Curated OER
Animal Adaptations
Young scientists explore the animal kingdom from the safety of the classroom with this short research project. After first choosing an animal, children use the Internet to discover where it lives, what it eats, and how it has adapted to...
Curated OER
Now That's Beautiful!
Your class experiences dozens of messages about beauty every day by reading magazines, watching movies, and listening to the radio. Have them analyze society's view of beauty in groups after discussing several resources, including Dove's...
Curated OER
The View From Here
Study the beauty of the landscape around you with an innovative art lesson plan. After discussing the foreground, background, and middle ground of landscape art, kids work on making their own piece of landscape art. The lesson plan...
West Virginia Department of Education
Project Based Learning Template
Here is a great resource for vetting your next project-based learning idea and considering all the major components that you should incorporate.
Center for Civic Education
Women's History Wax Museum
Bring influential historical figures to life with a highly interactive and informative activity. Your class members will research important activists during the women's suffrage movement and then share what they have learned by role...
Speak Truth to Power
John Lewis: Non-Violent Activism
After comparing and contrasting non-violent and violent social movements, your young historians will take a closer look at the work and influence of John Lewis on the civil rights movement. They will then choose a current social justice...
Curated OER
Inventions Over Time
Explore the inventions of the past with a project on ancient tools. After reading an article about hunting during the Archaic period, the Late Prehistoric period, and the Historic period, kids fill in a cause-and-effect chart about the...
Mesa Public Schools
Country Project
Give your young learners the chance to discover more about countries in their world community with a research project. Class members write reports on an assigned country and include such major features as geography, important historical...
North Haven Middle School
Environmental Expert Presentation
Individuals or groups select an environmental issue, then spend time researching and creating a presentation to share in class. By allowing learners to choose the issue that matters most to them, you will motivate them to do excellent...
Texas State Energy Conservation Office
Creating an Advertisement
Advertising for the purpose of influencing public policy regarding the use of alternative fuels is the focus of an innovative and engaging lesson. Learners are split up into six team in order to create an advertising campaign that...
Spartan Guides
Infographics Lesson
An infographic is fantastic way for learners to illustrate their understanding of content, express themselves creatively, and teach others in a manner that is both engaging and informative. While originally designed for a lesson on...
SHS Algebra
Linear vs. Exponential Functions Tasks
Your algebra learners will enjoy the real-life application of the three tasks presented here. They complete a table and a graph comparing the two options presented. One option is linear, while the other is exponential. After coming up...
Discovery Education
Clutter Cutter
Challenge young learners to cut the clutter with this fun engineering project. As employees of a home and office supply company, young engineers are asked to develop devices that organize everyday items. After participating in a...
Exploratorium
Exploring Tessellations
Tessellations are patterns of repeating shapes that don't overlap and don't have any gaps. Middle schoolers take this simple definition and engage in a lesson that combines visual art and mathematics. They cut out index cards using...
Exploratorium
Cut-Fold-Staple
Here is an interesting activity that combines paper folding art and geometry. In it, learners have a stack of index cards that are bound together. They draw a shape on it, and cut out the shape. When they unfold their shape, they have...
Exploratorium
Beyond Dominoes: Polyominoes
Dominoes, polyominoes, tetrominoes, and pentominoes are the subject of this interesting math activity designed for middle schoolers. Pupils cut out shapes that are embedded in a worksheet in the plan, and experiment with them by taping...
Exploratorium
Exploring a Complex Space-Filling Shape
Middle schoolers build a three-dimensional 12-pointed star as a geometric exercise. The shape is quite-difficult to construct. Luckily there is an excellent template that learners cut out, then use to make their pyramid. The second part...
Exploratorium
Rotating String Shapes
Here is a very interesting way of studying triangles and polygons. Pupils work together and use pieces of string to create a variety of shapes. Depending on how many kids are manipulating the string at any one time, the number of...
Weebly
Liberty Theme Park Project
Invite your young historians to demonstrate how the American Revolution truly was one crazy ride after another as they design a theme park! This unique and engaging project prompts learners to consider major events leading up to and...
Barren County Schools
American Revolution Project
Here you will find three simple and engaging American Revolution projects that will allow your learners to not only express their comprehension of major events and key terms during the war, but also offer the opportunity for great...
School Rack
Westward Expansion Project Choices
What a great list of brief research projects for reviewing the era of westward expansion in the United States! Learners are directed to choose and complete three of the projects on the given list, which includes opportunities to design...
Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers
Shake it up with Seismographs!
Shake things up in your STEM or earth science classroom when you have small groups construct their own seismographs. A reading assignment on the history of seismographs, the Richter scale, and current technology sets the stage for the...
Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers
Chair Lift Challenge
During the Winter Olympics, this would be an engaging task to include in your STEM lesson. Design teams plan, construct, and test a miniature ski lift that can carry a pingpong ball up and down a rope line without falling out. With this...
Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers
Pendulum Time
Take your time with this lesson. Junior engineers read about different types of clocks and then work together to build a pendulum time-keeper. There are no hints as to how they might go about accomplishing this complex task, so you may...