A thoughtful discussion prompts middle schoolers to reflect on gossip and rumors, what they are, their experience with them, and how some groups experience it more than others. Scenarios challenge participants to consider the impact of...

Did you know that you can find the average age of a group of people without anyone having to real their age? This resource provides directions for way to do just that. After the activity, class members read a short passage...

Middle schoolers can analyze primary source documents to answer the question, "Why did the Aztec and Inca civilizations disappear?" They will read the provided excerpts then answer 11 different questions to uncover the ultimate answer.

Combine subjects with a cross-curricular writing exercise. Although limited as an engaging or interactive activity, this Medieval Europe activity has learners responding to 3 clear and simple prompts, each of which can easily lead into...

Students tour the estates built by America's wealthiest visionaries during the years 1911-1929. They discuss the Age of Invention and the people associated with that age in US history.

A delightful lesson on poetry is here for you and your middle schoolers. Learners are instructed to write a Halloween poem. They get to choose the age range for the audience of the poem. So, it may be scary (for older kids), or humorous...

Middle schoolers review magazine ads and take a look at some of the most common advertising techniques. From analyzing these ads, youngsters begin to become aware of how advertisers target specific age groups, gender groups, and how they...

Students examine the absolute dating of fossils, they use a list of names and ages to determine the difference between relative age and absolute age. They explore the relative age and absolute age of people and of fossils.

Students discover coding in medieval cartoons. In this medieval mystery lesson, students view cartoons from history to see if they can identify the clues or solve the mystery. 

In this Vikings instructional activity, students read about the Vikings and the Viking Age and then answer the 15 questions in the packet. The answers are on the last page.

Students closely examine chamber music as it has changed from the Middle Ages to today. They work in small groups to research the composers, instruments and typical presentation in 5 time periods. They write biographies and share their...

Here is a great idea that incorporates cooking, recipe reading, content specific vocabulary, and culture. The class defines cooking related vocabulary, discusses the food they eat, then develop a recipe of their own. This is a great...

Young scholars are given a classification table and samples from their location. They locate their samples on the classification table using the characteristics used in rock identification.

Students become familiar with body changes during puberty.  In this stages of human development instructional activity, students review the stages of development from 1-5.  Students read an article called I'm Growing but Am I...

A fun lesson that utilizes toys and persuasion! After reading the article, which was written in 2005, pull some advertisements for toys currently being sold. These will be more relevant to your middle and high schoolers. What toy is a...

Collaborative groups work together to report on the volcanic activity leading to island formation and construct models to demonstrate the process. Consider having each group present their project to the rest of the class. There are many...

Explore film adaptation of literature with this lesson, which focuses on the world of film advertisements. Middle schoolers discuss various films (including The Lord of the Rings) and create advertisements for a pretend film based on a...

Your class won't get on your nerves while doing this modeling activity! After teaching the structure and function of a neuron using the included diagrams, give individuals some clay and chenille stems so that they can make their own...

Break your class in to the general structure and function of the brain. Brainiacs discuss what they know about it and create personalized brain development timelines. They also take a true-false, pre-assessment quiz to get them thinking...

In cooperative groups, middle schoolers contemplate the probability of 18 different situations occurring. After they make predictions, they compare them to the actual risk factors. This eye-opening exercise demonstrates that the odds of...

Using a simple circuit with the battery representing the brain, future physiologists test to see which solutions conduct electrical "nerve impulses." Enlighten learners with plentiful information on electric signals in the nervous system...

How many noodles long is your classroom? Find out when engineers of all ages explore measurement through the use of pool noodles. With the noodles pre-cut to certain metric lengths, the activities could be used to introduce the metric...