Young mathematicians utilize video, the internet, and hands-on learning experiences in order to recognize that fractions aren't as "scary" as they first appear, and that we use them every day in our lives. The hands-on activities in this...

Reading, writing, and rings! A lesson from NASA combines space science with authentic reading and writing tasks. Included in this lesson are pre-reading activities, four mini informational booklets on Saturn, a structured...

Students investigate space travel. In this space travel lesson students examine space exploration history, engineers and scientists involved in space exploration, and Newton's third law of motion. Students make rockets.

Students reverse engineer a cereal. In this dietary lesson students identify the minerals that the human body needs to function. Students examine how foods are fortified by food engineers. Students find the amount of iron in a cereal by...

Use the scientific method to experiment with an egg. Your class can examine buoyancy and density by finding how many spoons of salt are needed to float an egg. They can predict, experiment, record data, and analyze results.

Excellent lesson plan! Anne Linehane's geometry story, The Greedy Triangle, offers an opportunity to practice forming various types of polygons with your learners. Using elastic bands (or Chinese jump ropes),...

Third graders should enjoy these fabulous lessons on Totem Poles created by Native Americans of the Northwest. Learners investigate what totems are, the meaning of their symbols and figures, and how they were made by the Native...

An extensive instructional activity explores equivalent fractions and is intended for three 60-minute periods. Young mathematicians compare and order fractions with like and unlike denominators. Included are worksheets, assessments, and...

Another fantastic lesson on energy is presented by the American Coal Foundation. This one focuses on electricity; how it is produced, how it is delivered, and how it is used. Some excellent handouts are embedded in this fine plan which...

Whether you have your class plant seeds or begin when sprouts are visible, math skills are used here to predict and track growth over time. Straw bar graphs show plant height on a given day while the graph as a whole shows changes over...

Students observe the sounds of different brass instruments in order to understand how to create different pitches. In this musical instructional activity, students create a "brass" instrument from everyday household objects. The students...

Students work with rectangles to find generalizations for adding and subtracting odd and even numbers in part one of the lesson. In part two, students use geoboards to construct polygons, look for patterns, and find a general rule.

You have just hit the lesson plan jackpot! This isn't just a lesson, it's a ten-day unit covering westward expansion, pioneer life, and the Oregon Trail. Activities include baking, model building, role-play, newspaper writing, science...

Young scientists investigate the water cycle through a lettuce seed experiment. For this experiment, learners plant lettuce seeds inside of a ziplock bag in order to create a small greenhouse. They observe condensation and precipitation,...

Youngsters discover ways to estimate. They will use two jars with large and small items and estimate the number of items. Then record their estimate and explain why they answered the way they did. They try this experiment with different...

Get a little batty with life science! This fun simulation game replicates how bats use echolocation to hunt moths in their native Hawaiian habitat. After creating blind folds and discussing some basic principles of echolocation, students...

Students explore crystals through the story Snowflake Bentley and then create crystal pictures of their own. In this interdisciplinary lesson, they create a crystal web chart on chart paper, design artificial snowflakes, and write poems...

Students study the basic elements of the Earth's crust: rocks, soils and minerals. They categorize rocks, soils and minerals and how they are literally the foundation for our civilization. They also explore how engineers use rock soils...

Students analyze the basics of an Excel spreadsheet. They highlight cells in a spreadsheet. They make a column graph. Students are introduced to X-axis and Y-axis. They play various address games on the spreadsheet.

Students examine the difference between nonfiction and fictional writing. They identify the characteristics of nonfiction literature and examine how a nonfiction textbook organizes information.

Students examine the many steps involved in the electoral process. They examine past president's campaigns and write an announcement speech for the candidate of their choice.

Students use the scientific method to test an idea regarding the structures of a plant as it supports the biological evidence for life. For this growing roots lesson, students use organizing sheets to record their findings. Students...

Students research types of technology available to Americans at the beginning of the 20th century and compare the style of living to modern times. They identify Thomas Edison's contributions to technology and their own current lifestyles.

Groups rotate through a series of stations and work with a partner to observe sound waves. Children describe sound in terms of pitch, volume, and frequency. To apply their new knowledge, the class considers how these observations can...