if online, to review the online version. Students are instructed to gather additional information using Exploring Ecology or information from the Internet and are given an optional video link (tardigrade) as a digital source. Students are asked to record gathered information on provided "Ecosystem Characteristics" activity sheets for two ecosystems.
Lesson 10
Cause and Effect in the Ecosystem
Students are directed to review the lesson introduction and page 15 of Changing Ecosystems by Alicia Hemphill and to watch an accompanying video, requiring them to gather information from at least one print and one digital source. Students then answer content questions and use that information to make predictions and explain experimental results, which involves extracting relevant information from those sources.
Lesson 11
Matter and the Food Web
Students are asked to review specific print pages (pp. 8-10 and 14-15 in Exploring Ecology and pages in Changing Ecosystems) and optionally watch a related video, which requires gathering information from print and digital sources. Students are instructed to search the Internet for images using example search terms ("food chains" or "food webs") and are given a specific web link to consult. Students collect and save graphics and incorporate those images into a Weebly site or portfolio, demonstrating use of print and digital materials in their project.
Lesson 12
Adaptability and Survival
Students are instructed to use the Internet, library books, and other resources to find images and information about an extinct organism, and to save images to their computer and record findings on the Notes page. The Skills section explicitly lists "Analyze and evaluate information from a scientifically literate viewpoint by reading, hearing, and/or viewing scientific texts and articles." The Parent Plan warns against relying only on a single source (e.g., Wikipedia) and encourages effective investigation, indicating attention to source selection.
Lesson 13
Invasive Species
Students are asked to find invasive species in their area using specific digital sources (a Wikipedia list and the National Invasive Species Information Center) and to gather information about each species. Students are instructed to record the plant's name, areas where it occurs, a brief description of its impact, and to include a picture or drawing, and to collect information about additional species if time permits. Students are given the option to present their findings on a Weebly page or in a portfolio, which requires assembling and presenting information from print and digital sources.
Unit 4: A Single Shard
Lesson 1
Korea
Students are instructed to find a map of Asia in an atlas or online (Activity 2) and to locate pictures of Korea online and read multiple listed websites (Activity 3), then record information on the "Elements of Korean Culture" chart. The Parent Plan lists as a skill: "Evaluate information from different sources about the same topic," which directs students to compare information they gather. The lesson provides multiple specific digital sources (National Geographic, Britannica, Ancient History Encyclopedia, etc.) for students to read and use.
Lesson 3
Hard Work
Students are instructed to write summaries in their own words and to "not to quote directly from the book," with explicit strategies such as restating ideas and skimming first sentences to identify main points. The Parent Plan and Skills sections explicitly list summarizing or paraphrasing information and using note-taking and outlining strategies. Students are told repeatedly to avoid copying from the text and to "restate ideas and events in your own words."
Lesson 6
Village Life
Activity 2 directs students to research Linda Sue Park using three provided web links (the author's biography page, a Reading Rockets interview with transcript, and a 2002 author interview). Students are asked to read and watch those sources, take notes in a journal, answer specific comprehension and analytic questions about the author, and write a short paragraph about how the author's experiences influenced her writing. These tasks require students to gather relevant information from multiple digital sources and to summarize/paraphrase that information in writing.
Lesson 8
Korean Pottery
Activity 2 lists several specific digital sources (Metropolitan Museum of Art, Korea: The Met exhibition page, Asia Society Museum, Wikipedia, and a Korean-arts site) and directs students to visit those sites and to "click the 'Works of Art' link and use the search fields" to see pictures and explanations. The Parent Plan reiterates that the child visited several sites to learn about celadon pottery and used those examples as inspiration for designing a kimchi pot.
Lesson 9
Words of Wisdom
Students are directed to an external web link (Korean Proverbs on wikiquote.org) and told to "explore Korean proverbs" as part of Option 2, which asks them to find a proverb to "translate" or retell for a child. The Student Activity 'Quotes' asks students to "In your own words, explain each of Crane-man's quotes," which requires students to paraphrase the meanings of provided quotations.
Lesson 10
The Fox
Students are directed to visit three specific web links (Fox Tales 1, Fox Tales 2, Fox Tales 3) and read folktales and fables about foxes, which requires gathering information from multiple digital sources. Students are asked to read each story and "think about the purpose of the story and what it teaches," and then to write their own short story keeping the fox "true to the nature of foxes as they are represented in the literature you have read," which asks students to synthesize information from those sources.
Lesson 11
Relationships
Students are asked to support relationship descriptions with examples from the text, including characters' thoughts, words, and actions, which requires them to quote or paraphrase textual evidence. One option directs students to find descriptive words in magazines and glue them between character circles, which involves gathering words from another print source. The Relationship Web and Relationship Words activities require students to write at least two sentences describing relationships and to support those descriptions with textual examples.
Unit 5: Asia Today
Lesson 3
The Middle East
Students are asked to gather news from multiple print, radio, television, and Internet sources over 3–4 days and to complete a current-events journal for each story. The lesson lists specific web links (Google News, BBC, NYT, NPR, CNN, PBS) and explicitly tells students to enter "Middle East" or a country name in Google News to find recent, relevant stories, demonstrating use of search terms. The current events report requires students to record the news source name or URL and to attach or print the article with their report.
Lesson 5
The Indian Subcontinent
Students read specified pages from a print textbook (Geography of the World) and are given web links (National Geographic Kids, NPR) as digital resources to consult. Students may collect images from newspapers, magazines, or online to paste on their postcards, showing they gather information from multiple sources. Students are asked to add an "Image Source" line on postcards when using images they did not create, which practices recording a source for borrowed material.
Lesson 6
East Asia and Japan
Students are directed to read specific print pages (Geography of the World, pp. 174-187) and to use named web resources (Children's Discovery Museum link and an archived Ricepedia page) and library books to learn about rice production. Students are asked to use Geography of the World and additional resources on ancient Asia and Japan to research and record information for comparison charts. Activities require students to gather information from these multiple print and digital sources to create a flow chart, poem, garden plan, and comparison charts.
Lesson 7
Mainland Southeast Asia
Students are directed to gather information from the print text (read pages 188–195 in Geography of the World) and to complete research-based activities (choose three countries and use the book or "other research sources" for economic information). The Option 1 and Option 2 activities explicitly invite students to use external research sources if the textbook lacks details and ask students to collect and record economic data in charts or a flapbook.
Lesson 8
Maritime Southeast Asia
Students are directed to read specific pages (196–201) of the print text Geography of the World and to use that book as a reference for the cultures activity. Students are given multiple digital links (MrNussbaum, Mama Lisa, BBC country profiles) and are invited to use an atlas or an online mapping site (or an odometer) to determine distances for the Measuring Indonesia activity. Students complete activity pages that ask them to record facts about history, languages, religions, and ethnic identities drawn from the provided sources.
Final Project
A Tour of Asia
Students are directed to use Geography of the World, unit activity pages, the provided National Geographic web link, and may be taken to the library or helped with online research to find information for their tour book. The Final Project Planning Page asks students to note whether they will be able to find needed information (encyclopedia, country books, internet). The country page template asks students to record an 'Image Source' when they use an image they did not create.
Unit 5: Earth Cycles and Systems
Lesson 4
Matter and Plants
Students are directed to review specific pages in the print text Exploring Ecology (pp. 8–11 or 8–12 online) and to watch an accompanying video, requiring them to gather information from both print and digital sources. Students are prompted to use information from those sources to answer guided questions about energy and matter and to create diagrams or manipulatives representing plant life cycles.
Lesson 9
The Water Cycle
Students are asked to read pp. 12-13 (print) in Exploring Ecology and are given an optional link to an online "Summary of the Water Cycle" page, so they obtain information from both print and digital sources. Students examine the diagram and read summaries or click terms on the web page, and they complete the "Questions to Consider" activity using information from those sources. The lesson requires written answers in complete sentences, which prompts students to record information gathered from the assigned sources.
Lesson 11
The Nitrogen Cycle
Students are directed to read the "Nitrogen Cycle" section in Exploring Ecology (print or online) and to read a linked article about fertilizers. Multiple web links are provided and students are told to "use the links provided (or do your own research)" to complete the "Plant Food" activity pages, which requires gathering information from those print and digital sources. Activities ask students to answer content questions and use web resources to identify nutrient roles and calculate fertilizer composition.
Final Project
A Sustainable Farm
Students are asked to research two or more sustainable farming techniques using the Internet or library books, explicitly told to "enter the name of the farming method" and to add phrases like "how to..." or "benefits of..." to their searches. The lesson directs students to skim links and web pages to find needed information quickly and gives an example web resource (Oregon State University extension) and guidance to look for university (.edu) and government or research-organization sources. Students are prompted to do additional research for their farm display and to use multiple sources (web and print) to support their planning.
Unit 5: Independent Study
Lesson 1
Independent Study Introduction
Students are instructed to "find sources of information to answer your research questions" and to "record information to answer your research questions," and a Parent Plan notes the requirement to use at least four different types of resources (6–10 total). Students read a linked digital article (CNN) and complete a Point of View chart that requires them to extract viewpoints from that source. The rubric includes a Research Process section that asks about topic selection, the big question, and use of a note-taking method, which prompts students to gather and organize information.
Lesson 2
Bias and Propaganda
Students read and compare multiple print and digital sources (two contrasting 1916 news articles, a "How to Detect Bias in the News" article PDF, a "Propaganda Techniques" PDF, a contemporary article on U.S. leaflets, and video advertisements). Students complete guided activities that require them to record findings on a "Detecting Bias" handout and a "Propaganda in Advertisements" handout, identifying portrayal, bias techniques, intended audience, and effectiveness. Students are asked to analyze word choice, omission/selection, headlines, and other techniques that affect a source's reliability and persuasive intent.
Lesson 3
Starting Your Research
Students are prompted to select topics that lend themselves to multiple points of view and to plan research using a variety of sources (print, Internet, interview, video), as noted in the Special Notes and activity questions about finding information from various sources. The Parent Plan Skills list asks students to generate a research plan, clarify research questions, evaluate and synthesize collected information, and to include evidence compiled through formal research processes (e.g., card catalog, Reader's Guide, computer catalog, magazines, newspapers, and dictionaries). Activities require students to brainstorm issues, narrow topics by considering availability of information, and complete KWM charts and question-refinement tasks that guide what information they will gather.
Lesson 4
Finding Information
Students are asked to use at least four different types of resources (reference books, websites, audio/video, periodicals) and to record findings on a gathering grid or note cards, which supports gathering relevant information from multiple print and digital sources. Students complete an "Evaluating Websites" rubric that asks them to rate purpose, authority, currency, and objectivity, which teaches assessing the credibility and accuracy of web sources. Students are given MLA Works Cited guidelines, sample entries, a Purdue OWL link, and practice creating Works Cited entries, and the note-card guidelines emphasize citing sources and avoiding plagiarism.
Lesson 5
Writing the Essay
The Parent Plan skills explicitly tell students to support their papers with facts, details, examples, and explanations from multiple authoritative sources (e.g., speakers, periodicals, online information searches). The Parent Plan also instructs students to synthesize research into a written or oral presentation and to use quotations and an appropriate form of documentation (e.g., bibliography, works cited). The student activity and outline require students to include evidence such as facts, statistics, research, expert opinions, and quotes to support each argument.
Lesson 6
Presentation
The Parent Plan skills state that students write research reports that "support the main idea with facts, details, examples, and explanations from multiple authoritative sources (e.g., speakers, periodicals, online information searches)." The skills also state students will "synthesize research into a written or an oral presentation...uses quotations to support ideas and an appropriate form of documentation to acknowledge sources (e.g., bibliography, works cited)." The Wrapping Up section asks students to think about knowledge and skills gained through "researching, writing, and presenting your topic."
2: Semester 2
Unit 1: Greece and Rome
Lesson 1
Early Greece
Students read assigned print pages (pages 22-23) and answer comprehension questions, and students are directed to and may watch linked videos (Theseus and the Minotaur; Introduction to the Minoans) and to a webpage of Mycenaean art. Students use these print and digital resources to complete tasks such as creating a map, adding timeline cards, designing a Minotaur maze, and making a Mycenaean merchant's sign. The activities explicitly ask students to refer to the reading and the provided web links as sources for information and images.
Lesson 2
Ancient Greece
Students are directed to gather information from multiple sources: they read specified textbook pages (pages 42-43 and 38-39) and are asked to use several provided online resources and videos for additional information (e.g., history.com, Britannica, TED-Ed, ancient.eu). Activities require students to add places and battles to a map and complete a Venn diagram and timeline based on those print and digital sources. Students are instructed to watch videos and read web pages and then create products (posters, diary entries, models) that use information from those sources.
Lesson 3
Everyday Life in Ancient Greece
Students are directed to gather information from multiple print and digital sources, including textbook pages 44–45 and several specified websites (BBC family page, Met Museum, Getty, Ancient History Encyclopedia, Wikipedia, Rick Riordan site). Students are told to read summaries of 5–6 historical figures online and to type the name of a chosen person into a website search bar and skim articles to learn more. Activity instructions explicitly encourage using both book and web resources to complete research-based activity pages.
Lesson 4
The Hellenistic World
Students are asked to read specific print pages (pages 46-47 in Ancient Civilizations) and answer comprehension questions about Alexander the Great. Students are provided web links to short videos about Greek architecture and instructed to view them and use sketches during the activity. Students use information from the assigned pages and the videos to design a monument, complete coloring/drawing architecture tasks, and add dated timeline cards.
Lesson 5
Ancient Rome and the Roman Republic
Students are asked to gather information from multiple print and digital sources: textbook pages (p.50–51), a provided web link about the Roman Republic, videos about Rome's founding and Caesar, and suggested websites (Britannica Kids and Livius) for further reading. In Activity 1 students compare and contrast the Romulus/Remus myth, the Troy story, and archaeological explanations using a chart and explicitly judge "How likely is this theory to be true?", which requires evaluating the plausibility of different accounts.
Lesson 6
The Roman Empire
Students are directed to read both print (pages 51-52 in Ancient Civilizations) and multiple web sources (Ancient History Encyclopedia, PBS, HistoryHit, and other linked webpages) and to use those sources in activities such as mapping (Activity 1, Activity 3) and researching emperors (Activity 2). Activity 2 explicitly asks students to read information about at least three emperors using online sources and then compare two of them, which requires gathering information from multiple digital sources. The map and trade activities require students to consult online maps and articles to trace routes and label cities, demonstrating use of both print and digital sources for content gathering.
Lesson 7
Everyday Life in Ancient Rome
Students are asked to gather information from multiple print and digital sources: they read page 53 in the textbook and are directed to several web links (e.g., PBS Social Order, Ancient.eu, Getty Museum) for Activities 1, 2, and 3. Students are prompted to use the web links provided and optionally their own research to learn more about chosen people, religions, and famous Romans, and to "type the name of the person you chose into the Search bar" on Ancient History Encyclopedia. Students complete structured activity pages (e.g., Famous Ancient Roman, Religion in Rome) that require them to record information they find across sources.
Lesson 8
The End of the Empire
Students are directed to read multiple digital sources (a Khan Academy video and at least two web articles, including a PBS page and an Ancient History Encyclopedia map) and to read specific sections and biblical passages. Students use those sources to answer guided questions, categorize internal and external factors, complete a map activity, and write a diary entry or analyze New Testament passages. The activities require students to gather information from the provided print/digital materials to support their answers and projects.
Final Project
A Greek and Roman Menu
Students are asked to "Research and explain how ancient Greek and Roman governments influenced the 21st century in a short essay" as a Main Course option, which requires gathering information. The Life Application suggests students "do some research online or in your local library about ancient foods and recipes," prompting use of print and digital sources. The rubric requires that the Main Course "presents accurate information" and is "well-written," which implies students must locate factual information and produce a written product.
Unit 1: Force and Motion
Lesson 5
Centripetal Force and Terminal Velocity
Students are instructed to read pages 20–24 in the print book Why Things Move and to watch two short videos (skydivers and Apollo 15 footage), so they gather information from both print and digital sources. The reading and videos are explicitly assigned and used as the basis for answering questions about gravity, air resistance, and experiments. Students also use activity pages to record predictions, observations, and explanations based on those sources.
Unit 1: Greek Myths
Lesson 1
Ancient Greece
Students read pages 9–15 in D'Aulaires' Book of Greek Myths (a print source) and use the Beyond Roots II website and online quizzes (a digital source). Students are directed to a specific web link for the Beyond Roots II quizzes and to use Set 1 cards and online materials. Students also use the Greek alphabet chart and decoding activities, which require consulting provided print activity pages.
Lesson 3
The Stories
Students are directed to examine online artifacts via explicit web links (Artemis, Dionysus, Pandora's Box, and a Greek pottery slideshow) and to "look at some of the artifacts" when designing their pot. The Go Greek activity and the multiple flashcard pages provide packaged print/digital source material that students use to learn and recall facts about gods and goddesses.
Lesson 6
Vainglorious Kings
Students read multiple print and digital sources: the Greek Myths text (pages 132–175), the picture book Icarus at the Edge of Time, and an optional filmed version linked on YouTube. Students complete comparison charts and synthesis tasks (e.g., compare traditional myth to contemporary retelling, use textual evidence) and are directed to refer to evidence in discussions per the Parent Plan skills. Activities ask students to reread, take notes while watching video, and use a chart to compare elements across texts.
Lesson 7
The Trojan War
Students read a specified print selection (pp. 178–189) and are asked to extract and summarize the most important events when they retell the story. Students are explicitly told they may quote from the book and Parent Plan skills state "Use own words in oral summaries, except for material quoted from sources," addressing paraphrase versus quotation. Students are directed to an online resource (Beyond Roots II) with a web link and online quizzes, giving them at least one digital source to access.
Final Project
A New Twist on an Ancient Myth
Students are asked to synthesize and make logical connections between ideas within a text and across two or three texts (listed in the Parent Plan skills), which requires them to gather and compare information from multiple texts. Students are directed to review a provided digital Unit Review Sheet URL and to study vocabulary, roots, and multiple myth texts, so they consult at least one digital source in addition to print materials.
Unit 2: The Middle Ages
Lesson 1
Introduction to Medieval Europe
Students are assigned a print reading (pages 1–14 of Great Medieval Projects You Can Build Yourself) and instructed to use that material to answer questions and complete activities such as the timeline and feudalism exercises. Students are invited to consult additional resources (a library or online) for the optional King Arthur activity and are given a specific web link to a Gutenberg text. Students are also encouraged to consult maps from other units (Prisoners of Geography) to compare modern and medieval geography.
Lesson 2
Monarchs
Students read a print chapter (pages 15–23 of Great Medieval Projects) and are directed to online primary sources (the National Archives Magna Carta page and PDFs of other founding documents). In Option 2, students are instructed to open a word-cloud generator and the full text of the Magna Carta, copy and paste the translation, and create word clouds for the Magna Carta and at least one other political document for comparison. The activities require students to compare the texts and answer analytical questions about which words and groups are emphasized.
Lesson 4
Castles and Feasts
Students are assigned a specific print source to read (pages 49–64 of Great Medieval Projects You Can Build Yourself) and are given multiple web links (PBS NOVA, Rick Steves, Castellogy, Metropolitan Museum, Bayeux Museum) and suggestions to explore additional library books. Students are prompted to use information from the reading to design a castle floor plan or tapestry and to consult the listed websites for more details.
Lesson 6
Religion in Medieval Life
Students are assigned and directed to gather information from multiple print and digital sources (pages 91-104 of Great Medieval Projects You Can Build Yourself, an NCpedia article linked for the Reconquista activity, and an optional National Gallery of Art web page for St. George). Students read these sources and complete scaffolded activity pages (Dissent and the Church, The Crusades, Medieval Pilgrimage, Reconquista cube) that require them to extract and use information from those readings. The St. Francis activity explicitly instructs students to credit any images they did not create by writing the title of the magazine or the URL under each image.
Lesson 8
The End of the Medieval Era
Students are assigned a print source (pages 115-116 of Great Medieval Projects You Can Build Yourself) to read. In Activity 1, students are prompted to find examples at home, at a store, or on the internet, which requires gathering information from physical and digital sources. In Activity 2, students are instructed to interview at least four people and compile a running list of important events or ideas, demonstrating gathering information from multiple human sources.
Unit 2: Light and the Eye
Lesson 2
Translucence and Shadow
Students are directed to read specific print pages from Light and the Eye and an archived Liverpool Museum web page about sundials, and to use an optional sundial craft web link, so they gather information from both print and digital sources. Students answer targeted comprehension questions about those readings and use the information to explain gnomons and shadow length. Students also use their gathered information to inform experiments, drawings, and a typed creative story.
Lesson 4
How Human Eyes Work
Students read print material (pages from Light and the Eye) and an online KidsHealth article and watch multiple YouTube videos linked in the lesson. Students use information from these print and digital sources to answer comprehension questions, label diagrams, and assemble and explain a model of the eye.
Lesson 5
Animal Eyes
Students are directed to read an article about animal eyesight at a provided web link and to read pages 5-12 of a booklet on the Museum of Vision website. Students are instructed to use an Internet search engine to find pictures of animals when unsure about eye placement and to categorize animals based on information found. The activities require students to gather information from these digital sources to complete sorting and explanation tasks.
Lesson 6
Color and Perception
Students are asked to read specific pages in the print booklet Light and the Eye and to re-read pages, providing a print source for their answers. Students watch the "Why Is the Sky Blue?" video and answer comprehension questions, providing a digital source. In the Picture the Sky Option 2, students are directed to consult one or more provided websites to produce a more detailed explanation of sky color.
Final Project
Tools of the Eye
The lesson explicitly asks students to use print activity pages (the "Periscope" page and "Tools for the Human Eye" sheets) and to "locate instructions online or from other sources" in Option 2, and it even supplies two web links for projects. Students are directed to write down materials and procedures from those sources on their activity pages and to follow those directions to create and test a tool. These items require students to gather information from both print and digital sources and to transfer that information into their project documentation.
Unit 2: Tales from the Middle Ages
Lesson 2
Beetle
The lesson assigns students the role of Researcher and instructs them to "dig up related information" on topics related to the book (geography, culture, history) and to "print off the information" and read it to better understand context. The vocabulary activity directs students to consult a dictionary if they cannot determine word meanings from context, indicating use of at least one reference source.
Lesson 3
Summer
Students read a print source (The Midwife's Apprentice) and are asked to write a paragraph based on that text. The materials provide one explicit digital source (the Purdue OWL page on sentence punctuation patterns) and direct students to specific pages (pp. 26-28) of a Handy Guide to Writing for more information about sentences. The worksheet asks students to produce original writing that draws on the book's content.
Lesson 6
The Inn
Students are directed in Activity 2 to select one or more medieval recipes from multiple provided web links (e.g., medievalcookery.com and godecookery.com) and to prepare and serve a dish, using the recipes as sources. Students are asked to consider how the recipes are similar to and different from meals their family usually makes, which requires extracting relevant information from those digital sources. The text also notes that most surviving medieval recipes come from wealthier households, giving students contextual information they can use when interpreting sources.
Final Project
Life in the Middle Ages Think-Tac-Toe
Students are asked to "research the clothing styles of the Middle Ages" (Dress Code) and to "choose a book about the Middle Ages and write a review, discussing themes and historical accuracy" (Book), which requires finding and using information from sources. Students also encounter templates labeled "historical connections" and activities that prompt gathering information for a castle blueprint, jobs/responsibilities, village life, and other topic pages. The Think-Tac-Toe structure asks students to select and complete research or information-based tasks across rows, implying students will locate material to support their products.
Unit 3: The Age of Discovery
Lesson 2
New World Empires
Students are directed to read specific pages (pages 14-19) from a print book and to watch a designated online film (Cahokia: City of the Sun) and to use provided web links (Life in Medieval Towns and Cities; Cahokia Mounds) as sources for activities. Students are asked to pull information from their readings and from previous unit materials to complete comparison charts or Venn diagrams, and to use the map on pages 52-53 as a reference. Students are instructed to take notes while watching the film and specifically told not to write word-for-word transcriptions but to write summaries of important ideas, which supports paraphrasing practice.
Lesson 4
The Consequences of Contact
Students are assigned a print source (pages 36-51 of The World Made New) and several web links (Alfred Crosby's "The Columbian Exchange," a Smallpox article, and recipe pages), which they can consult for information. The Life Application explicitly suggests that students search for "pescado a la veracruzana" in an Internet search engine, giving an example of using search terms. In Activity 2 (debate) students are asked to list facts to support arguments, and in Option 2 students are told to create a list of titles and URLs for any images or websites they use.
Lesson 5
Copernicus and Changes in Science
Students read assigned chapters of Newton at the Center and answer comprehension questions, which requires them to gather information from a print source. Students plan and deliver a 2–3 minute first-person introduction as Copernicus or create a scrapbook, which requires them to collect, organize, and restate information from the reading. Activity instructions also ask students to use descriptions from specified pages to draw or demonstrate models, indicating use of the text as a source for factual diagrams.
Lesson 6
Galileo
Students are asked to gather information through Internet-based or library research in Activity 3 (Option 1) and are given specific web links (Pew Forum, NHGRI, Simplilearn) to consult. Students are directed to read multiple digital primary-source documents in Option 2 (links to famous-trials.com) and to view an optional PBS documentary and the Galileo Project website. Students are asked to talk to at least three people about a controversy and then synthesize that information into a short (200-word) letter or to answer questions after reading primary documents.
Lesson 7
Isaac Newton
Students are asked to read specified chapters of a print source (Newton at the Center) and specific pages about inventions, and to complete comprehension questions and activity pages based on that reading. Students are directed to watch two online demonstrations (linked YouTube videos) for the hands-on physics activities and to read or watch a local weather forecast as part of the barometer option. Students gather information from these multiple print and digital sources to complete timeline cards, answer questions, sketch observations, and finish activity pages.
Final Project
Discovery Research Project
Students are instructed to use books, activity pages, and other sources for an open-book essay exam (Option 2) and are explicitly allowed to consult online resources or the local library for science demonstration ideas. Students complete 'Biography Planning' worksheets and a map activity that require them to collect and organize factual information about an explorer and a scientist. The final project rubric includes a criterion for "Evidence of careful planning and research," which expects students to conduct and present research as part of their presentation.
Unit 3: The Solar System
Lesson 3
Earth, the Third Planet
Students are directed to read pages 20–21 and 56 in 13 Planets (a print source) and to read the web article "Earth's Tilt Is the Reason for the Seasons!" (a digital source). Students are instructed to copy images from that article and other online sources for a slideshow and to print a photo of Earth from the Internet or draw one. Students complete the "Planetary Passport" or create "From Earth to Eris" cards by filling in factual information (diameter, orbital period, rotation, moons, etc.) that is to be checked against the book's answer pages.
Lesson 4
Satellites and Telescopes
Students are directed to read multiple digital sources: a NASA Space Place article ("What Is a Satellite?"), NASA pages on optical telescopes, a University of Chicago page on telescope types, and a Mars Orbiter Laser Altimeter topographic map example. Students answer specific comprehension questions about satellites, orbits, telescope types, and map color meanings based on those sources, and use a NASA Topographic Maps web link to create a clay topographic map.
Lesson 5
Meteorites and the Moon
Students are directed to read pages 23-24 of the book 13 Planets (a print source) and to read a referenced web article on Day 2, giving them multiple print and digital sources to gather information. Students are instructed to use the Moon Phase Calendar web tool (enter a zip code) and to use images from NOAA or other websites when creating a slideshow, which requires accessing online resources. Students must synthesize these sources into a presentation, animation, or model for sharing with a parent.
Lesson 8
Dwarf Planets and Asteroids
Students are assigned specific print pages to read (pages 31 and 45-51 in 13 Planets) and answer factual questions about dwarf planets. Students are prompted to "research any of the listed dwarf planets" and to draw or paste pictures "from the internet or an astronomy guide," and to complete data-filled worksheets (Planetary Passport) and question cards requiring facts like diameter, orbital period, and density. The board-game cards ask students to create their own question and to fill in answers, which requires locating details from sources.
Lesson 9
Men on the Moon and Beyond
Students are directed to read webpages about major milestones in space exploration, watch a video about NASA spin-off technologies, and answer specific comprehension questions based on those digital sources. Students must consult a NASA web page to obtain instructions and materials for a spacecraft model and record the procedure and results on the activity page. For the technology report, students use two provided web sources about cochlear implants (Space Technology Hall of Fame and NIH) or, in Option 2, find and use their own online or print resources to answer research questions.
Unit 3: The Prince and the Bard
Lesson 1
Introduction to The Little Prince
Students are instructed to read an author biography either from the back of the book (print) or from a provided biography.com link (digital). Students are asked to collect advertisements from TV, magazines, and online and to paste examples into their persuasion activity, and they are told they may look up definitions on the internet if they cannot remember a persuasive technique. A parental note warns that SparkNotes summaries can be used unethically, indicating awareness of different digital sources.
Lesson 3
The Flower and Other Planets
Students practice working with quotations and omissions: they cut and reconnect sentence blocks, replace omitted material with ellipses, and reconstruct paragraphs (Activity 1, Option 1). They locate instances of ellipses in The Little Prince and write the modified passages (Option 2 Part I) and explain the use and effect of ellipses in context (Option 2 Part II). The materials include an explicit example of unethical omission and instruct students to ensure resulting quotations remain clear and true to the original.
Lesson 5
Making Friends on Earth
Students are explicitly instructed in the Parent Plan Skills to "Paraphrase the major ideas and supporting evidence in formal and informal presentations," which gives them practice restating information in their own words. Students read Chapters XXI-XXV and answer comprehension questions in complete sentences, requiring them to summarize and paraphrase textual content. Students complete Part II of the activity by reflecting on why specific text is italicized, which asks them to interpret and explain textual features in writing.
Lesson 6
Saying Goodbye
The Parent Plan lists skills to "offer persuasive evidence to validate arguments and conclusions" and to "paraphrase the major ideas and supporting evidence in formal and informal presentations." Activity 2 asks students to "describe in your own words the little prince's departure" and to create a poem or drawing with an artist's description, and the student pages prompt short-answer responses that require summarizing the text. The directions to answer questions in complete sentences further encourage students to restate ideas from the book.
Lesson 7
Introduction to Shakespeare
Students are directed to read multiple digital sources (the SJSU "Early Modern English: Reading Shakespeare" handout and the SparkNotes Character List) and to answer comprehension questions based on those readings. Students are explicitly asked to "look up '[sic]' online" and to "search online" to understand why 'sic' is italicized, requiring them to gather information from the web. Students practice quoting conventions by using brackets and '[sic]' in exercises that show how to insert clarifications into quotations.
Lesson 8
Beginning A Midsummer Night's Dream
Students are given a direct web link to a downloadable PDF of A Midsummer Night's Dream and instructed to read the modern translation (digital source). Students are invited to compare the modern translation with the original text on the opposite page (using multiple print/digital versions). Students are asked to collect images from magazines or the Internet to create a character collage (use of print and digital sources for a research/art task).
Lesson 11
Watching the Play
Students read the play using the modern translation (right-hand side) and are invited to compare favorite phrases with the original wording on the left-hand side, which provides practice using two print versions. Students also watch a linked online animated short (Vimeo) and discuss which scenes were included, which involves using a digital source alongside the print text.
Lesson 12
Tragic Love
Students read an abridged digital version of Romeo and Juliet via the provided web link and answer comprehension questions based on that text. Students are asked to locate exact quotes from the play to support interview answers and to place those quotes in quotation marks, using ellipses if they omit words. The Student Activity Page includes explicit spaces for recording two quotes and transcribing interview responses that incorporate those quotations.
Final Project
Love Letters
Students are instructed to take notes and record quotes about their chosen couple on the "Play Cupid" or "Strongest of All" pages and to use those notes to write a persuasive essay. The Outlining page explicitly tells students to use evidence they found, including "quotations," as support for each reason in their outline. Activity 3 requires students to "Include quotes from your couple" and to provide persuasive evidence and a thesis, showing practice in selecting and using textual evidence from the three assigned works.
Unit 4: Elizabethan Europe
Lesson 1
Europe at the Time of Elizabeth's Birth
Students are asked in Activity 4 to consult their reading and "other sources (an encyclopedia, books in your home or public library, or online resources)" and are given specific web links (YouTube, History.com, Wikipedia) to use. Students are instructed to research Martin Luther to gather the information needed to write a biographical poem, which requires collecting information from multiple print and digital sources. The lesson includes a cautionary note about Wikipedia that tells students to check facts cited in Wikipedia against other sources, which addresses assessing credibility and accuracy.
Lesson 2
The Renaissance and Elizabeth's Childhood
Students read a print source (Chapter 2 of Kerrie Logan Hollihan's Elizabeth I) and use multiple digital sources (YouTube music links, a Britannica Marco Polo page, a PDF of sheet music, and several museum websites) as part of activities. Students are asked to record the website used for each artwork in the Digital Art Field Trip pages and are explicitly told to add a URL note when they print images for their gallery, which shows practice in citing online sources. Students also collect and transfer information from the timeline, map, and gallery tasks that require using both printed timeline cards and online resources.
Lesson 3
Becoming Queen
Students read specified chapters from the print book Elizabeth I: The People's Queen and follow activity directions that reference pages in that book, so they gather information from a print source. Students are given explicit web links for a Nine Men's Morris game and are encouraged to find blackwork patterns or flower-meaning information online or in the local library, so they gather information from digital and additional print sources.
Lesson 5
International Affairs
Students are assigned to read specific print chapters (Chapter 6 and Chapter 7) and answer comprehension questions, which requires them to gather information from the assigned text. Students use the reading to complete tasks such as adding timeline cards, mapping voyages on activity pages (Activity 3), and writing a short proposal or diary entries (Activity 2 and Activity 4) based on the reading. The lesson provides activity pages and an answer key that students use to locate and record factual details from the text.
Final Project
An Elizabethan Lapbook
Students are instructed to use the unit index and their readings to review and gather information for the Timeline and Family Album mini-books. Students are explicitly invited to use online or library sources to find images and additional information for the Family Album mini-book. Students are given a web link to external mini-book templates as a digital resource they may consult for their project.
Unit 4: Technological Design
Lesson 3
Meaningful Technological Designs
The lesson instructs students to use a search engine and specific keywords (e.g., 'invention' or 'history' + device name) to research their chosen technology and provides two web links as starting sources. Part 3 asks students to research the inventor, history, and patents and to include pictures from different historical periods, which requires students to collect information from online materials. The Parent Plan skill statement also notes using information systems to locate resources related to scientific or human needs.
Lesson 4
Necessity vs. Luxury
The lesson directs students to use safe online sources (Britannica Kids, National Geographic Kids, History.com, Smithsonian, Science News for Students, government and museum sites) and tells them to use specific search phrases (e.g., "What is the microprocessor?", "How does a smoke alarm work?") to find information. Students are asked to research one 20th‑century and one 21st‑century technology and answer structured questions that require locating information about what problem the invention solved and how it affected people. The activity pages and parent notes explicitly require students to find information online to decide whether a technology is a necessity or a luxury.
Lesson 5
Necessity Is the Mother of Invention
Students are directed to read specific pages from the print book Amazing Leonardo da Vinci Inventions You Can Build Yourself and to use that text as a resource for their projects. The Skills section explicitly states students should "Use information systems to locate resources to obtain ideas," and the Activities invite students to "investigate websites" they have used earlier in the unit. Students are asked to collect evidence (e.g., measure wind speed, follow instructions in the book) and to reference multiple pages of the book while completing tasks.
Lesson 7
Contemporary Design Approaches
Students are prompted to gather information from print and digital sources: the lesson lists multiple web links for inventions and instructs students in Activity 2 Step 2 to "research the need or problem using the Internet, library, interviews, etc." and to use a search engine and google "egg drop experiments." The Parent Plan explicitly lists the skill "Use information systems to locate resources to obtain ideas," and Activity 1 directs students to consult suggested websites to complete evaluations.
Lesson 9
Modeling an Idea
Students are instructed to look at resources to understand more about earthquakes and are given explicit digital sources to use (two YouTube video links are provided and students are told to watch the video in Activity 1). The Parent Plan skills section notes that students should "use information systems to identify scientific needs... and locate resources to obtain and test ideas," and activities direct students to refer back to the video when building or testing the model. Students are asked to "publish the results" by completing activity pages and discussing their experiment with a parent, implying reporting findings based on those resources.
Final Project
Final Exam and Model Bridge
Students are instructed in Phase 1 Step 2 to "Research the need or problem" using specific web links (PBS, Britannica, designandtech) and to "jot down possible solutions" and use information to fill out evaluation charts. Engineering Protocol pages prompt students to "Research the need or problem" and to "Explore other options via the Internet, library, interview, etc." Phase 4 requires students to include the "history of websites that you have visited" and to use activity sheets and notes when making an engineering presentation. The Unit Test guidance notes students may be asked to use their book and the Internet for some questions.
Unit 4: Newton at the Center
Lesson 1
Features of Non-Fiction
Students read and identify non-fiction features such as the table of contents, index, headings, sub-headings, graphics, captions, sidebars, bold words, and highlights. Students use the table of contents and index descriptions and fill in an activity page to define and locate topics and page references. Students practice locating and extracting information from a single print book and highlighting main ideas and feature names as directed.
Lesson 2
Newton and Math
The lesson repeatedly asks students to read specified pages of a print book and to take notes including page numbers, and it directs students to "rewrite Newton's Inverse Square Law in your own words" and to prepare 2-minute oral summaries of a page. Activities require students to summarize procedural steps (how to draw an ellipse) in written and oral form and to record non-fiction features (headings, graphics, italicized words) on a "Graphics and Summaries" page. The lesson also instructs students not to highlight in the book but to take notes on a separate sheet, emphasizing paraphrase and note-taking practices.
Lesson 3
Newton and Light
Students read a print source (pages 164–171 of The Story of Science) and are instructed to take notes and highlight important information and unfamiliar words, including page numbers. Students are given a digital resource link (Diagrammer Guide) and shown how to submit a prompt to that site, which provides an additional online source. Students use the reading as inspiration to create sentences and answer comprehension questions in complete sentences, which requires extracting information from the text.
Lesson 5
Newton's Contemporaries
Students are assigned to read chapter 18 and a sidebar and are asked to highlight or take notes including page numbers on information they think may be important and unfamiliar words. The Parent Plan lists skills such as summarizing and determining the importance of information and monitoring comprehension, which students practice while reading. Students answer comprehension questions in complete sentences about Newton's contemporaries, demonstrating extraction and summarization of information from the assigned text.
Lesson 6
Math and Science Take Flight
Students are directed to read Chapter 21 in The Story of Science and to read a NASA webpage plus a floating-ball experiment webpage, which requires gathering information from both print and digital sources. The lesson asks students to take notes (including page numbers) and to use diagrams, captions, and text to create a numbered list of instructions, and to summarize what they learned for a parent. The Student Activity Page prompts students to record materials, procedure steps, and conclusions, which requires extracting and organizing information from those sources.
Lesson 7
Using Newton's Work
Students read assigned chapters and web pages (print and digital) and are asked to take notes with page numbers and unfamiliar words, showing they gather information from multiple sources. Students use provided URLs (Britannica, WikiArt, Met Museum, Generation Genius, Ducksters) and complete a K-W-L chart and oral summary, demonstrating research and synthesis of digital and print materials. Option 2 requires students to record the original sentence or page/paragraph number and then rewrite it in a different tense, which asks students to paraphrase source material while noting its origin.
Final Project
Lobby for Newton
Students are instructed to review highlighted passages and notes from their book and to summarize key points (Activity 1), which has them extract information from a print source. The Outlining Newton activity directs students to gather observations, examples, quotations, and personal experiences as supporting details for each area and to synthesize those into an outline. The Parent Plan skills statement notes that students will "accurately synthesizes ideas from several sources," indicating an expectation that students combine information from multiple texts.
Unit 5: Modern Europe
Lesson 1
Introduction to Europe
Students are directed to gather facts from a print source (Geography of the World) via a scavenger-hunt activity that asks them to find country facts and EU information using the book's index and country information boxes. Students are given an explicit digital option to read an online EU booklet and play an EU website quiz, so they will collect information from at least one online source. Parent notes instruct students to use the index effectively and to use country information boxes to locate facts.
Lesson 3
The British Isles
Students are asked to read pages 87-90 of a print geography book and to fill out Quick Guide pages, requiring them to gather information about the U.K. and Ireland. Students are directed to specific digital resources from the UK Parliament (a PDF booklet and an online video) and to take notes using activity pages, so they use both print and digital sources. Student activity pages require researching and recording facts about population, language, government, geography, economy, and culture, which guides students in gathering relevant information.
Lesson 4
The Low Countries, Germany, and France
Students are assigned a print reading (pages 91–99 of Geography of the World) and are asked to locate three news articles using newspapers, magazines, or online news services (Option 2). The lesson provides web links (Google News, BBC, NPR, CNN) and explicitly suggests search terms (for example, entering "Europe" or "Europe recycling" in Google News) to find relevant stories. For each article students must write a 2–3 sentence summary and record a source (the magazine/newspaper and date or the URL); if they use an image from a publication they must list the publication or URL below the image.
Lesson 5
Spain, Portugal, and Italy
Students are asked to read specific print pages (pages 100-105 of Geography of the World) and to fill out "Quick Guide" pages for Portugal and Italy, which requires gathering facts (population, language, government, geography, material/non-material culture). The lesson provides two web links (an article on azulejo tilework and a polenta recipe) and asks students to work with a parent to identify examples of azulejo tiles online, implying use of digital sources. The activity pages and map labeling require students to collect and record information from those print and digital materials.
Lesson 6
Switzerland and Austria
Students are directed to read print pages (pages 106-108 of a DK Geography book) and to visit specific organization websites (ICRC, UN, WHO) through provided links. Several activities ask students to use those web pages and international news sources to discover at least one current project for each organization and to record research-based examples (Option 2 requires one example based on research). The lesson includes explicit prompts for students to fill out Quick Guide worksheets and scenario responses based on information gathered from these print and digital sources.
Lesson 7
Slovenia, Croatia, Belarus, Baltic States
Students are asked to gather information from print and digital sources: they read pages 109-113 of Geography of the World and use the index to find USSR references (Activity 2). Students are directed to use online news services (Google News, BBC, NPR, CNN) with example search terms such as "Latvian government," "Ukraine environment," or "Belarus economy" to find and summarize three current-news articles (Activity 3). Students must record the source (magazine/newspaper and date or URL) for each news item and include a URL or publication credit for any images they use, and Activity 6 asks students to use provided web links or other library/online resources to research national governments.
Lesson 8
Central Europe
Students are directed to read specific print pages (DK Publishing pages 114-119) and to use digital sources (Smithsonian Folkways, Putumayo/Gypsy Groove links, iTunes, and Food Network) or library CDs to gather information. Students complete "Quick Guide" pages and country activity pages that require them to record population, language, government, geography, cultural examples, and economic influences based on research. In the music option, students are asked to listen to several online clips, choose three different songs, and analyze title, instruments, mood, and other observations.
Lesson 9
Ukraine, Moldova, Caucasian Republics
Students are directed to read specific print pages (pp. 120-123 in Geography of the World) and are given a web link about the Caucasus, which requires them to gather information from at least one print and one digital source. Students are prompted to complete multiple activity pages (country Quick Guide, Geography of Ukraine/Moldova/Caucasian Republics) that ask for population, language, government, climate, natural resources, and economic impacts, which requires collecting relevant facts. Students are asked to add countries and capitals to a map and to describe geography's impact on economies, tasks that require pulling facts from the provided sources.
Lesson 10
Southeast Europe
Students are asked to gather information from newspapers, magazines, and online news sources by locating three news stories and selecting one for deeper work. The lesson gives explicit search-term examples (e.g., "tensions Bosnia," "conflict Serbia") and links to multiple web-based news services (Google News, BBC, NPR, CNN) to support searching. Students must record a source for their written summary (publication and date or URL) and are prompted to write a 2–3 sentence summary or prepare a 2–3 minute newscast. The activities also require students to note the URL when they copy an image from the web.
Final Project
A Quick Guide to Europe
Students are directed to use a provided digital source (the European Union website link in Activity 3) to identify and label EU countries. Students are told they may use images "printed off the Internet" or from magazines for their cover and are asked to "create a list of your sources to share with a parent." Students are instructed to refer back to "Geography of the World" to check details and the rubric includes "Accuracy of Information" as an evaluation criterion.
Unit 5: Energy
Lesson 1
Introduction to Energy and Matter
Students are asked to read pages 1–3 of a print book (Energy: 25 Projects...) and to watch a linked video, and they are directed to specific web pages (EIA 'Forms of Energy' and 'Energy Sources') to complete activities. Students use the book and web links to match vocabulary, sort items into energy-source vs. form categories, and to complete a neighborhood survey, which requires consulting both print and digital materials. These tasks require students to gather relevant information from multiple print and digital sources to answer questions and complete activities.
Lesson 2
Energy Transfer
Students are directed to gather information from multiple print and digital sources: they read Chapter 1 (pages 5–12) of a book and are told to read a linked page and watch a linked video, and to rewatch videos as part of answering questions. Students are also instructed to use a web link to check their vocabulary classifications and to compare book content with video content when responding to questions.
Lesson 4
Radiant Energy
Students are directed to read a print source (Chapter 10 of Energy: 25 Projects) and to watch or interact with several online resources (a video and two web simulations/links). Students are asked to explore the web links, read accompanying text, and use information from these sources to answer specific content questions and complete activities such as building a model of the electromagnetic spectrum. Students perform hands-on activities (solar-powered motor) that rely on explanations from both the book and the digital materials.
Lesson 5
More Renewable Power Sources
Students are directed to gather information by reading specified pages from the textbook (pages 64–68, 72–77, 87–88, 90–92) and by viewing a linked video and diagram. Students answer targeted questions (e.g., best locations for wind farms, how dams create electricity, where geothermal heat comes from) that require extracting facts from those print and digital sources. Students use those gathered facts to explain and demonstrate concepts (for example, explaining how a dam powers a turbine and demonstrating a water wheel).
Lesson 6
Nuclear Power
Students are directed to read Chapter 7 (pages 57-62) of a print book and to review a chart at a web link, and optional activities provide two specific online resources (a YouTube video and a DOE web page) for further information. The life-application task asks students to find out more about a nearby nuclear power plant, prompting independent use of print and digital sources. The activities require students to gather information from assigned print and digital materials to answer content questions about fission and fusion.
Lesson 7
Fossil Fuels and Biomass
Students are instructed to read specific pages from the print textbook chapters on petroleum, natural gas, coal, and biomass and then "choose one of these sources to research further," which directs them to use additional web links provided (Smithsonian, Department of Energy, EIA, National Geographic) or "other resources." Activities ask students to use those online resources or other materials to learn more and to create a poster, demonstration, or creative presentation presenting what they learned. The parent notes explicitly tell students they "can use the web links provided or other resources to learn more about the fuel type."
Lesson 8
Powering Our World
Students are directed to gather information from multiple print and digital sources: they re-read book chapters, watch the suggested video, explore an interactive power-grid simulation, and research state-level data online. The lesson gives explicit search-term guidance (for example, "electricity generation in [your state]") and directs students to authoritative sources such as the U.S. Energy Information Administration and state government websites. Students are asked to create a pie chart of their state's energy mix and to compare and contrast five energy sources using specific pages in the book, demonstrating synthesis of information from different sources.
Final Project
Energy Conservation
Students are asked to collect and use information from multiple print and digital sources: they must examine recent utility bills (print/digital), use the online Unit Review Sheet, visit the Energy Use Calculator website, and complete an online Home Energy Assessment. Students are instructed to explore company and government websites to find contact information and supporting articles or studies to include in a letter, and to print or record results from online tools for use in their project and presentation. Students must bring together data from these varied sources (bills, calculators, audits, articles) when identifying top energy uses and proposing changes.
Unit 5: British Poetry
Lesson 1
Rhythm and Meter
Students read assigned pages from a printed textbook (Poetry Rocks!, pages 5–15) and are directed to use two digital sources: Merriam-Webster's website for pronunciations and a short YouTube video on stress and syllables. The Student Activity Pages instruct students to consult Merriam-Webster for unfamiliar vocabulary and to listen to pronunciations, and the parent plan includes answer keys (images) that students or parents can use to check marked stress patterns.
Lesson 2
Voice and Rhyme
Students read print chapters about Elizabeth Barrett Browning and Robert Browning in the provided textbook and answer comprehension questions, showing use of a print source. Students are directed to review a specific Purdue OWL webpage (a digital source) for capitalization rules and to compare their brainstormed list to that webpage, indicating they consult at least one external digital resource.
Lesson 3
Graphic Elements
Students read Chapter 3 about Alfred, Lord Tennyson in a print text and they use Activity 2 to read a linked online biography of Prince Albert (a digital source). Students are asked to choose a prose statement from the website that expresses the same idea as a line from the poem and write both statements on the activity page, which requires copying or paraphrasing text from both sources. Activity 1 directs students to identify and record lines from Tennyson's "Dedication," which has them extract specific textual examples from a print poem.
Lesson 5
Allusions
Students are directed to find three contemporary events using either a digital kids' news site (Time for Kids) or a local newspaper/website and to record each article's title, topic, location, and three interesting facts on structured activity pages. Students read print chapters about W.B. Yeats, Edith Sitwell, and Wilfred Owen from Poetry Rocks! and answer comprehension questions, demonstrating use of print literary sources. Students create phrases from articles and use one to write a repetition poem, showing they extract and repurpose information from news sources.
1: Semester 1
Unit 1: Revolution
Lesson 1
Founding of the Colonies
Students are assigned a print chapter (Great Colonial Projects You Can Build Yourself!, Chapter 1) and a digital documentary episode (America: The Story of Us) to read and view, and are instructed to take notes on new information. The lesson prompts students to ask about source origins (e.g., "Where did the film's writers get their information?") and to "look up more information online (with a parent's assistance and permission)" if they have questions. The mapping activity directs students to use specific pages and a timeline in the book as sources for colony founding dates, requiring them to extract factual information from the print resource.
Lesson 2
Southern Colonies
Students are directed to read multiple print and digital sources: sections from We Were There, Too! and National Park Service web articles (tobacco, silk, flax) and a Jamestown site link. Students compare accounts directly (e.g., Venn diagram comparing Equiano and Mayflower voyages, chart comparing tobacco vs. silk/flax) and are asked to rethink an English account from a Native American perspective. The lesson text explicitly asks students to consider historians' use of multiple perspectives and warns that available European accounts may be biased or incomplete.
Lesson 3
The Middle and Northern Colonies
Students are assigned readings from multiple print sources (Great Colonial Projects You Can Build Yourself! and We Were There, Too!) and are given several web links (Yale Avalon text of the Mayflower Compact, University of Virginia Salem Witch Trials, Famous-Trials, word cloud generator links, and the Salem Witch Museum). Students use a digital tool to create a word cloud from the Mayflower Compact by cutting and pasting text from the Avalon site and then answer guided analysis questions about prominent words and themes. Students complete an activity that asks them to evaluate various explanations for the Salem Witch Trials by listing merits and doubts, drawing on the provided resources.
Lesson 7
Independence
Students are directed to read multiple print and digital sources, including chapters in We Were There, Too! and Great Colonial Projects You Can Build Yourself!, Library of Congress pages about the First Great Awakening and the Revolution, and the Teaching American History page with Jefferson's rough draft. Students are asked to print the rough draft webpage, annotate it in the margins, choose 3–5 revised sections, and suggest edits based on their reading. Students perform activities that require extracting information from these varied sources (answering reading questions, discussing connections, and selecting powerful paragraphs for dramatic reading).
Lesson 8
Fighting the War
Students are assigned multiple print readings (excerpts from We Were There, Too: Sybil Ludington, Mary Redmond et al., Joseph Forten, Deborah Sampson) and several digital sources (History Matters, National Park Service pages, Battlefields.org) to read. Students use information from those print and digital sources to complete tasks such as filling in a Revolutionary National Parks brochure, adding cards to a timeline, and writing a historically based letter or illustration explanation. The lesson directs students to visit specified webpages and a virtual tour and to consult an answer key to check factual responses.
Lesson 9
A New Nation
Students are explicitly instructed in Activity 1 to research 3–5 chosen historical figures using the Internet (with parental supervision), reference books, or the public library, and to use unit readings and the America: Story of Us miniseries as sources for Activity 2. Students must collect facts and record them on index cards (Side #1) and generate questions (Side #2), which requires extracting information from those print and digital sources. The lesson repeatedly notes that independent research is required and asks students to use multiple kinds of sources.
Final Project
Living History
The lesson tells students they may "use your local library or (with a parent's permission) the Internet to conduct additional research for your project," and it directs students to review readings, activity pages, and the 'Things to Know' sections when studying. Students are asked to research details for their character's colony, reasons for discontent with Great Britain, and events/battles, and to follow up on audience questions by doing more research over the next day or two.
Unit 1: Atoms
Lesson 2
Atomic Structure
Students are directed to research scientists' discoveries using multiple web links provided in Activity 3 (Option 2) and to take notes and write brief summaries for each scientist. Option 1 and the timeline activity ask students to use the links to learn more and place discoveries on a timeline, which requires gathering information from several digital sources. The lesson lists specific reputable links (Khan Academy, Britannica, Nobel Prize, PBS, etc.) that students are expected to consult.
Lesson 4
Solid, Liquid, Gas: What's the Difference?
Students are asked to watch a specific YouTube video (first 2 minutes 30 seconds) and answer comprehension questions, providing practice with extracting information from a digital source. Option 2 explicitly directs students to use their book (pp. 16-21) and "other available resources" to list characteristics of gases, liquids, and solids, requiring them to gather information from multiple print and digital sources. The activity also asks students to create diagrams and complete charts based on the gathered information, which requires synthesizing content from those sources.
Lesson 5
Properties of Matter II
Students are directed to watch a provided online video ('Draw My Science: Mass, Volume, and Density') and then answer comprehension questions, showing they gather information from a digital source. The lesson also prompts students to "investigate the following online" (e.g., combustion point of a candle wick; does candle wax boil?), which asks students to seek additional information on the web. In the Reading and Questions section students record answers derived from the video, indicating they extract and report data from a source.
Lesson 6
The Recurring (Periodic) Table of Elements
Students are asked to read a specific webpage (the Britannica periodic table link) and to review periodic table images in Eyewitness Chemistry, then answer questions and complete activity pages using information from those sources. Activities require students to extract facts (atomic number, atomic mass, electron configuration, location of metals/nonmetals) from the provided digital and print materials and to fill in tables and cards. The lesson directs students to use the included periodic table image and textbook pages as references for checking answers.
Lesson 8
Final Project
Students are directed to gather information from multiple print sources (notes, activity pages, book, and vocabulary) to complete the study guide and survey. Students are instructed to use the Internet to identify the elements in materials, with a specific recommended search phrase ("Chemical structure of ________________") and a provided periodic table web link. Students are asked to do basic research to determine material types (e.g., stainless steel composition) and to use encyclopedias or "reliable Internet sites" for unfamiliar items.
Unit 1: Abigail Adams
Lesson 1
Getting to Know Abigail Adams
Students are prompted to explore front and back matter (table of contents, foreword, acknowledgments, chronology, bibliography) and to consult the book's bibliography to judge how extensive the author's research is. The lesson provides a 'Further Reading' list of other books about Abigail Adams and a web link to the publisher's page, which students can use as additional print/digital sources. The materials instruct students to use the electronic book's Search function to find words quickly, which supports locating information in a digital source.
Lesson 2
John and Abigail Adams
The lesson asks students to use endnote reference numbers and the book's Reference Notes to identify the original sources for quoted material (Questions 1 and 3). The Parent Plan and Skills list explicitly require students to "record bibliographic information (e.g., author, title, page number) ... according to a standard format" and to "differentiate between paraphrasing and plagiarism." The reading explains why citations matter and includes an explicit question (Question 4) asking students to judge whether the chapter sources seem valid and reliable.
Lesson 3
Unrest and War
Students are directed to read Chapters 5 and 6 of Abigail Adams: Witness to a Revolution and to use primary sources in Activity 2, including a Library of Congress engraving link and a digital diary entry from the Adams papers. Students are asked to examine those primary sources and then write a well-formed first-person paragraph that uses 2–3 specific examples from the sources to support an argument or narrative. The lesson also orients students to types of primary sources (diaries, letters, newspapers, visual arts, material objects) that historians use.
Lesson 5
Remember the Ladies
Students read multiple print and digital sources: assigned chapters from a biography plus linked primary-source letters on the Massachusetts Historical Society website. In Activity 1 and Option 2, students analyze primary sources using historian categories (author/creator, date, purpose, audience; type; content; context; point of view/bias) and compare how the biographer used quotations from those letters. The Parent Plan Skills statement asks students to utilize elements that demonstrate reliability and validity (publication date, coverage, language, point of view) and to explain why one source is more useful than another.
Lesson 7
Education
Students are instructed to work with a parent to identify a news article about girls' education by using Google with the search term "girls' education" and selecting the NEWS filter. The lesson provides curated digital sources (UNGEI, World Bank, UNICEF) that students can visit to gather information. Students are then asked to read the selected article and complete a Paragraph Analysis activity, identifying sentence roles and connections within a chosen paragraph.
Lesson 8
Genre
Students read specific print sources (Chapters 15 and 16 of a biography) and are invited to read correspondence between Abigail Adams and Thomas Jefferson firsthand, providing direct source material for their work. Students are asked to write a paragraph that "summarizes the scene... based solely on known facts -- do not add any details," which requires them to paraphrase nonfiction material in their own words. Students then rewrite or retell that scene in a chosen genre or graphic-novel format, using the summarized source as the basis for their work.
Lesson 9
The Vice Presidency
Students read printed chapters (Chapters 17 and 18 of Abigail Adams: Witness to a Revolution) and are directed to read at least two original letters between Abigail Adams and Thomas Jefferson via a provided National Archives/Founders Online web link. Students complete a diary-entry activity that requires them to identify the topics of a selected letter and describe Jefferson's influence, which requires synthesizing information from those primary-source letters. The activity asks students to read multiple documents and use their content to produce a written product in Abigail Adams's voice.
Lesson 11
Later Life
Students are directed to read Chapters 21 and 22 of Abigail Adams: Witness to a Revolution (a print source) and to look up descriptions in the book's index. Students are instructed to consult multiple digital sources by visiting the Adams National Historical Park site, a White House history page, and a Google Arts & Culture virtual tour to collect images and descriptions. Students are asked to use details from these print and digital sources to create artwork or complete a graphic organizer comparing the two homes.
Lesson 12
Remembering Abigail Adams
Students read chapters from a printed biography (Abigail Adams: Witness to a Revolution), which requires using a print source for information. In the memorial-design option, students are directed to "search the Internet" for pictures of memorials and are told that a link to the proposed Adams Memorial site may provide additional ideas, showing use of digital sources for background and inspiration.
Final Project
A One-Person Play
Students are required to use at least one direct quotation from a primary source in their play, and the instructions state that one scene must include a direct quotation drawn from the book or original documents. A web link to a digital archive of primary sources (https://www.masshist.org/digitaladams/archive/) is provided for student use. Planning pages include fields labeled "Relevant primary sources cited," and the rubric explicitly rewards "Includes reading from at least one primary source" and "Provides accurate dates and historical information."
Unit 2: Civics
Lesson 1
The Origins of American Government
Students read multiple print and digital primary sources provided in the lesson (excerpts of the Magna Carta, the full Mayflower Compact, selections from the English Bill of Rights, and a linked transcript of the Articles of Confederation). Students are directed to take notes, record locations of specific passages, and "summarize key ideas in your own words," and to cut out and sort document phrases into categories (limits, rights, responsibilities). The Articles of Confederation activity provides web links to a primary source transcript and a summarized secondary source for students to use while completing note-taking prompts.
Lesson 2
The Constitutional Convention
Students are directed to read specific online articles and primary-source collections (for example, the Archives "A More Perfect Union" article and the Library of Congress "Identifying Defects" page) and to watch a video on The Federalist Papers. Students are asked to conduct independent research using the Internet, encyclopedias, or a local library to complete the "Federalists vs. Anti-Federalists" activity pages and to fill biographical and analytical activity sheets. Activities require students to gather information from multiple print and digital sources and to use provided web links and primary-source materials.
Lesson 3
The Constitution of the United States
Students read the Constitution and take structured notes section-by-section, including the Preamble, Articles, and Amendments. Students use both print text (the Constitution and a historical documents collection) and digital resources by visiting the Library of Congress interactive and playing the iCivics Bill of Rights game. Students complete activities that require extracting key points and matching real-world scenarios to specific amendments, showing use of information from multiple sources.
Lesson 4
The Executive Branch
Students read primary print documents (George Washington's inaugural and farewell addresses) and review constitutional text (Article II and relevant Amendments). Students are directed to use multiple digital sources (White House websites, presidential library pages, National Archives links) to complete activities such as identifying cabinet members and examining presidential schedules. Students collect information to answer guided questions, create a mini-book summarizing the executive branch, and jot notes comparing schedules.
Lesson 5
The Legislative Branch
Students are directed to read Article I in a print collection and an overview on the White House website, showing use of multiple print and digital sources. Students are given web links (senate.gov, house.gov, congress.gov, GPO) and specific instructions for searching bills (e.g., using Sponsor or Cosponsor filters) to find legislation sponsored by their representatives. Students are asked to read the text of a bill and "Summarize, in your own words, what this bill is designed to do," which requires paraphrasing source material.
Lesson 6
The Judicial Branch
Students are directed to gather information from multiple print and digital sources: they are asked to review Article III in The Declaration of Independence and Other Great Documents of American History and to read the White House webpage about the judicial branch. Activity 1 directs students to use Federal Judicial Center pages and the iCivics Court Quest game, and Activity 2 asks students to research a landmark Supreme Court case online or at the library and provides a US Courts link. Students use these sources to complete the Landmark Cases activity page and a mini-book, recording case name, year, basis, decision, precedent, and modern relevance.
Lesson 7
State Government
Students are instructed to use online research or library research to complete a two-day booklet about their state government, and a direct web link (https://www.usa.gov/state-local-governments) is provided as a research starting point. Students are prompted to gather specific factual information (state name, capital, population, governor name and biography, legislature structure and membership, number of justices) and to find or create images for the booklet. The Parent Plan repeatedly advises consulting official state government websites to check answers and suggests field trips and library visits as research options.
Lesson 8
Local Government
Students are asked to gather information from multiple sources such as local government websites, local government offices, the public library, the phone book, and voter advocacy groups (Activity 1 and parent notes). Option 2 explicitly instructs students to "do some research (online or in your local library)" and to record findings on the "Change in Your Community" sheet. The "Whom Would You Call" activity requires students to identify specific local offices and list phone numbers for various real-world scenarios, prompting students to consult community sources.
Lesson 9
Citizenship
Students are directed to consult multiple digital sources: USCIS pages for citizenship (Option 1/2), five political party websites to identify party platforms (Activity 2), and news/government sites (NPR, Google News, CNN, White House, House, Senate) for issue research (Activity 3). Instructions ask students to explore at least two resources, summarize party positions in a chart, and summarize elected officials' and the president's positions in the Action Plan pages. Students are asked to do background research, identify state and local government websites, and use information found online to complete written summaries and charts.
Unit 2: Chemical Reactions
Lesson 5
Acids and Bases
Students are directed to read specific pages in a print source (pp. 42–45 in Eyewitness Chemistry) and to use a provided web link (USGS pH Color Code) to inform their color scale. The Parent Plan explicitly instructs students or parents to perform a simple Internet search using the phrase "pH of ___________" to find pH values for additional substances. The Student Activity Page and answer key require students to compare their experimental observations with reference pH values obtained from these sources.
Lesson 6
Physical and Chemical Properties, Part I
Students are directed to use both print and digital sources such as a provided periodic table (or one found online) and specific web links (a USGS page and videos) to learn about specific heat and related concepts. Students are asked to watch a linked video about a catalyst and to click links to find out more about the specific heat of water. Students use these sources as part of activities (Activity 3: Periodic Table; Activity 6: Water and Specific Heat) when completing worksheets and answering questions.
Lesson 8
Periodic Characteristics
Students are asked to re-read specific print pages ("Making a Precipitate" p.35 and pp.44–45 of Eyewitness Chemistry) and to use their copy of the periodic table (pp.40–41 of Atoms) when completing Activity 1. In the activities students record element symbols, material type (metal/nonmetal/metalloid), group numbers, and pH values from provided charts, and they use those data to decide whether reactions produce salts. The lesson provides a pH table and an answer key that students use to extract factual information for their analyses.
Lesson 10
Synthetic or Natural?
Students are directed to investigate listed substances using multiple web links (Mayo Clinic, Wikipedia, Drugs.com, WebMD, etc.) and are prompted to "find other sites" using a search phrase like "________ benefits and risks," which asks them to use search terms. Students are asked to conduct research on a chemical substance commonly used in their geographic area and to complete a table recording risks, benefits, and value explanations based on gathered information. These tasks require students to gather relevant information from multiple digital sources and to apply search strategies.
Final Project
Chemistry in Action
Students are asked to research a chosen medicine and to complete a detailed investigation that includes chemical name and formula, benefits, harms, side effects, mechanisms, natural occurrence, and availability. Students collect evidence to support an executive decision and prepare a multi-slide presentation (including slides for chemical name/formula, benefits/risks, and evidence) and are encouraged to use technology and images downloaded from reputable Internet sites. Parent notes reiterate that students "gather evidence" and "apply the steps of scientific argumentation" to support their claim.
Unit 2: Animal Farm
Lesson 1
What Is a Theme?
Students read multiple print elements surrounding Animal Farm (front and back covers, author biography, preface/foreword, and table of contents) and answer specific questions about what they learn from those materials. The activity explicitly allows students to use online research if their edition lacks introductory material, so students may gather information from digital sources as they complete the pre-reading questions.
Lesson 3
The Rebellion
Students are asked to read Chapter 2 of Animal Farm and to "review the Bill of Rights and the Seven Commandments," requiring them to work with at least two distinct texts. In the Characters as Leaders activity students are instructed to "list specific examples to support your assertions," which asks students to gather and use textual evidence from the novel. The Seven Commandments activity asks students to compare two documents and answer questions about which places more restrictions, prompting students to extract information from both sources.
Lesson 4
Work on the Farm
Students read Chapter 3 and answer direct comprehension questions that require extracting relevant information (e.g., What work did the pigs do? What was Boxer's personal motto?). In Activity 1 students are explicitly instructed to "use specific examples from the text to support your points" as they compare Manor Farm and Animal Farm. Students complete short-answer and graphic-organizer tasks that require selecting and reporting details from the provided text.
Lesson 6
Comrade Napoleon
Students are asked to conduct historical research in an encyclopedia, at a local library, or online (with permission) to complete the "Animal Farm and the Russian Revolution" activity pages. The activity pages require students to record birth/death dates, roles, connections to Animal Farm, and "specific evidence that leads you to make that connection." The lesson provides two specific web links (BBC pages) as digital sources students may use.
Lesson 9
The Battle of the Windmill
Students read Chapter 8 and answer Question #2, which asks how often claims (numbers, stories about Frederick, accounts of Snowball) are backed up with credible evidence and why misinformation might be spread. Students also are prompted to consider the presence of reassurances, explanations, and the dogs' influence when judging the reliability of claims in the text.
Lesson 10
Boxer's Fate
Students are explicitly asked to "cite the textual evidence that most strongly supports an analysis" in the Skills section and to "provide evidence from the text to support that argument" in the Things to Know and activity instructions. In Activities 1 and 2, students must identify and list specific incidents from Animal Farm that illustrate themes and "be specific" on the Student Activity Pages. The Developing a Theme and Analyzing Theme tasks require students to point to particular parts of the story and use those quotations or paraphrased incidents as support.
Lesson 11
The Farmers Pay a Visit
The lesson explicitly tells students in Option 1 that they "can, if necessary, do some research to determine specific historical facts" to support their paragraph, and the Parent Plan repeats that Option 1 "may require some research." Students are asked to include at least two specific examples and may "do some research" to determine specific historical facts to share in their letter.
Final Project
Animal Farm Letter
The Skills section explicitly tells students to "Cite the textual evidence that most strongly supports an analysis," and the rubric's "Ideas" category evaluates the student's use of appropriate evidence from the text, so students are required to locate and cite evidence from Animal Farm. The drafting and editing steps ask students to use the Sample Outline and Sample Letter as models and state that the student's letter must be "significantly different from the example provided," which encourages students to avoid copying. The unit activities center on constructing a letter based on the novel and require students to support claims about themes and characters with textual examples.
Unit 3: The Antebellum West
Lesson 2
The Early Presidents
Students are directed to gather information from multiple digital and print sources (the White House Historical Association biographies, the TeachingAmericanHistory Adams speech link, an albert.io article, and selected pages from a document collection). Students are asked to take notes in a graphic organizer and to add timeline cards based on their reading. Students are required to paraphrase and summarize primary texts (Option 2: summarize each paragraph of Jefferson's inaugural address) and to write brief analyses comparing two speeches.
Lesson 3
The Beginnings of Westward Expansion
Students are directed to visit multiple print and digital sources (Kiddle article, a YouTube video, History.com summary, Academickids paragraph, the Avalon Project text, Boone Trace website, and a primary account of Daniel Boone) and then answer specific reading questions. Students read background pages and a primary historical account and use a provided map image to extract information for a crossword and comprehension questions. The reading-and-questions section asks students to report factual details (for example, the ordinance's official title and date, population requirements, and effects on Native Americans) drawn from those sources.
Lesson 4
The Louisiana Purchase
Students are assigned multiple print and digital sources to read and use, including Chapter 1 of Joy Hakim's book and several web resources (a Wikipedia map, a PBS interactive, a National Geographic archived site, and a PDF about tribes). Students are directed to use an atlas or online map to label states and to print images from online sources for their timelines. Option 2 explicitly instructs students to "summarize the moment in your own words," which asks students to paraphrase information.
Lesson 5
The War of 1812
Students watch a PBS documentary (digital source) and are directed to read Chapter 3 of a print history book, giving them multiple print and digital sources to gather information. Students read four short essays on the PBS website representing American, British, Canadian, and Native Nations perspectives and use those essays to complete either a movie review or a comparative chart. Students are asked to read bolded passages of the Monroe Doctrine and "summarize each of those bold-type sections in your own words," which asks them to paraphrase primary-source passages.
Lesson 6
The Trail of Tears
Students are directed to read multiple print and digital primary and secondary sources via provided web links (PBS article, Jackson's message, General Scott's ultimatum, Chief John Ross's letter, John Burnett's account, WPA interviews). Students are instructed to record at least four arguments for and four objections to Indian Removal and to write brief summaries of personal narratives, explicitly telling students to record these ideas "in your own words." Students also complete scenario responses and timeline activities that require synthesizing information from the assigned readings.
Lesson 7
Border Conflict and the Mexican War
Students read multiple print sources (Chapters 8–11 of A History of Us and Enrique Esparza: Inside the Alamo from We Were There, Too!) and view primary visual sources (two Manifest Destiny paintings). Students must record a direct quote from Esparza and write a summary sentence, explanatory sentence, and a later-life sentence about him, and they answer analytical questions about the paintings that require interpreting others' ideas. An optional web link to the Alamo site and a link to the Capitol mural page provide digital resources students may explore.
Lesson 8
The Gold Rush and Further Expansion
Students are directed to read multiple print and digital sources, including Chapters 12-14 of A History of Us, specific chapters from We Were There, Too!, and linked primary-source webpages such as the Library of Congress collection and a 1852 letter by Mary Ballou. Students are asked to use information from these readings to prepare a 3–5 minute personal narrative monologue and to write either a letter from a miner or an acrostic poem, requiring synthesis of information from those sources. The lesson provides several web links (PBS pages, LOC) for additional perspectives on the Gold Rush and westward migration.
Lesson 9
Life in the Mid-Nineteenth Century West
Students read print chapters from A History of Us (Joy Hakim) and are directed to view multiple digital photo collections (The Atlantic and the National Archives) and to select 10–12 photographs before choosing one for deeper work. Students complete an image analysis worksheet or produce creative writing based on a selected historical photograph, and they answer guided reading questions based on the assigned text.
Final Project
A Westward Migration Story
Students are instructed to identify appropriate images online for the art gallery and to copy down the URL for each website where an image was found, then record that information on a gallery card. The rubric for the art gallery explicitly requires that a citation showing the source for each image is clearly displayed. The storyboard option also permits students to find images online to print and use in their storyboard panels.
Unit 3: Energy and Matter
Lesson 1
Introducing Energy
Students are asked to read a printed book (What Is Energy?) and are given an online link if they do not have a hard copy. Students are directed to view multiple digital resources (two YouTube videos and a Google Images search link about solar panels) and to use information from those sources when answering questions and discussing with a parent. Students are required to use evidence from their bottle experiment in a 3–5 sentence written justification.
Lesson 4
Electromagnetic and Sound Waves
Students are directed to re-read pages 8–10 (online pages 8–11) of What Is Energy? and to watch two linked videos (Longitudinal Wave Propagation on a Slinky and Transverse Waves), which requires them to gather information from both print and digital sources. Students answer specific questions based on the reading and videos, and they use the content to complete activities and data interpretation. The lesson provides explicit web links to digital sources for students to consult.
Lesson 8
Energy Sources and Sustainability
Students are directed to consult multiple online resources (a household appliance power table, a Forbes article on solar pros and cons, Project Sunroof, and a solar power calculator) and to record numerical data (usable sunlight hours, roof square footage, recommended kW) from those sites. Students enter an address into Project Sunroof and use the solar calculator to generate and record specific values, then use those values to compute installation size, costs, and long-term savings. Students are prompted to compare advantages and disadvantages from the readings and to summarize and justify a recommendation about installing solar panels.
Final Project
Harnessing the Wind
Students are directed to read and summarize information from multiple provided web sources (e.g., TVA coal plant page, USGS hydroelectric page, DOE wind pages, Small Wind Guidebook) and to use those sources for a presentation. Students are asked explicitly to "summarize what you read in your own words" or draw diagrams, and to "do some research about wind turbines" and use the listed websites to investigate pros and cons. Students are encouraged to use an image search engine to view images of turbines, indicating some guided online searching.
Unit 3: Einstein Adds a New Dimension
Lesson 1
Expository Writing
Students practice choosing and testing search terms in Activity 1, Part II (Index), where they identify words to look up (e.g., "Forces" vs. "Atoms"), conduct searches using those terms, and evaluate which terms worked best. Students locate and name front- and back-matter elements (copyright page, bibliography, picture credits, permissions) and are directed to use the copyright page to give proper credit when quoting material. The materials also point students to a digital Expository Writing resource and ask them to use the book's organizational tools (table of contents, index, sidebars) to find information efficiently.
Lesson 3
The Curies' Discoveries
The lesson instructs students to take notes in their own words and to include page numbers for complex information, and it tells students to look up terms in the index or use a dictionary/thesaurus. The highlighting/annotation option has students interact with digital/print text directly and a web link to a chemical element page (Moscovium) is provided as an external resource. Sample notes and strategies model summarizing key ideas (e.g., radioactivity, discoveries) and annotating text with definitions and comments.
Lesson 4
Process Writing
Students are instructed to refer to specific pages in the textbook for background information (p.13, pp.18-25, pp.70-75, pp.166-169), and Option 1 allows students to "refer to a book or website to confirm key details" while requiring that "all wording should be your own." Option 2 tells students they will "probably need to refer to the book to confirm key details such as names and dates, but all wording should be your own." The parent notes and wrap-up also ask students to keep their writing for later reference and to have a peer or sibling read their work for clarity.
Lesson 5
Envisioning Fission
The Parent Plan and Skills list explicitly require students to gather relevant information from a variety of print and digital sources and to use search terms effectively. Activity 2 and its Tips (e.g., Tip #1 and Tip #2) have students practice choosing specific search terms and interpreting search results. The Internet Research activity asks students to visit three web pages and answer questions about credibility, accuracy, understandability, and appropriateness for formal research, and the Chapter 23 timeline requires students to take notes from text chapters and record events.
Lesson 6
Cause and Effect Writing
Students are directed to refer to The Story of Science (specific pages are assigned) and to include page numbers in parentheses for specific information they use. Students are told to use their own words and, if they must copy a phrase, to put it in quotation marks and include a page number. The lesson explicitly states this is not a research paper and that the correct format for giving credit will be taught later in the unit.
Lesson 7
Relativity
Students are asked to read chapters from a printed book (Joy Hakim) and are given two web links to videos, which requires gathering information from both print and digital sources. In Activity 1 students are instructed to "look up each term" and "try to use your own words when you can," prompting students to research vocabulary and paraphrase definitions. In Activity 2 students are allowed to use images from the Internet, are told to determine what audience needs defined terms, and must use at least three domain-specific terms on their poster, which encourages integrating information from online and print sources.
Lesson 8
Comparison and Contrast Writing
Students are told they may use examples from the book and are instructed to include page numbers when they use specific information from the book. Students are instructed to put quotation marks around any brief phrases or sentences copied from the book and are told to try to use their own words where possible (paraphrasing). The lesson includes a linked video as a digital source that students may view for clarification.
Lesson 9
Avoiding Plagiarism
Students read assigned chapters and complete activities that require them to paraphrase and summarize text and to choose the best paraphrase from options, directly practicing quoting, paraphrasing, and avoiding plagiarism. Students classify statements as Common Knowledge (CK), Give Credit (GC), or Give Credit and Quote (GCQ), showing practice in identifying when citation is required. Students are instructed to write down sources and page numbers and are given concrete paraphrasing tips and an example that demonstrates how to paraphrase accurately.
Lesson 10
Problem and Solution Writing
Students are assigned reading from a specific print source (The Story of Science: Einstein Adds a Dimension), indicating use of a print text. Students are explicitly told "do not consult Internet sources" and instructed to "use your own words," which directs them to paraphrase and avoid plagiarism. The lesson also includes a web link as a digital resource and states that "in the next lesson you will learn the correct way to give credit to sources," acknowledging future instruction on citation.
Lesson 11
Citing Sources
The lesson explicitly teaches MLA parenthetical citations and a Works Cited page, with examples and practice (Part I asks students to identify correct/incorrect parenthetical citations; Part II asks students to create Works Cited entries). The Student Activity has students quote and paraphrase (exercise 3) and reminds students to give credit whenever they use information or quotations. The materials include both print (assigned chapters from The Story of Science) and digital sources (ESA Kids and DOE links) and a question about Boolean AND/OR demonstrating use of search terms.
Final Project
Research Paper
Students are directed to gather information from at least three sources (one being the assigned book) and to record page numbers or URLs using KWS charts, research notes, or notecards (Activities 2, 4, 5). Students are instructed to copy exact phrases in quotation marks, paraphrase with credit, use an online citation builder, and produce a Works Cited page in correct alphabetical order; the rubric and Day 4 instructions explicitly require correct citation format. The unit test and review pages include questions and review items on plagiarism, quoting vs. paraphrasing, and parenthetical citation format, and the rubric lists "appropriate credit and correct format for citations."
Unit 4: Antebellum America
Lesson 2
The Rise of Capitalism
Students are asked to read assigned pages from a printed history book and to visit two specified web pages (Miller Center and Avalon Project) to read background and primary-source texts. Students are invited to use Internet sources to learn more about timeline topics and to copy the full text of Jackson's veto message into a word-cloud generator. Students complete activities that require extracting statements from readings and sorting or responding to them (e.g., the supporters/opponents chart and activity questions).
Lesson 3
Technology and Infrastructure
Students are directed to read Chapter 18 of History of US and sections from We Were There, Too!, providing multiple print sources for their work. Students are asked to locate the Erie Canal on a U.S. map and to visit a PBS web page about the canal, giving a specific digital source to consult. Students are invited to use the Internet to print images for their Erie Canal advertisement, which requires consulting at least one online resource.
Lesson 4
Immigration and Migration
Students are directed to read multiple print sources (Chapter 19 of Joy Hakim's A History of US and selections from Phillip Hoose's We Were There, Too!) and to view digital sources (two web pages of 19th-century famine images). Students use provided census data (a printed/digital table) to create a color-coded immigration map and are instructed to read image titles/descriptions and to reread stories to ensure completeness. These tasks require students to gather and use information from both print and digital materials.
Lesson 5
Education and Women's Rights
The activity instructions tell students to "use online or library-based research to help you learn more about the person and answer at least three of your questions," and the parent plan reiterates that students will need to find appropriate sources. The Student Activity Page directs students to write interview questions and write possible answers for three questions, which requires that students locate information from sources. The timeline and reading tasks also require students to read Chapters 21–24 as a print source for background information.
Lesson 6
Art and Literature
Students are directed to read chapters 29–31 of a print textbook (A History of US) and to read several poems via provided Poetry Foundation links and the Audubon website, and they are asked to look up tall-tale stories online or at a library. Students must use these print and digital sources to answer comprehension questions, to find examples of Transcendentalist values, and to produce responses (answers, a poem, or artwork with observation sentences).
Lesson 7
The Agrarian Economy and Slavery
Students are directed to read multiple print and digital sources (chapters from A History of US and We Were There, the PBS "Africans in America" page, the Library of Congress slave narratives, the National Cotton Council PDF, and online artifact collections) and to use those sources to complete activities. Students use provided data (the "Slavery By the Numbers" table) to create a graph and answer analysis questions, and they are asked to choose and summarize two slave narratives and to research artifacts from linked digital museum collections. Several activities require students to gather information from more than one source and synthesize it into written responses, charts, or exhibit pages.
Final Project
A Poster Session
Students are asked to draw on readings from books used in the unit and may "do additional research online or in your local library," indicating opportunities to gather information from multiple sources. Students are instructed to include images printed from online sources and to give appropriate credit or note the URL where an image was found. Students must pull 2–3 quotes from speeches and note the name of the speaker and region, and the rubric asks for "accurate, well-chosen information" and at least one map, graph, or table to support main points.
Unit 4: Biochemistry
Lesson 1
Introduction to Biological Chemistry
Students are instructed to conduct an internet search for "graphite" and "diamond" and to use information from that search together with the provided excerpt to record characteristics. Students are directed to use the USDA Food Data Central link or other online calorie counters and nutrition labels to look up calorie information for entries in their food journal. Activities require students to gather specific facts from digital sources to complete comparisons and to populate their food/calorie tracking tables.
Lesson 3
Organic and Inorganic Molecules
Students are asked to choose two inorganic substances and "conduct research" using the provided web links (Zinc, Salt, Iron, Potassium, Magnesium) and to complete fields such as chemical symbol, functions in the human body, and how the body obtains the substance. Students are given an explicit search example for nutrition information—entering "daily values for _______"—to find typical Nutrition Facts labels for the Diet Survey. Students record observations and compare grams of fat, carbohydrate, and protein from labels, demonstrating gathering and using data from digital sources.
Lesson 5
Exposure and Feedback
Students are instructed in Activity 2 to use the Internet and provided CDC links to look up each chemical agent and to fill a chart with type, dose for toxicity, and sources. The activity explicitly tells students to use search terms such as "toxic dose of ________" and to look up unfamiliar terms, and Activity 3 directs students to use Internet searches (including symptoms as search terms) to investigate treatments and complete diagnostic charts. Students are also asked to have a parent check the accuracy of their chart after gathering information.
Lesson 6
Immune Response, Part I
Students are asked to "research scientists" and specifically instructed in Activity 4 to use "an encyclopedia or Internet research" to learn about immune-system discoveries and answer questions. The lesson provides digital sources (two YouTube video links in Activity 1) and directs students to watch videos and read the activity pages. The activities require students to collect factual information about historical scientists and mechanisms of immunity from these print and digital materials.
Lesson 7
Immune Response, Part II
Students are directed to use information from provided digital sources (two YouTube videos and an optional CDC web app link) to answer questions, take notes, and complete activity pages. Option 2 explicitly asks students to watch a video, define terms, create illustrations, and summarize the immune process in a list or flow chart. Activity 2 asks students to analyze interview data on the activity pages to identify the source of an illness, using the supplied tables and clues.
Lesson 8
Intake and Health
Students are asked to use information from the reading and online research (for example, the NIH Office of Dietary Supplements link) to complete the Nutrient Amounts table, and the activity explicitly tells students to use the site's search field to look up specific substances. The Alcohol Research activity directs students to read CDC and PBS fact sheets and suggests search terms such as "alcohol fact sheet" or "alcohol health risks," indicating students will locate multiple digital sources. The lesson provides several explicit web links (NIH, CDC, PBS) and asks students to read those sources and answer content questions based on them.
Final Project
Analyzing Your Food Journal
Students are asked in Part 9 to "do a brief investigation" into fats that includes researching the nutrient's importance, acceptable consumption rates, signs of overconsumption, and comparing their own intake. The lesson provides multiple web links (e.g., American Heart Association, ChooseMyPlate, WebMD) and instructs students to "use the worksheets called 'Impact of a Proper Diet' to document your research findings." The project rubric also evaluates "Use of Data and Research," which directs students to incorporate research into their final presentation.
Unit 4: Adventures of Huckleberry Finn
Lesson 1
Introduction to Mark Twain and the Novel
Students are instructed to visit multiple specific websites (about Mark Twain, maps of free and slave states, PBS dialect pages, and slavery history pages) and to record information and direct quotes in a journal. Students complete web-based activities: mapping slave/free states, summarizing articles about slave life, answering guided questions after watching a video, and collecting vocabulary and dialect evidence from online sources. The Parent Plan lists a skill to "analyze the purpose of information presented in diverse media and formats and evaluate the motives" which students practice when answering questions about media and dialect.
Lesson 2
Point of View
Students are asked to read and analyze a variety of texts (books, magazines, online articles, and newspapers) for the "What's the Point" activity and to record the title and the author's point of view. The parent plan explicitly directs collecting online articles and other sources for students to read aloud and identify the narrative perspective. Students also read assigned chapters of Adventures of Huckleberry Finn and answer comprehension questions, demonstrating use of print texts.
Lesson 5
Expository Writing
Students view a digital "Types of Writing" slideshow and take notes in a journal, and they read Chapters 16–18 of the novel and answer text-based questions. Students are directed to collect information on Huck and Jim using a Venn diagram and to "support your ideas with evidence from the text," with examples suggesting use of dialogue or events as support. A parent-guided activity asks families to collect samples of fiction, nonfiction, magazine articles, newspaper articles, and speeches so students can identify types of writing, indicating engagement with multiple print and digital sources.
Lesson 6
The Power of Persuasion
Students are directed to review two digital sources (a "Types of Writing" slideshow on YouTube and an online "Persuasive Essay Example") as part of the activities. Students read and analyze the sample persuasive essay, identifying the thesis, the three supporting reasons, and for each reason they list one type of evidence the writer provides (facts, statistics, personal experiences, quotations). Students brainstorm and write their own persuasive sentences and plan evidence types (examples, anecdotes, statistics) to support their thesis statements.
Lesson 7
Persuasive Writing
Students are directed to read an online article (the provided CBS News link) about the Huckleberry Finn editing debate and then decide whether the novel should be changed. Students are asked to "gather your evidence," use an online Persuasion Map planner to record facts or examples, and to use a combination of types of evidence to support their two reasons. The Parent Plan notes supporting claims with accurate, credible sources as a skill to check.
Lesson 8
Hiding the Money
Students are asked to research a variety of writing forms by examining newspapers, magazines, online articles, encyclopedias, picture books, chapter books, and instructional manuals. Students will collect and sort those print and digital examples into three collages (persuasive, narrative, expository) and may print or photocopy sections of texts or write out parts of sample text to include on the collages. The Parent Plan identifies a skill of conducting short research projects to answer a question about types of writing and showing knowledge by examining and researching styles of writing.
Lesson 9
Irony
Students watch three assigned videos (digital sources) and read Chapters 29–32 of Adventures of Huckleberry Finn (a print source) and record examples of irony on a chart. In Option 2, students are asked to find one example of each type of irony from the novel and from other books or movies and to create their own examples. Students take notes from the videos, categorize examples (cutting/gluing or chart entries), and compare their examples to provided answer keys.
Lesson 11
Mark Twain's Influence
Students read Chapters 37–40 of Adventures of Huckleberry Finn (a print source) and are directed to two online videos of slave narratives (digital sources) to listen to and take notes. Students are asked to compare and contrast the lives and dialects from the chosen narrative to the character Jim and to note figurative language, demonstrating gathering relevant information from multiple sources and recording observations.
Unit 5: Civil War
Lesson 1
Sectional Differences
Students are assigned a print reading (Fields of Fury) and are explicitly told in Option 1 to conduct additional research using their local library or Internet-based sources; several web links are provided as starting points. Students are instructed to read the "Conflicts & Compromises" resource page and use that plus outside sources to write a letter summarizing an individual's position, which requires gathering information from multiple sources.
Lesson 2
Moving Toward War
Students are directed to read a print excerpt (pages 8–11 of Fields of Fury by James McPherson) and to consult multiple online sources (a Senate web summary, a PBS biography of Calhoun, and an NPS article) to complete activities. Students use information from these print and digital sources to summarize Webster and Calhoun, complete a numeric chart comparing North and South, and add items to a timeline. Students answer specific reading questions and fill activity pages that require extracting data and viewpoints from the provided sources.
Lesson 3
The Start of the War
Students are assigned both print (pp. 14-17 in McPherson's Fields of Fury) and digital sources (links to Jefferson Davis's and Abraham Lincoln's inaugural addresses on the Avalon Project), which requires them to gather information from multiple sources. Students are instructed to take notes in their own words after reading each paragraph and to indicate the title of the source and page or paragraph number on each page of notes. When using images found online for the Fort Sumter timeline, students are told to write down the URL underneath each image as a way of citing their sources.
Lesson 4
Early Days of the War
Students read assigned pages from two different print sources (Fields of Fury by James McPherson and selected sections of We Were There, Too! by Phillip Hoose) and use details from those readings to answer guided questions. Students extract facts about specific battles and people to complete Civil War battle cards and to add events to a timeline. Students use maps and images on the Student Activity Page to record outcomes, important people, and significance for Union and Confederate sides.
Lesson 6
The Emancipation Proclamation
Students are directed to read multiple print sources (Fields of Fury; We Were There, Too!) and to visit specified digital resources (two Massachusetts Historical Society links). Students are asked to use information from these readings and the online resources to answer questions, add to Civil War battle cards, and write a letter or create a care package. The activity prompts require students to draw on facts and perspectives from those sources when composing their responses.
Lesson 8
The War's End
Students are assigned specific pages in Fields of Fury (pages 74-89) and readings from We Were There, Too and are asked to answer content questions, add facts to Civil War battle cards, and complete timeline and Reconstruction activities. The lesson requires students to extract information from these multiple print sources to complete short-answer questions, create art projects based on textual accounts, and justify positions for Reconstruction scenarios.
Unit 5: Microbiology and Cell Theory
Lesson 1
Cell Theory
Students are assigned to read specific pages (4-5 and 18-21) of the printed book What Is Cell Theory by Marina Cohen and answer comprehension questions. Students are directed to use the Microbiology and Cell Theory Coloring Book (with a downloadable PDF link) for labeling and diagram activities. Students are instructed to refer back to What Is Cell Theory to check their diagrams and to use both the printed book and the downloadable coloring pages to complete tasks.
Lesson 3
The Structures of Eukaryotic Cells
Students are asked to view three provided web videos (Features of Eukaryotic Cells; The Endomembrane System; Cellular Respiration) and answer specific content questions, which requires gathering information from multiple digital sources. Students also work with print-based materials (three coloring-book pages and Student Activity Pages) to identify organelles and complete matching and model-building activities, showing use of multiple print and digital resources. The question set asks students to summarize organelle functions (e.g., lysosome, cytoskeleton, smooth ER), indicating they must extract and restate information from those sources.
Lesson 4
Protists
Students are directed to read three linked web articles (Animal-like Protists, Plant-like Protists, Fungus-like Protists) and to use information from all three sources to answer specific content questions. Students are asked to compare diagrams and complete a chart using information from the provided materials, which requires synthesizing information across multiple print/digital sources. The activities ask students to use the collected information to answer follow-up and higher-order questions about protist characteristics and functions.
Lesson 5
Prokaryotes
Students are directed to "explore different resources" and are given multiple print and digital sources to read and watch (a video, two web articles, and a PDF). Students are asked to look for distinctions in those readings and to use information from the resources to write paragraphs comparing prokaryotic and eukaryotic cells. The activities require students to synthesize information from the listed sources when completing the Recognizing Prokaryotes paragraph and the culturing experiment write-up.
Lesson 6
Understanding Microbes
Students are directed to gather information from multiple print and digital sources: specific web resources (Viral Attack, Flu Attack!, Inside Viruses, optional videos) are listed and students must read/watch them and use the information to answer guided questions. Activity 2 explicitly asks students to use Internet research from "well-respected sources" (universities or respected organizations) to decide whether viruses are living and to provide reasoning based on those sources.
Lesson 7
Specialized Cells
Students are asked to read specified pages of a print book (What Is Cell Theory? pages 20-25 and 38-45) and to "do some Internet research" on a chosen cell, showing they gather information from both print and digital sources. The lesson explicitly invites students to optionally search online for images and provides web links (Human Cell Atlas and KidsHealth) for digital sourcing. Students are instructed to record information on the activity page, which requires them to collect and synthesize information from these sources.
Lesson 8
Mitosis
Students are directed to gather information by watching a specified video and reading pages 30-31 of What Is Cell Theory? by Marina Cohen. Students are asked to refer to the "Stages of Mitosis" sheet and the book to check their work, and provided web links (YouTube videos and Animaker) as digital resources. The optional extension asks students to use technology (video editing, PowerPoint, stop-action animation) to create a presentation based on the clay models, implying use of digital sources and tools.
Final Project
Outbreak Prevention
Students are instructed to "use the Internet, research these respiratory infections" (Activity 2) and to research how SARS is spread using specific web links (Activity 5 lists WHO, Mayo Clinic, and Cleveland Clinic). Students are also asked in Optional Activity 6 to contact a local health department or hospital to get questions answered, gathering information from a professional source. These activities require students to collect information from multiple digital and human sources to complete their tasks.
Unit 5: Elijah of Buxton
Lesson 1
Introduction to the Novel
Students are directed to consult multiple digital sources (PBS article, Pathways to Freedom pages, an eyewitness autobiography excerpt, author biography page, YouTube videos, and online maps) to learn about the Underground Railroad, the author, and the Buxton community. Students are asked to read specified sections, watch videos, locate places on maps, and then answer guided questions or produce written work (journal entry, poem/song, speech) based on those sources. Students complete a structured activity page about the author that requires extracting factual details from the provided web content.
Lesson 2
The Preacher
Students read and compare two printed passages (George Fitzhugh and Frederick Douglass) and answer guided questions that ask them to contrast the views and evaluate which voice seems more authentic. Students perform close-text analysis of Douglass's passage by circling vivid adjectives and underlining the verb repeated most often to identify persuasive techniques. Students also respond in writing about whether Douglass's account is persuasive and what features of his writing make it effective.
Lesson 3
Creating a Character
Students are instructed to "skim back through the first six chapters to find evidence" and to "record textual evidence from the novel for each category," which asks them to locate and note information from a print source. The student activity pages include a specific section for "Quotes from Elijah," prompting students to copy or cite direct lines from the text. The Creating a Character activity tells students to "cut a picture of a character from a magazine or print a picture from the Internet," which requires obtaining material from a digital source.
2: Semester 2
Unit 1: History of Your State
Lesson 1
Your State's Natural History
Students are instructed to consult multiple digital and print resources: specific federal and state web links are provided for geologic provinces, biomes, and state maps, and the text explicitly allows use of online resources or a local library. The lesson tells students to search the province name on the Internet and suggests doing a Google search for "biomes of [your state]," indicating practice with using search terms. Students are asked to read webpages and record facts and images on activity pages and to use multiple links for Alaska and Hawaii when relevant.
Lesson 2
Flora and Fauna
Students are instructed to use field guides, library research, and online sources to find information for their journals. The lesson gives explicit search tips (example queries, using a + before a search term) to help students use search terms effectively. Students are told to prefer sites from universities, government offices, well-known non-profits, museums, libraries, or science centers to improve reliability and to jot down the sources they use. Students are also told to print the URL beneath any online image they attach to their journal to give credit to the image source.
Lesson 4
The History of Your State
Students are instructed to research using both local library books and online sources and to use search queries such as "[state name] museums" or "[state name] history." The lesson tells students to take organized notes on index cards and to write the URL for each source on the back of the card, and it requires writing the URL under any printed image on the visual timeline. The lesson provides guidance for assessing site credibility (favoring .gov and .edu sites, official state institutions, and checking for an identifiable author) and offers links to curated state websites and museum resources.
Lesson 5
State Leaders
Students are directed to "look up information about that person online or at your local library" and to complete activity pages based on that research. The Student Activity Page includes a "Sources" area that asks students to list "Websites and/or books you used (Be sure to list specific URLs for websites or exact titles and authors for books you used in your research)." The lesson also asks students to print and paste a picture and to use note-taking activity pages, and parents are asked to help identify appropriate sources and supervise internet use.
Lesson 6
Your State by the Numbers
Students are directed to gather historical population data from a provided webpage (Wikipedia "List of U.S. States by Historical Population") and plot those data points on a graph. Students are instructed to use the U.S. Census Bureau QuickFacts site to look up state and county demographic data and record those figures on the provided activity pages. Students are also directed to consult the NASBO Fiscal Survey of the States report to extract state budget tables and complete the State Budgets activity; instructions include using site search fields, selecting states/counties, and manipulating table columns and map views.
Lesson 7
Your State's Economy
Students are instructed to use online research to complete a mini-book about their state's economy and to conduct Internet searches to identify top industries and major employers. The lesson provides multiple digital sources (50states.com, FactMonster, and a Wikipedia page listing state GDP) and directs students to use company websites and a provided web link to find specific GSP data.
Lesson 8
Your State and the Arts
Students are directed to find names and works of state artists using multiple digital sources such as 50states.com, Infoplease, Wikipedia lists, the NEA site, and library searches. Students are given example search phrases (e.g., "[state name] poets") and instructed to use an Internet search or local library to locate recordings, sheet music, or poems. Students are asked to print the URL of each website beneath printed images, which records where information was found.
Unit 1: Genetics and DNA
Lesson 1
The Importance of DNA
Students are directed to gather information from multiple print and digital sources: they read specified pages of Genetics: Breaking the Code of Your DNA and are given optional videos and web links (including QR codes) to view. The lesson asks students to pay attention to specific terms associated with genetic material and the genetic code and to use linked videos to help understand concepts. Students use those sources to answer targeted content questions and to support hands-on activities like the strawberry DNA extraction.
Lesson 2
Inheritance
Students are assigned a printed source (read pages 6–11 of Genetics: Breaking the Code of Your DNA) and are offered two optional digital videos (YouTube links), so they gather information from both print and digital media. Students use those sources to answer guided questions (about Mendel's conclusions and inheritance) and to form hypotheses about dominant and recessive traits that they compare to an answer key. The coin-flip and data-recording activities require students to collect and use information from the assigned materials to make and test predictions.
Lesson 4
Reproduction and Change
Students read assigned pages from a print book (Genetics: Breaking the Code of Your DNA) and examine diagrams, and students view specified digital resources (a YouTube video and a Learn.Genetics webpage) and answer content questions. Students complete activities that require extracting information from those print and digital sources (e.g., answering comprehension questions on meiosis, mutations, and DNA) and use their models to explain genetic concepts. The lesson explicitly directs students to use multiple print and digital sources to learn about genes, chromosomes, and reproduction.
Lesson 5
From Generation to Generation
Students are instructed to read a specific online article (the provided "Ten Human Genetic Traits" web link) and use information from that site to complete the "Investigating Genealogy Chart." Students also collect data by surveying family members (Option 1) or by using provided sample family data (Option 2), recording observations on the "Family Survey" page. These activities require students to gather information from at least one digital source and from primary-person interviews or supplied print-like data.
Lesson 6
Diversity and Adaptation
The student pages explicitly invite students to use the internet or magazines as an optional activity to find illustrations of adaptations and variations to paste on the activity sheet. Students also work with printed activity cards that they cut out and sort into categories, which involves gathering and using print materials.
Lesson 7
Inheritance and Environment
Students are directed to read pages 88–93 of a print textbook (Genetics: Breaking the Code of Your DNA) and to use multiple provided digital sources (KidsHealth, Mayo Clinic, NHLBI, Cancer.org, Cleveland Clinic links) to complete research charts. In Activity 1 and Activity 3, students collect information from those sites to describe diseases, symptoms, and possible causes and to fill out investigation and influence-of-environment tables. The Mayo Clinic link explicitly tells students to use the site's search bar to find information about diseases.
Lesson 8
Cloning
Students are directed to read specific pages (98-107) of a print book (Genetics: Breaking the Code of Your DNA) and to view multiple web links and videos (DNA Fingerprinting, gene therapy, Dolly the Sheep, Britannica Genographic Project, learn.genetics, National Geographic, FDA) to investigate cloning and related genetic topics. Students answer comprehension questions based on the reading and use the reading and interactive exploration as sources when they create a marketing brochure about animal cloning. The activities require students to gather information from both print and digital resources to list pros/cons and explain cloning processes.
Unit 1: The House of the Scorpion
Lesson 1
Cloning
Students are instructed to gather information from six specified online sources and to create numbered source cards using MLA format (author/title/website/publisher/date/URL). Students practice taking research notes on index cards, labeling each card with the source number and either paraphrasing in their own words or copying exact words with quotation marks. Students are taught parenthetical citation examples and how to build a Works Cited page, with a link to Purdue OWL for citing electronic sources.
Lesson 3
Cast of Characters
Students are instructed to create a Works Cited page and to type up entries in alphabetical order, with a reference to the "Citing Sources" page from Lesson 1 for details. A specific web link to the Purdue OWL MLA Works Cited page is provided for setting up a Works Cited page. The skills list explicitly tells students to use technology, including the Internet, to produce and publish writing and to present relationships between information and ideas.
Lesson 4
Rhetorical and Logical Fallacies
Students read multiple texts (Chapters 10–12 of a novel and a short essay titled "Human Cloning") and are given external web links to examples of loaded language, caricature, leading questions, false assumptions, and incorrect premises. Students are instructed to read the essay, identify and color-code specific rhetorical and logical fallacies, and use a key to check their identifications, which requires judging the credibility and persuasive tactics of the sources.
Lesson 5
Arguing the Issue
Students read two provided digital essays on human cloning and are directed to "read each article" and record each author's main arguments on the "Arguing the Issue" activity page. Students identify logical and rhetorical fallacies in each source and reflect on the strengths of the authors' arguments. The activities require students to compare and contrast the two authors' conclusions and to summarize the arguments they present.
Lesson 8
Family Crest
The Parent Plan lists skills that tell students to consult general and specialized reference materials (e.g., dictionaries, glossaries, thesauruses), both print and digital, to find pronunciation or clarify meaning, and to verify meanings by checking inferred meaning in context or in a dictionary. The vocabulary activity requires students to use a dictionary to find each word and its part of speech and to use book sentences to determine correct definitions. The Family Crest activity includes a provided web link to examples of crests that students can view as a digital source.
Unit 2: Industrialization, Urbanization, and Immigration
Lesson 1
Urbanization and Migration
Students are directed to read a print selection ("Charles Denby: Bound North") and to visit multiple digital sources (University of Chicago map collection, Chicago population map, NCpedia article, Library of Congress letters, Phillips Collection/Jacob Lawrence site). Students use the provided "Growth of American Cities" data table and an online Graph Maker to extract and visualize data. Activities require students to read primary-source letters and then write a two-paragraph letter or to examine artworks and write commentary, which involves gathering information from those sources.
Lesson 2
Indian Wars in the West
Students are asked to gather information from multiple sources: they watch the "Heartland" documentary, read excerpts from We Were There, Too!, and visit web links such as the Wounded Knee page, primary-source guides, and readings about Carlisle and Pratt. Students must use these sources to complete tasks that synthesize information, such as taking structured notes on the film, designing an informational sign about Wounded Knee using words and images from the video and web links, and completing comparison activity pages about boarding schools. The activities explicitly direct students to use information found at the provided web links as well as the film and readings.
Lesson 3
New Technologies
Students are assigned both a print reading (an excerpt from We Were There, Too!: Young People in U.S. History) and multiple online resources (NPS Edison biography, Library of Congress Edison films, Britannica on Bell, Smithsonian Artifact Gallery, Wright Brothers National Memorial, Library of Congress Wright papers). Students are asked to read biographies, watch early films, explore an artifact gallery, and use information from those sites to complete tasks (an advertisement, a first-person speech, or artifact reflections). These directions require students to gather relevant information from multiple print and digital sources and to use that information to create products.
Lesson 4
New Industries
Students read assigned print passages (two first-person accounts in We Were There, Too!) and watch a documentary episode, taking notes as they view. Students are directed to additional digital sources via web links (Amazon/Hoopla streaming and a PBS biography of Andrew Carnegie). Students use the information from these readings, the film, and the biography to brainstorm and write analyses (e.g., listing positives and negatives of Carnegie's impact).
Lesson 5
Immigration
Students are directed to gather information from multiple print and digital sources: they read a linked short article (with emphasis on the "A Wave Becomes a Flood" section), read letters from Polish immigrants on a provided website, and view a video about Ellis Island, recording 8–10 facts and statistics. Students also read multiple web pages about nativism and primary-source material (including a KKK manual) and complete activity pages that ask them to document push/pull factors and reasons for joining the Klan. These tasks require students to collect and record data and conclusions from several specified sources.
Lesson 6
Social Problems
Students read assigned print chapters from We Were There, Too! and view multiple digital image collections (Jacob Riis at MoMA and Lewis Hine at the Library of Congress). Students follow an online biography link for Samuel Gompers and are instructed to use the Library of Congress search box to type words (e.g., age, place, occupation) to find relevant photographs. Students conduct Internet research on a chosen reformer and synthesize information into a poster and short written responses for Activity 2 and Activity 3.
Unit 2: Living Organisms
Lesson 1
Levels of Organization
Students are assigned a print reading (Life Processes, pp. 4–7) and directed to use several web links (e.g., Leaf Structure and Function; Mammal Limb Skeletons; Levels of Organization video) to research plant and animal structures. Students are told they "may need to do some research" when they cannot observe structures directly and are instructed to "document your research" on the activity pages. The Local Survey and Plants and Animals activities require students to collect and record information from observations and from the provided digital sources.
Lesson 2
Structure and Stability
Students read specified print pages (Behavior in Living Things pages 4-5 and 32-33), watch a provided video, and read two online articles about plant adaptations, so they gather information from multiple print and digital sources. Students are directed to use the provided websites to define and label tree parts and to use an interactive tree identification site or to search the Internet using a suggested search phrase like "tree identification [YOUR STATE]," which shows some instruction in using search terms. Students use the sources to answer guided questions and fill definitions, demonstrating practice in extracting information from those sources.
Lesson 3
Plant Reproduction
Students are directed to gather information from multiple print and digital sources: they read specified pages in a textbook (Life Processes by Anna Claybourne) and view linked web resources and videos (seed germination video, PBS reproductive role of flowers, and a flower diagram webpage). Students use those sources to identify and label seed and flower parts, to check the accuracy of their labels, and to inform either a flower model or a visual presentation. Students also collect firsthand observational data from daily seed-germination sketches and later dissected-seed observations.
Lesson 5
Nutrition
Students are instructed to use a search engine with example phrases like "snake digestive system" or "llama digestion" to find articles and images, which shows explicit guidance on using search terms. The activity tells students to "consult more than one source to make sure your information is thorough and accurate," which directs them to gather information from multiple sources. The Parent Plan for the report option tells students to take notes and put the process into their own words and explicitly advises them not to copy information word for word, addressing paraphrasing and avoiding plagiarism.
Lesson 6
Respiration
Students are asked to gather information from a print source by reading pages 12-15 of Life Processes by Anna Claybourne and from digital sources by watching two linked videos about photosynthesis and cellular respiration. Students are also instructed to "look up the word breathing in a dictionary or online" and Option 2 allows students to print or use images from the Internet for their diagrams. The Activating Yeast activity and student pages provide chemical equations and observational data that students use to explain respiration.
Lesson 7
Stimulus and Response
Students read assigned pages in a printed book and watch a video and slideshow, giving them both print and digital sources to gather information from. Students are instructed to pick an animal perception topic and "read more about it online," with a suggested search phrase ("animal electroreception") and to use magazines or online articles to complete a "Sixth Sense" presentation. Students take an online reaction-time test and are asked to compare information from experiments, simulations, video, or multimedia sources with that from the reading.
Lesson 8
Behavior
Students are directed to research a specific species' communication by typing a targeted search ("How do ________ communicate?") and are given three web links (honeybees, prairie dogs, wolves) to consult, which shows practice with digital sources and search terms. The Animal Communication Notes page gives students a structured place to gather information from sources. Option 1 explicitly instructs students to put information in their own words and to copy exact quotations with quotation marks and a note of the source, which teaches paraphrasing, quoting, and avoiding plagiarism.
Lesson 10
Structural Similarities
The lesson provides explicit web resources (a YouTube video link and the Animal Diversity Web link) and instructs students to use the Internet to confirm traits and to enter the name of each animal in the search box. Students are told to "research if uncertain about traits" and are encouraged to use a dictionary for unfamiliar terms. The student activity pages direct students to fill charts using information found online and to create cladograms based on that information.
Final Project
Exploring Living Organisms
Students are instructed to research a chosen organism, take notes on their research, and complete booklet pages or slides for multiple topic categories. The materials tell students to "remember that information should be in your own words" and to take notes on separate paper before creating slides or booklet pages. Students are told that if they obtain graphics from Internet sites they must give that site credit, and a specific web link (Review Sheet) is provided as a source to consult.
Unit 2: Watership Down
Lesson 1
Preparing to Read
The Parent Plan Skills explicitly instructs students to "Consult general and specialized reference materials (e.g., dictionaries, glossaries, thesauruses), both print and digital, to find the pronunciation of a word or determine or clarify its precise meaning or its part of speech." Activity 2 directs students to use sentences from the novel to select the definition and part of speech that best fits context, and to fill definition/alternate definition/part of speech/synonym on vocabulary cube faces. The activity also directs students to refer to a "Handy Guide to Writing" for more information about parts of speech, implying use of a reference resource.
Lesson 2
Foreshadowing
Students are directed to read a specific online article about the European rabbit (provided URL) and then fill out a Rabbit Research graphic organizer with scientific name, physical description, behavior, communication, reproduction, and life span. Students complete character cards that prompt them to record "Quotes," physical appearance, actions, and others' reactions, which has them locate and record textual evidence from the novel. Students are asked to record information they find during reading and research, using the provided web link and graphic organizers to collect facts.
Lesson 5
Quotes and Creatures
Students are asked in Activity 1 to "briefly research" the works cited in chapter quotations and to "record a couple of sentences" about the author, culture/time period, themes, and how the quote relates to Watership Down. Activity 2 directs students to "do some brief research" on listed plants and animals (and provides a web link) to determine producer/consumer status and diets, then to record that information and create a food-web diagram or poster. The student activity pages have spaces for written responses where students must summarize findings about literary works and biological organisms.
Lesson 6
Dramatic Irony
Students are directed to use a dictionary to determine and record the actual definitions of words in Activity 1 ("Then use a dictionary to determine and record the actual definition"). Option 1 provides web links to digital readings/videos of children's books that students may view as part of their assignment. Students are asked to explain what the reader knows versus what characters believe and to write a postcard or create a visual depiction, requiring them to restate and summarize examples from text.
Lesson 7
Rabbit Societies
Students are directed to "consult general and specialized reference materials (e.g., dictionaries, glossaries, thesauruses), both print and digital" to determine or clarify word meanings. The vocabulary activities require students to write a definition from context, then "look the word up in a dictionary and record two different possible meanings" and identify which one matches the passage. Students are asked to record the page number and the reason they chose each passage in a journal when they locate two quotations to discuss with a parent.
Lesson 8
Folktales and Fantasy
Activity 2 directs students to research a chosen animal and explicitly tells them to "consult at least three sources, either books or online sources, for your information, and record your sources." The Animal Research student page includes a dedicated "Sources" section where students are to record the sources they used. The parent plan reiterates that students should cite at least three sources to support their research.
Unit 3: The Great Depression and World War II
Lesson 1
The 1920s
Students are directed to read specific print pages (pages v-vii and 1-2 of World War II for Kids) and to explore a named digital interactive (the Kennedy Center "Drop Me Off in Harlem" website). Students choose individuals on the website, read short biographies and any associated media, and gather information to create a network chart showing connections among five people. Students use both print and digital sources to collect relevant historical details for the chart and timeline additions.
Lesson 2
The Great Depression
Students are asked to gather information from multiple sources: a streamed video episode, assigned print readings from two books, and online photograph collections from the Library of Congress. The Option 2 activity explicitly tells students to use search terms on the Library of Congress website and suggests example search words and topics. For each photo students select, they are instructed to record metadata from the Library of Congress site (title, photographer's name, date, and the URL) to include under each image.
Lesson 3
The Start of World War II
Students are assigned specific print readings from World War II for Kids (multiple sections of Chapter 1) and are directed to visit an online World War II Poster Collection (Northwestern University Library) before creating a recruiting poster, showing use of at least one print and one digital source. Students also add cards to a timeline of U.S. history, which requires extracting and recording information from the provided materials. The activities require students to read source material and use information from those sources to complete tasks.
Lesson 4
1942
Students are assigned to read specific selections from two print sources (World War II for Kids and We Were There, Too!) and to answer content questions based on those readings. Students also perform activities that may use digital tools, for example photographing and emailing images of a camouflaged bicycle. Students write an original response letter that uses information drawn from the soldiers' letters they read.
Lesson 5
The Homefront
Students read assigned selections from two print books (World War II for Kids and We Were There, Too!) and answer guided questions based on those texts. Students also are given a web link about care packages as a digital resource and use readings to complete activities such as the rationing exercise, brainstorming ways to help, and creating a care package or radio program. Students use information from these multiple sources to respond to comprehension questions and to plan and perform activities.
Lesson 6
1943
Students are instructed to read specific sections of the print book World War II for Kids and to use those readings to answer comprehension questions, which requires gathering information from a print source. For the map activity, students are told to "Consult the map at the front of World War II for Kids, online sources, or an atlas to help you locate specific places," which directs students to use multiple print and digital sources to find locations and dates for timeline events. Students also transfer information from timeline cards to a world map, demonstrating use of gathered information to produce a work product.
Lesson 7
Victory in Europe
Students are directed to gather information from a digital video (America: The Story of Us -- World War II) and from specific print selections from the book World War II for Kids; they use a provided note-taking page and answer guided reading questions about D-Day, the Battle of the Bulge, and Germany's surrender. Students complete activity pages that require synthesizing information (The Impact of the War) and add events to a Timeline of U.S. history, showing use of multiple provided sources to build understanding. The lesson includes web links and explicit reading assignments that students use to collect facts and details.
Lesson 8
The Holocaust
Students read a print chapter (World War II for Kids, Chapter 6) and use guided note-taking pages to record important details. Students explore digital sources by spending time on the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum website (specified sections) or by visiting provided art websites and filling out activity pages about museum exhibits or artworks. Activity prompts ask students to describe which online resources or museum sections would be useful to review before a trip and to reflect on what they learned from the website.
Lesson 9
Victory in the Pacific
Students are assigned specific reading selections from World War II for Kids and answer targeted questions about Allied goals, Okinawa, invasion concerns, and Truman's hopes, which requires extracting relevant facts from a provided print source. In Activity 2, students complete an "The Atomic Bomb" chart by listing "Facts and Advice/Estimates Available" and judging whether those facts support dropping the bombs, which asks students to gather and synthesize information available about 1945 decisions.
Final Project
Before and After World War II
Students are directed to use multiple print and digital sources: numerous web links are provided for specific topics and instructions tell students to "use the information from these resources, additional research online as needed, and your readings from earlier in the unit." Students are asked to include at least one brief primary source on each poster and are given an example of including a quotation (for example, Roosevelt's speech). The project rubric and directions explicitly require that students "include a citation for any image that you printed from a website or copied from another source" and list "Proper citation of images from online sources or books used in the exhibit" as a rubric criterion.
Unit 3: A Dynamic Planet
Lesson 1
The Dating Game
Students are assigned multiple sources: print chapters from The Field Guide to Geology (Chapter 1 and Chapter 10) and a linked digital video (YouTube) that they are told to watch. Students are prompted in the Life Application to use the Internet or the library and are given a specific search phrase example ("Geologic History of [your state or region]") to find local geologic information. Students use textbook graphs/tables (page 179 and radiometric tables) and activity pages to extract data (e.g., half-lives and age ranges), demonstrating gathering relevant data from provided print and digital materials.
Lesson 3
The First Four Billion Years
Students read assigned pages (180–185) from a print textbook and use several linked online time-lapse videos, giving them both print and digital sources to learn from. Students cut out and place timeline cards and add them to a timeline, requiring them to synthesize information from the textbook and activity cards. Students also write a journal paragraph describing a chosen video and what surprised them, which requires summarizing information from a digital source.
Lesson 4
The Age of Visible Life
Students are assigned specific print sources (The Field Guide to Geology, pages 186-201 and 202-215) to read and answer questions, which requires gathering information from a print source. The lesson suggests optional digital research by recommending BBC video series and tells students they can search for parts of those series on YouTube. The Parent Plan also encourages students to explore the geologic column further "online or at the library," which prompts gathering information from multiple source types.
Lesson 6
Natural Selection
Students are directed to gather information from multiple sources: they read specified pages in a print book (Evolution: How We and All Living Things Came to Be), watch a digital documentary (What Darwin Never Knew), and follow several web links with images and data about pigeons, dogs, and generational timelines. Students use a provided data table on the "Generations" activity page to extract and interpret quantitative information across species. These actions show students working with both print and digital materials and using presented data to answer questions.
Lesson 7
Survival of the Fittest
Students read specific pages (18–25) from the printed book Evolution: How We and All Living Things Came to Be and answer directed questions based on that text. Students watch a linked YouTube video about the evolution of sickle-cell anemia and a 45-minute segment of the PBS documentary What Darwin Never Knew as digital sources. Students use information from these print and digital sources to complete the colored-dots activity and to answer comprehension and analysis questions.
Lesson 8
Convergent Evolution
Activity 1 asks students to "research the different species involved" and to "use resources found online or at the library," instructing students to fill out a Convergent Evolution Research page with sections for multiple species (name, habitat/challenge, similarities/differences). Option 1 requires students to use their research to write a paragraph describing environmental challenges and similarities/differences among species. Option 2 requires students to create a poster that may include images "downloaded from the Internet" and detailed anatomical descriptions based on their research.
Final Project
Fast Forward
Students are instructed to use books, the Internet, timelines, and library research ("use books, the Internet, and some in-depth interviews"; "other research that you complete online or at the library") and to interview multiple people (rubric: "interview at least two different people"; Interview Questions worksheet requests interviewee name and credentials). Students are directed to document details on the "Evolution and Religion" pages, noting religious and scientific evidence side-by-side, and parents are asked to help identify reliable websites for research.
Unit 3: The Book Thief
Lesson 1
The Author and Narrator
Students are directed to use multiple web links (Encyclopaedia Britannica, CNN, author biography pages, and an author interview video) or other resources to complete the "World War II Detective" page and to learn about Markus Zusak. Students are asked to find images online or in magazines for a collage and to use webpages and a video to gather biographical information for a poster or radio promotion. These instructions explicitly require students to gather information from both print and digital sources for specific tasks.
Lesson 2
Similes and Metaphors
Students are instructed to "use a dictionary to look up each word's definition" and to "try to write the definition in your own words," showing practice with consulting a print reference and paraphrasing. Students identify and copy textual quotes when analyzing similes and metaphors and choose quotes to explain why they are effective, which involves quoting from the primary text. Students create a mini picture dictionary by transcribing words and definitions onto pages, reinforcing transfer of sourced definitions into their own product.
Lesson 3
Burning Books
Students are directed to gather information from several specific digital sources (Link A, Link B, the "Understanding Nazi Ideology" infographic, Link D, the Propaganda Posters archive, and the National Archives poster exhibit) to complete the "Historical References" activity page. Students answer targeted research questions (e.g., about Communists, the term "Aryan," Mein Kampf, anti-Semitism, and the yellow stars) using those web pages. Students select three online Nazi propaganda posters and analyze each poster's target audience, goal, and persuasive features, and they record examples of propaganda from the book on an activity chart.
Lesson 5
The Accordion Player
Students read multiple print excerpts (excerpts from the Nuremberg Laws and Hitler Youth law) and answer questions applying those texts to historical situations. Students are directed to optional digital sources (links to the USHMM and PBS pages) for further information about Kristallnacht. Students also rewrite/adapt sentences from the book and are told the improved versions should differ from the book's account, which involves transforming source wording.
Lesson 7
The Seven-Sided Die
Students read and compare multiple sources: a section of the novel (Part Five), a print ad (Link A), a 30-second commercial (Link B), and excerpts or online text from The German National Catechism (Option 2). Students identify logical fallacies in each source and explain why arguments may have been effective, and the Parent Plan skills explicitly ask students to evaluate the credibility of a speaker and recognize bias. Students complete analysis pages that prompt them to note emotions appealed to, logical flaws, and the effectiveness of arguments across these varied print and digital sources.
Lesson 8
The Thief Strikes Again
Students are asked to watch two short video clips (digital sources) of Hitler speaking and to take notes on what might have been compelling about his speaking and rally staging. The Parent Plan Skills list asks students to read and comprehend various expository and historical texts and to evaluate the credibility of a speaker (e.g., hidden agendas, slanted or biased material). The Wrap Up and discussion prompts encourage students to search online for transcripts, audio, or video of admired speeches.
Lesson 10
The Trilogy of Happiness
Students are directed to gather information from multiple digital sources: a PBS article, a 1943 newsreel, and an Ernie Pyle column, and to answer guided questions about them. The War Journalism questions ask students to identify how correspondents produced vivid descriptions, list the three main ways Americans got news (newspapers, radio, newsreels), and analyze which aspects of a newsreel are informational versus propaganda. The Parent Plan skills explicitly ask students to analyze the purpose of information presented in diverse media and evaluate the motives behind its presentation.
Lesson 11
The Word Shaker
Students read multiple print and digital sources: an online excerpt from Anne Frank and two firsthand excerpts from the Warsaw Ghetto, plus related sections of The Book Thief. On the "Primary Sources vs. Historical Fiction" page, students brainstorm advantages and disadvantages (including accuracy, historical value, and motives) and pick three ideas, providing specific examples from the day's primary source readings or The Book Thief. Students are prompted to collect phrases and sentences from the novel for other activities, showing practice in selecting relevant textual evidence from different sources.
Final Project
Think-Tac-Toe
Students are directed to use multiple digital sources via provided web links (war reporting examples, censorship essay, and two sites of WWII propaganda posters) and to copy/paste or print three posters for analysis. Students are asked to read a journalist's essay (Walter Cronkite) and optional war reporting (Andy Rooney) and to choose scenes from the book to produce a radio broadcast, which requires integrating information from print and digital examples. The Propaganda Posters analysis page prompts students to identify how each poster functions, what emotions it targets, and what logical fallacies appear, supporting source-based analysis.
Unit 4: Global Conflict and Civil Rights
Lesson 1
The Post-War World
Students are directed to multiple digital sources (The Atlantic photo exhibit, IWM, National WWII Museum, history.navy.mil, Wikipedia, and Duke's AdAccess) and asked to review photographs and numerical data from those sites. Students complete a chart using pre-war population, war-related deaths, and GDP data and calculate percentages and graph GDP changes. Students also locate a historical advertisement on the Duke site and find a modern advertisement for comparison, then analyze similarities and differences using guided questions.
Lesson 2
The Cold War and Communism
The lesson directs students to gather information from multiple digital and print sources: a video episode (America: The Story of Us), U.S. State Department short historical articles, primary texts (Truman's speech, Wallace's letter), Library of Congress cartoons, and other linked webpages. Students are asked to read the linked pages and answer comprehension questions and to view and analyze political cartoons and posters, which requires consulting those digital sources. The lesson even suggests doing a Google image search for "Truman Doctrine political cartoons," which guides students to use search terms to locate additional sources.
Lesson 3
The Cold War
Students are directed to read from several specific online sources (Office of the Historian, the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library pages, and History.com) and to use those materials to complete comprehension and analysis questions. The Option 1 activity page instructs students to "use the provided materials to research the events" and to evaluate decision factors, and Option 2 has students read and analyze a primary-source speech transcript.
Lesson 4
Civil Rights
Students are assigned multiple specific print and digital sources to read: "Claudette Colvin: The First to Keep Her Seat" (pp. 214-217) and "Elizabeth Eckford: Facing a Mob on the First Day of School" (pp. 218-220) in We Were There, Too by Phillip Hoose; Sections 1 and 2 of Free at Last by Sara Bullard; and a National Archives web exhibit on Rosa Parks (link provided). Students are instructed to take notes using a graphic organizer for Claudette Colvin and Rosa Parks and to synthesize information into products such as a memorial poem, a two-paragraph newspaper clipping, and timeline cards.
Lesson 5
Sit-Ins and Freedom Rides
Students are directed to read multiple print selections ("Carolyn McKinstry: On the Firing Line" and Section 3 of Free At Last) and to use digital sources (a PDF and audio of Dr. King's "I Have a Dream" and the Stanford King Institute collection) as part of activities. Students are asked to compare two speeches using a graphic organizer, which requires them to pull information from the "I Have a Dream" text and another speech. Students also add cards to a timeline, which involves integrating information from provided historical cards and readings.
Lesson 6
The Ballot
Students read Part 4 of a printed history (Free at Last) and answer comprehension questions, demonstrating use of a print source. Students visit specified online archives, choose and print a photograph, and complete an activity page that asks them to state where they found the photo and what they know about when and where it was taken, the photographer, or the people shown. Students describe and analyze the chosen image in writing and use their findings to respond to guided questions and role-play discussions.
Lesson 7
New Directions and Other Social Movements
Students are assigned multiple print sources to read (Section 5 of Free at Last and a chapter in We Were There, Too) and several digital sources (a Stanford SCLC page, the Black Panther 1966 platform, a YouTube video about Cesar Chavez, and a UFW quotations page). Students are instructed to use information from those sources to complete activities: comparing organizations in a Venn diagram and composing either a collage using Chavez quotations or a rally speech that must include at least one quotation from Cesar Chavez and information about worker treatment. The activities require students to gather and record information from both print and digital sources and to incorporate direct quotations into their work.
Lesson 8
Korea
Students read a webpage about the Korean War and watch multiple web-based videos (a veteran interview and an optional PBS documentary), and they are instructed to take notes on memories and add information to a timeline. Students then use their notes to produce a written product (a proposal for public commemoration or a letter to a veteran) that draws on those digital and print sources.
Lesson 9
Vietnam
Students are directed to read multiple digital sources: three U.S. Department of State webpages (Gulf of Tonkin, The Tet Offensive, Ending the Vietnam War) and 2–3 veteran interviews/memoirs from the Library of Congress. Students answer comprehension questions based on those webpages and are asked to review and discuss veteran accounts. Activities require students to synthesize information into a timeline and to write a one-page letter responding to historical events and perspectives.
Lesson 10
The Culture of the 1960s
Students are directed to view multiple primary-source fliers via provided web links and to download/enlarge those documents for close reading. Students are asked to locate and listen to at least two protest songs using the Internet (with several YouTube links suggested) and to choose and watch a 1960s television episode from library or streaming sources. Students may print or download images from the Internet for use in creating a flier and must write short summaries or reviews on activity pages.
Final Project
A Time Capsule
Students are instructed to gather images printed from the Internet and historic documents found through online searches (e.g., protest posters, speeches, newspaper clippings) to include in their time capsule. The activity asks students to collect artifacts from previous lessons and use a provided web link (Unit Review Page) as a resource. The Student Activity Page prompts students to describe each artifact/document and explain what it will help future archaeologists understand.
Unit 4: Human Body Systems
Lesson 1
Our Bodies
Students are directed to read specific pages of The Concise Human Body Book (pp. 14-17 and optionally pp. 12-13) and to take notes on system functions and interactions, showing they gather information from a print source. In Activity 2 students are instructed to look up each decision on the KidsHealth website (link provided) and to use the site's search function, with guidance to choose results marked "for Teens," demonstrating use of a digital source and a basic search strategy.
Lesson 2
Cells, Tissues, and Organs
Students are asked to read specific pages in The Concise Human Body Book (pp. 24-29 and pp. 36-37) and to view an online Earthworm Visual Dissection Guide PDF, which requires them to gather information from both print and digital sources. Students use the information from these sources to answer comprehension questions, label diagrams, and check the accuracy of their labels. The lesson also directs students to use a QR code to access dissection materials and online guides, linking print and digital materials for the activities.
Lesson 4
Cardiovascular System
Students are directed to read specific pages in The Concise Human Body Book (pp. 144, 146–155, p.151) and to use an external website diagram (https://www.timeofcare.com/the-circulatory-system/) to guide their diagrams and models. The clay-model activity explicitly tells students to "look online or in the book" for pictures or graphics to guide their work. Web links (Time of Care and Mayo Clinic) are provided for students to consult for a diagram and a pulse measurement procedure.
Lesson 7
Urinary System
Students are assigned to read specific pages (pp. 240-247) in The Concise Human Body Book and are given two web links (a YouTube video on the nephron and a KidsHealth page on dialysis), so they use both print and digital sources. Students also use the printed diagram (pp. 242-243) and activity pages to extract information and label structures, demonstrating use of provided sources to complete tasks. The reading questions require students to locate factual details (e.g., how blood enters/exits kidneys, names of hormones, nephron function) from the assigned text.
Lesson 8
Endocrine System
Students are asked to read specific pages in The Concise Human Body Book and to use a Johns Hopkins online chart as well as a provided YouTube link, showing that they gather information from multiple print and digital sources. Activity 1 explicitly directs students to use the book and the Johns Hopkins chart to match each hormone with its function and producing gland. The Parent Plan and activities require students to synthesize information (e.g., matching, labeling, and diagramming) drawn from those sources.
Lesson 9
Reproductive System
Students are directed to gather information from a print source (The Concise Human Body Book, pp. 260-265) and from two provided digital sources (KidsHealth pages for female and male reproduction). Students complete a research worksheet that asks them to research the functions of listed reproductive organs and to write their findings in their own words. The activity explicitly instructs students not to copy directly and to "Put the information in your own words."
Lesson 11
Nervous System
Students are assigned readings from The Concise Human Body Book (multiple page ranges) and directed to several web resources (videos, interactive sites, and web articles) such as StudyJams, BrainFacts, a YouTube video, and an interactive brain map. Students use information from these print and digital sources to answer comprehension questions, complete labeling and diagram activities, and build models or interactive neurons. Several activities explicitly tell students to consult the book pages and linked websites to learn content and complete tasks.
Lesson 12
Balance in the Body
Students are directed to read pages 21–23 in The Concise Human Body Book and to "use the reading and the information found at the following web links to complete the 'Homeostasis' activity page," which requires consulting both print and digital sources. The lesson provides multiple specific web links (CK-12 homeostasis page, ASU hypothalamus article, a YouTube video, and a Medical News Today pulse guide) that students must use to complete activities. Students record information from these sources on the Homeostasis and Hands-On Homeostasis activity pages.
Lesson 13
Human Growth and Development
Students are asked to read specific textbook pages (pages 280-285) and to use an assigned web article (UC Davis) and WHO pages as sources for Activity 2. Students are instructed to "feel free to do Internet research" and to use those sites to identify environmental factors and their effects on body systems. Students use information from these print and digital sources to label boxes on a graphic organizer and to link environmental issues to specific organs. Students are guided to extract relevant facts from multiple provided sources and apply them to a focused task about environmental impacts on health.
Final Project
Body Systems Presentation
Students are instructed to include images from the Internet, scanned diagrams, and The Concise Human Body Book as resources for their slides or posters. A web link to a Review Sheet is provided for study and reference. Students are explicitly told to avoid copying sentences directly from the unit or book and to put information in their own words.
Unit 4: To Kill a Mockingbird
Lesson 3
The Mystery of Boo
Students read chapters 1 and 5 and use the Student Activity Page to list five beliefs about Boo Radley drawn from hearsay and five drawn from personal experience or reliable sources. Students classify information explicitly as "Hearsay and Gossip" or "Personal Experience and Reliable Sources," compare the two columns for overlap, and write a hypothesis about who Boo really is. The materials include explicit prompts to review the meaning of hearsay and to examine which community information is based on rumor versus direct knowledge.
Lesson 4
Snow and Fire
Students read chapters 8–9 of To Kill a Mockingbird and are instructed to include at least one quotation from the section and explain its meaning and importance in their literature response. The Character Line-Up chart and activity pages prompt students to record "Quotes of or about the character" or "Quotes or dialogue from the character," showing explicit practice locating and citing text-based quotations.
Lesson 6
Separate
Students are asked to read a Purdue OWL article on quoting, paraphrasing, and summarizing and then complete an activity distinguishing examples of quotation, paraphrase, and summary. Students must write a direct quotation (with quotation marks and a page number) and a paraphrase of material from chapter 12, and the answer key expects attribution and page citation. The lesson repeatedly tells students that quotations and paraphrases must be attributed to the original author.
Lesson 12
Wise Words
Students are asked to choose five quotes from To Kill a Mockingbird and "rewrite each, or explain it in your own words," which practices paraphrasing. Students must "select one quote to memorize and to display in a creative, artistic way" and are explicitly told to "be sure to cite the source of the quote on your artistic display." The student activity page includes an example of explaining a quote in the student's own words.
Lesson 13
Text and Film
Students read chapters 29–31 of To Kill a Mockingbird and are instructed to watch the 1964 film adaptation, using a Student Activity Page to keep a running list of similarities and differences between the novel and the movie. The lesson provides a second Student Activity Page with guided questions that prompt students to compare setting, character portrayals, directorial choices (lighting, music, camera angle), and major changes made in the adaptation. A web link to the original 1962 poster (IMDb) is provided as an optional digital resource for the film poster activity. Students are asked to create a film poster or write a deleted scene script, which requires them to draw on information from the book and the film.
Final Project
Oral Book Presentation
The study guide defines "Quotation" and "Paraphrase" and explicitly states that quotations and paraphrases must be attributed to their original source. The unit test asks students to identify a powerful quotation from a passage and to write a paraphrase of a sentence, giving students practice with quoting and paraphrasing. The skills and rubric language ask students to "support judgments through references to the text, other works, other authors, or personal knowledge" and to "use technology, including the Internet, to produce and publish writing," which implies using sources and digital tools.
Unit 5: Technology Explosion
Lesson 1
Overview of Modern America
Students are assigned a final project that requires them to "do the necessary research," use primary sources, and "cite your research sources properly." The Brainstorming and Choosing a Topic pages direct students to list websites and suggest using reliable sites (universities, libraries, government agencies, museums, news sources). The National History Day rubric and project instructions ask students to identify research sources and include primary and secondary sources for their project.
Lesson 3
The End of the Cold War
Students are directed to read multiple specific web articles (U.S. State Department pages on Nixon, Carter, Reagan, Bush, and the Berlin Wall) and to use other print and digital sources (videos, encyclopedias, Internet research, and library books) when researching their final project. The lesson provides a Citation Builder link and an explicit example citation and instructs students to "be sure to cite your sources properly" and to cite image webpages. Students are asked to take notes and save printed or written materials for their National History Day project.
Lesson 5
Technology
Students are asked to use the Internet, library sources, and provided web links (NASA, NHD research page) to research technologies and space-related topics. Students must create an annotated bibliography listing three primary and five secondary sources, describe each source's content and usefulness, and record correct MLA citations using an online Citation Builder. The illustrated essay option requires students to cite sources properly and refers them to Lesson 3 for citation details. The annotated bibliography instructions explicitly prompt students to choose "reliable and credible" sources and give examples of primary and secondary materials.
Lesson 6
Terrorism
Students are asked to read a History Channel webpage and answer factual questions, which requires gathering information from a digital source. In Option 2, students are instructed to view artifacts on three different websites (Smithsonian, 9/11 Memorial and National Geographic), click each artifact's full record, and explore supporting documents before creating a poster. The activities therefore require students to collect information from multiple digital sources and to synthesize that information into a written paragraph or poster.
Final Project
Illustrated Essay or National History Day
Students are asked to create a research plan (the Process Paper asks "What is your plan for research?") and to assemble work from multiple lessons into a project, which implies gathering information from several unit materials. The project instructions explicitly tell students to "make sure that you have included appropriate citations for each paragraph." The included illustration and activity descriptions depict students gathering, analyzing, organizing, and arranging information chronologically for their illustrated essay or History Day plan.
Unit 5: Health and Nutrition
Lesson 2
Being a Smart Consumer
Students are asked to gather information by going to a store or searching online to write down five health and beauty products and any claims made on packaging or in commercials. Students are directed to find commercials online when possible and to compare product claims and prices with other similar, lower-cost products. Students are instructed to mark claims they find feasible (underline) and questionable (highlight), which requires them to evaluate the truthfulness of advertised claims.
Lesson 3
Healthy Body
Students are instructed to read information from multiple web links (e.g., articles on headphone safety and sun protection) and assigned pages in printed guides (Boy's Guide/Girl's Guide) to answer questions. Students are asked to 'research one of the five most common chronic diseases' and create a public awareness poster, which requires gathering information beyond the provided text. Activities require students to read specified online and print sources and use that information to complete responses and projects.
Lesson 4
Healthy Relationships
Students are assigned print readings (pages from Boy's Guide/Girl's Guide to Becoming a Teen) and a digital webpage (Conflict Resolution for Teens) and are instructed to read these sources. Students are asked to "summarize what you have read by creating a list, in your own words, of steps for resolving conflict," which requires them to paraphrase material from the provided sources. Students then reflect on a personal conflict and apply the summarized strategies, showing use of information gathered from those sources.
Lesson 5
Alcohol, Tobacco, and Drugs
Students are directed to read print text (specified pages in Boy's Guide/Girl's Guide) and to use multiple online videos and articles (several web links and an online booklet) to collect information about different drugs. The student activity page instructs students to take notes from the videos and booklet and to record characteristics, effects of abuse, and other information for each drug. Multiple activities (PSA, email, poster, list of reasons) require students to use information gathered from these print and digital sources to produce explanations or persuasive products.
Lesson 6
Nutrition and Exercise
Students are directed to read print chapters (Chapter 2 of Girl's Guide/Boy's Guide) and to examine printed food labels to record and analyze nutrition information. Students are instructed to visit specific websites (Get Your MyPlate Plan, BMI Calculator, CDC BMI-for-age charts) to obtain personalized portion recommendations and BMI charts. Students collect numeric data by recording food journals, calculating BMI with the provided formula or web calculator, and comparing their intake to MyPlate recommendations.
Unit 5: Great American Poets
Lesson 2
Early American Poetry
Students read multiple print texts about the same event (Longfellow's poem and Paul Revere's first-person account) and complete a Venn-diagram comparison to note similarities and differences. Students are given an optional web article that explicitly states Longfellow's poem is inaccurate and are asked to consider how that affects their reading, prompting consideration of accuracy. Students are directed to use specific online tools (RhymeZone) with instructions for entering a search term and selecting a mode, demonstrating basic use of a digital search tool.
Lesson 3
Figurative Language
Students are instructed to use 101 Great American Poems (a print source) and "information available online" to fill in Poet Cards, indicating they will gather information from both print and digital sources. Activity 3 provides two specific web links for students to read examples of concrete poems, which directs students to consult digital sources. Several tasks ask students to look up poems in the book and use a dictionary to clarify words, showing students practice locating information in print reference materials.
Lesson 8
Robert Frost
Students read multiple print and digital sources: assigned pages (41-52) in 101 Great American Poems and specific web links (Guggenheim Cubism page and two art/poem pages). Students are asked to find an online copy of a painting or take/print a picture and paste it on the activity page, and they are prompted to look up how to make an em dash online. Students are instructed to copy a poem (or key stanzas) into the activity page and to include the poem title and author name.
Lesson 9
Memorizing Poetry
Students read assigned pages in a print anthology (pages 53-63) and are explicitly told to "look up 'Euclid' online" if they don't recognize the reference. The lesson supplies several web links (a "How to Memorize a Poem" page and pages for two villanelles) and suggests printing or copying online headlines for the headline-poem activity. Students therefore access multiple print and digital sources and follow provided URLs or perform at least one directed online lookup.
Lesson 10
Poems about Poetry
Students read multiple print and digital sources: pages 63–73 in 101 Great American Poems and two web links to additional poems, so they gather material from both book and online texts. Students are instructed to look up key words they don't understand, which prompts use of other reference sources to clarify meaning. Students are taught how to quote poetry and indicate omitted material using ellipses, with explicit examples of omitting parts of a quoted line and omitting whole lines in poetry.
Lesson 11
Editing Your Work
Students read from a print source (pages 74-80 in 101 Great American Poems) and from provided digital sources (the two Poetry Foundation web links), showing use of multiple print and digital sources. In Activity 1 students are instructed that they may find a poem online and copy and paste it into their project, and to double-check that capitalization, punctuation, and line breaks match the book, which has them verify the accuracy of text reproduction. Activities require saving originals and revised versions for the final project, indicating students are to collect and preserve source material from different media.
Lesson 12
Reciting Poetry
The lesson asks students to "do research online about the poet's life and work and fill in the 'Poet Research' sheet," and instructs students to "read at least one more poem from the author that you haven't read before," with links to Poetry Foundation and Poets.org provided. The Student Activity Page lists specific factual items for students to gather (birthplace, places lived, influences, types of poetry, awards, additional poems read), and Option 2 requires students to find and read at least two additional poems by a chosen poet. The lesson directs students to use the web and provided links as starting points for gathering information about poets.