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Designing a Playground!
Students design their own playground equipment. In this design lesson, students take pictures of equipment they like and make a class pictograph of their favorite ones. They investigate the design, research equipment around the world,...
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Living News: Classroom Materials
Students explore controversial current events. In this Bill of Rights lesson, students research selected issues and examine the issues from different perspectives. Students script and record news stories that feature their findings.
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A Critical Look at Aboriginal Art
Students observe art from different Aboriginal cultures. In this art evaluation lesson, students discover the different traditions of cultures from the Pacific North West. Students judge the art from these cultures with a specific...
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Erosion... Can You Fight It?
Students study erosion and its effects on shorelines. In this erosion lesson plan, students work in an engineering team to design a seawall and submit a cost bid to their teacher. Students must determine the energy of a wave and design a...
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The Past Half Century: Achieving Equality
Young scholars analyze reactions to the Brown vs. Education decision of 1954. In this segregation lesson, student look at the actions that were taken in the education world as a result of the Brown decision. They watch a CD, examine...
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Learning From the Past
Coming up on the Olympics? Be sure your middle schoolers understand the dynamic and ancient history of this global tradition. They begin by recalling traditions parents have passed down, considering their relevance and ways they might be...
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Theology…the Use of Silence in the Classroom
Immerse your class in the Middle Ages with a thorough history lesson. After viewing examples of illuminated manuscripts such as the Book of Kells, they discuss how these were the mode of keeping and storing information employed by the...
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Historical Interview Project
Young scholars practice effectively interviewing a subject and then use that interview to create a movie.
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Put Your Truss in Building Bridges
Students apply abstract concepts, such as stress, fulcrums, the law of gravity, and the strength of different geometric shapes. Groups of student contractors operate simulated architectural firms to create strong, economical bridges.
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Tiling the Classroom
Students see how to identify regular polygons, how to slide, turn and flip polygons, and why certain polygons tessellate better than others. Groups create a one foot square design to be used to tile the classroom. Great activity!
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Respiratory System Model
The procedure for constructing a working model of the respiratory system is revealed in this resource. A wonderful approach would be to have biology learners work in pairs to create a model and write the suggested paragraph explaining...
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Build a Model Watershed
Collaborative earth science groups create a working model of a watershed. Once it has been developed, you come along and introduce a change in land use, impacting the quality of water throughout their watershed. Model making is an...
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Poetry Workshop: Fixed Form Poems
Encourage the poetic genius in your young creative writers with a poetry workshop. Fix form poems (cinquains acrostic poems, octopoems, hello/goodbye poems) provide a framework and encourage vocabulary development as well as an awareness...
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You Be the Conservator: Looking at Objects Inside and Out
Students examine the Hispanic American tradition of making santos, painted woodcarvings of saints in the Catholic Church. In this lesson, student have the opportunity to create their own santos, make an 'x-ray' and create a story using...
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Tropical Rainforests
Students create their own rainforest environment. This tropical rainforest instructional activity, introduces where rainforests are located, their real world connections, and their structural make up. It includes further resources online.
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Rivers and Streams
In this rivers and streams worksheet, students explore how rivers and streams react with the environment. Students also study where the major rivers flow in their local areas. Activities are provided that help students visualize the...
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Earth Day Unit Plan: Pollution in the Anacostia River - Biology Teaching Thesis
Sixth graders are able to explain that there are pollutants in the Anacostia River, what these pollutants can cause, and how to prevent further pollution. They examine the impacts that the pollutants of the Anacostia River could have on...
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What Does Earth Day Mean? - Biology Teaching Thesis
Students possible sources of water pollution, and explain the effects that water pollution can have on the food on the food chain. They Name human and other animal (i.e. fish) illnesses that can be contracted from drinking polluted...
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The Wonders of Water - Biology Teaching Thesis
Learners name 3-5 aesthetic values of the Potomac River. They state the importance of water in their own words. Students describe what Earth Day is and why it is important. They list 5-7 ways that they can help minimize water pollution.
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Revised: Adventures in Earth Day: Why Do We Care About Our Environment? - Biology Teaching Thesis
To describe the ecological and aesthetic importance of the Potomac River, Middle schoolers name the ways in which the river's values are jeopardized and explain the purpose of Earth Day. They write a response to a newspaper article in a...
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Genre Lesson: Autobiography
Start kids thinking about point of view and autobiographies by telling them a short story about your morning (first person), and then asking a volunteer to re-tell the story to you (second person). There are tips to help you tie this...
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Lesson: All in a Name
Lao Tzu was the fabled author of the Toa te Ching, Lau Tzu is also the name of a large sculptural piece. Kids examine Mark di Suvero's larger-than-life sculptures in relation to the elements of art they've learner about. They examine...
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A Glimmer of Beauty: Lesson Plan
Fully analyze the elements of art and unexpected beauty in the William Merritt Chase's Still Life with a Fish. The class will examine the painting very closely, then use photography to express unexpected beauty in still life. This is a...
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Newbery Award Winners
Sixth graders select a book from the Newbery list and read it. They write a short summary of the book without giving away the ending and then research the book's author. They write a book review and, finally, incorporate all of this onto...