Fifth graders at this age are very interested in the adventures of knighthood and life in the past, so the unit will serve as a basis for teaching skills while maintaining high interest.

Students study women aviators and act out a talk show-style interview with one of them. They plot Amelia Earhart's flights on a map.

Fifth graders listen to a lecture that traces the political geography of Europe from 814 through 1997. They incorporate these themes into a research project on Western Europe.

Fifth graders research and explore what life would be like for human colonists on Mars. They explore various websites, read and discuss newspaper articles, develop a chart of the hardships and conditions that would be faced by colonists...

Students investigate how rocks are modified into construction materials. In this building up and breaking down lesson plan, students explore what happens to building materials over time and how people modify natural materials. Students...

Students explore robotics. They design a simple device that simulates a human arm lifting a mass. Students test the strength of their arm. Students discuss artificial intelligence.

Young scholars identify inventions as coming from China. For this Chinese inventions lesson, students are given a list of common items such as cast iron, a wheelbarrow, and the decimal system, then conduct research to identify where...

Students study the building of the Brooklyn Bridge and the inventions of Thomas Alva Edison. They design an infomercial to sell a product or a service for an invention. They create an invention that improves the world and write an...

Students create their own working definition of what it means to be an American. They examine the achievements of Latinos and discuss how the contribution of these Americans have enriched and helped shape American culture.

Students infer the use or meaning of items recovered from a North Carolina Native American site based on 17th-century European settlers' accounts and illustration.

Students explore human elements that are a part of natural disasters, read a Hawaiian myth, conduct a survey, discuss why people choose to live in high risk areas, and participate in a writing activity based on studenT real life accounts...

Students write letters to penpals. In this geography/literacy lesson, students become penpals with a classroom in England to learn about customs and society across the ocean. Flat Stanley by Will Holton is read aloud, and students...

Fifth graders dig for fossils. In this fossil lesson plan, 5th graders read about the oldest found fossils and discuss the process of fossilization. They dig for their own fossils in a fossil box made of several dirt layers. 

Students explore the research process. In this scientific method lesson, students analyze data from an article, write their own informational article and express what they have learned. Students create their own article using the given...

Students examine the effects of the loss of the bison after the Europeans arrived in North America. They conduct a demonstration using beans to demonstrate the difference between the number of bison before and after the arrival of the...

Students examine the contributions made to our country by Barbara Jordan. They read and discuss the books "The Sneetches" and "Building a Bridge," write journal entries, participate in a discrimination simulation, create a class...

Students explore toxic hazards. For this personal health lesson, students discover appropriate uses for household chemicals as they identify potentially harmful products in their homes.

Learners recognize the difference between acids and bases.  In this ToxMystery lesson, students play a computer game and experiment to find the difference between acids and bases. Learners use litmus paper to determine if household...

Students explore channelization, riparian habitats and soil erosion to find out about  the aquatic habitats in Iowa. In this aquatic habitats instructional activity, students define important terms and read an article about...

Students perform activities to explore how their arm works and what muscles are involved. They view animated comparisons of human and robotic arms. Students create a model of the human arm.

Students explore the five senses and the significance of each sense. In this five senses and diversity lesson, students listen to You Can't Smell a Flower With Your Ear by Joanna Cole and take a walk observing opportunities to use all...

Fifth graders explore U.S. geography by reading assigned text about American Indians. In this migration lesson, 5th graders identify the differences between Native Americans and European settlers who traveled through middle America in...

Fifth graders explore the cotton plant. In this cotton lesson, 5th graders research the process of growing cotton. Students explore the economic and cultural differences in the states that grew cotton for trade and industry.

Students examine their connection to local watersheds. They describe the water cycle and list species living in their local watershed. They also draw a map of their community.