Yummy Math
A Cardioid for Valentine’s Day
It's Valentine's Day in geometry class! Celebrate the day of love with a heart-themed activity in which young mathematicians create a cardioid on polar graph paper.
DiscoverE
Extreme Trampolines
You'll bounce off the walls with glee after finding a fun resource. Young engineers design trampolines for golf balls. They build and test out their design and make improvements based on the results.
DiscoverE
Build an Earthquake-Resistant Structure
Future engineers design and build structures out of toothpicks and marshmallows. They then make sure the structures can withstand an earthquake simulator!
DiscoverE
Let's Make an Elastic Puppet
Create bending joints—but don't break! The activity shows how to make a puppet using straws and fishing line. Pupils create cuts to make joints that rely on the elasticity of the straw to bend and return to their original shapes.
Teach Engineering
Live Like an Animal
When your parents say that your room's a pig sty, tell them about biomimicry. The sixth installment of a nine-part Life Science unit has scholars research the shelters used by animals in the natural world, like turtle shells. Using the...
US Institute of Peace
Peacebuilders in Action
What contributions have great peacebuilders made to our society? Civic-minded scholars take an in-depth look at people who have made a difference world-wide during the 12th lesson in a 15-part series. After researching facts about their...
National Nanotechnology Infrastructure Network
Size and Scale – Learning about Measurement
Can you visualize one billionth of a meter? It's not easy to understand the scale of a nanometer. Learners use a hands-on lesson to develop an understanding of the size of a nanometer in comparison to common objects. They walk away with...
Civil Rights Movement Veterans
Timeline of Events: 1960’s Civil Rights Movement of St. Augustine, Florida
A timeline can be a powerful learning tool because it reveals a pattern in events. While few would consider St. Augustine, Florida a hotbed of the 1960s Civil Rights Movement, a selection of background information and a timeline of...
US Institute of Peace
Effectiveness of Nonviolent Civic Action Simulation on Colombia
With new leadership comes new hope! After years of violence, the people of Colombia elect a new president ... could this mean an end to conflict? Civics scholars take part in a large group role-playing exercise designed to illustrate the...
Quaver
Large Coffee Can Bongo
Want to make some music but you don't have the instruments? Get a start on your percussion section with a creative bongo drum project! Young musicians use a coffee can, packing tape, and colorful paper to create the perfect percussive...
Deliberating in a Democracy
Preventive War
"Those who knocked these buildings down will hear from all of us soon!" - George W. Bush. Scholars investigate and analyze the events of September 11, 2001 in ushering in the Bush Doctrine on foreign policy. Using primary documents as...
Me and My Shadow
Trace My Shadow
Which creates more digital traces: surfing the Internet in a coffee shop, or using an iPhone to send a text message? The answer may surprise you! An interactive resource prompts users to choose which devices, operating systems, and...
National Park Service
A Natural Resource Called Peace
Get your pupils outside and teach them about peace at the same time! Scholars create a list describing peace, hike outside, add to that list, and later create poems. The exercises support differentiation for your individual classes as...
NET Foundation for Television
1850-1874 The Kansas-Nebraska Act
How the Kansas-Nebraska Act created Bleeding Kansas is complicated—until scholars research and examine documents from the time. After completing activities that include mapping, photo, document analysis, and discussion, learners...
NET Foundation for Television
1850-1874 Native Americans and Settlers
Did Western settlers receiving free land from the Homestead Act realize it wasn't really free at all? Scholars investigate the impact Western expansion had on Native American culture in the mid-1800s. They use documents, timelines, and...
NET Foundation for Television
1850-1874 African American Settlers
Go West, young man! Scholars investigate the impact of African American settlers moving to the Nebraska territory, following the passage of the Kansas-Nebraska Act in the mid 1800s. Using primary sources, timelines, maps, and...
NET Foundation for Television
1850-1874 Homestead Act Signed: The Challenges of The Plains
Start a whole new life in a land known as the Wild Wild West! Learners analyze maps, personal accounts, the Kansas-Nebraska Act, songs, and video clips to uncover life under the Homestead Act. Using their new skills, class members role...
NET Foundation for Television
1850-1874 Homestead Act Signed: Who were the Settlers?
Life in the great, wide-open spaces of the West! Scholars analyze the reasons behind the vast movement to the Great Plains after the passing of the Kansas-Nebraska Act and the Homestead Act. Using photographic, document, map, video, and...
NET Foundation for Television
1850-1874 Beef Moves to Nebraska
Just how long was the Long Drive? Learners investigate the movement of cattle in the Great Plains during the mid-1800s. They incorporate photographic, newspaper, video, and primary source evidence into their posters, artwork, and written...
Smithsonian Institution
New American Roles
America has dealt with its fair share of hardships in contemporary history. The resource discusses the events of the Gulf War, September 11th, the Afghanistan War, and The Iraq War. Scholars click on artifacts to learn more information,...
Smithsonian Institution
War of 1812
Luckily for those who aren't history buffs, anyone can guess that the War of 1812 happened in ... 1812. But how to cover the rest of the story? The resource does just that with effective direct instruction that includes statistics,...
Concord Consortium
Zero Coupon Bond
There are zero reasons not to learn about zero coupon bonds. Given information about the interest rate and closing price of a zero coupon bond, future investors determine the purchase price of the bond. They then consider the...
Mascil Project
The Pipe Clamp
Clamp onto the resource and don't let go. Future mechanical engineers produce a pipe clamp from a sheet of metal. This idea is to use the pipe clamp to affix a pull-up bar in a doorway.
Louisiana Department of Education
Out of the Dust
The Grapes of Wrath may be the most famous novel set during the Dust Bowl, but what other stories cover the same time? The unit focuses on the Karen Hesse novel Out of the Dust. Learners keep a timeline of the Dust Bowl, maintain a...