Miama-Dade County Public Schools
Middle School Mock Trial Competition
Objection! Scholars participate in a mock trial to gain an understanding the ins and outs of court procedures. Using the Jessie Jones v. Palm City court case, they role play each specific part of the trial, learning how courts operate...
US Holocaust Museum
Educational Modules Based on Audio Podcasts
Imagine hearing someone claim an event like the Holocaust never happened. Pupils use audio podcasts and reading passages to dive into the lives of those impacted by the Holocaust of World War II. Using the information they gather, class...
Kenan Fellows
Industrial Knowledge of Acids and Bases
Over a 10-year period, EPA regulations cost businesses less than $30 billion, while businesses saved over $82 billion. Scholars experiment with acids and bases to better understand the pH scale. Then they debate environmental regulation...
101 Questions
Lunch
Traditional lamian, a noodle originating from China, is hand shaped by twisting, stretching, and folding the dough into strands. Scholars observe the technique before determining the length of the final noodle. They use exponential...
Montana State University
Who’s on Top?
What's it like to climb Mount Everest? An educational resource encourages an in-depth knowledge of Mount Everest's scientific missions through a variety of activities, including an analysis of maps, a KWL chart, videos, a simulation, and...
PBS
NOVA Cloud Lab Lesson Plan
A sign that washed away from Hurricane Sandy in 2012 beached itself 3,595 miles away in France. This artifact and others from around the world help scientists understand water currents and the far-reaching impact of hurricanes. Scholars...
101 Questions
Potatoes
Between 2000 and 2017, the cost of potatoes more than doubled in the United States. Pupils use the total cost of two types of potatoes to solve for the number of pounds of each type of potato. Then, they determine if the kitchen scale...
101 Questions
Graduation
Graduation ceremonies are huge milestones, but sometimes waiting for a name to be called gets a bit boring. Scholars find the pace the announcer calls names to determine how long until a specific name is called. Calculations work in...
101 Questions
Home Depot
Household emergencies often require supplies from a home improvement store. Pupils view a map showing a home and three different stores to determine which is the closest. Follow-up activities find close food options as well.
101 Questions
Safe Cracking
How long would it take to break into a safe by testing every possible combination of codes? Pupils view a video clip of this happening and must determine the total amount of time before success. They measure how long each step takes, add...
101 Questions
Two Lane Road
Two vehicles move at a constant rate of speed toward each other, but when exactly will they pass? Pupils use still images from a video to determine the rate of speed and when the two cars meet. Then, they watch the complete video to...
101 Questions
Downloading
Have you ever wanted to download a great lesson, but you weren't sure if you had enough time? Scholars learn to create a function for this situation to determine when a file will finish downloading. They also learn the difference between...
101 Questions
Stopping Distances
In 2016, one in every four fatal car crashes listed speeding as a contributing factor. Pupils view videos of a car trying to come to a quick stop from four different rates of speed. They use context clues to measure and determine the...
101 Questions
Coke Jacuzzi System of 3
Can you determine the exact volume of a bottle based on the relative volume of other bottles? A series of four videos shows someone pouring fluid into bottles. Scholars must set up a system of equations to determine how much each bottle...
101 Questions
Representative Sample
At what point does data switch from being an outlier to part of the average? Scholars view conflicting news articles about protesters. They must decide which, if any, side is using the correct sample to draw their conclusions. It's a...
National Endowment for the Humanities
A Debate Against Slavery
Slavery is a serious topic that can be challenging for middle schoolers to study. Young scholars can see firsthand through primary sources what occurred during that time period in the United States. The third of five lessons provides...
Administrative Office of the US Courts
Hazelwood v. Kuhlmeier
Freedom of speech is not always free. Scholars investigate how the First Amendment provides for the right to express opinions. Through the court case Hazelwood v. Kuhlmeier, they analyze free speech using primary documents—and hopefully...
Howard Hughes Medical Institute
WildCam Gorongosa
After years of war and unrest, how quickly will nature recover? Started as a project to track lion populations, WildCam Gorongosa now tracks many species. Through hidden camera evidence, scientists know species are returning to the area....
Nuffield Foundation
Controlling Body Mass
Many variables impact your body mass, not just diet and exercise. Scholars collect and study data about body mass to better understand the complexity of a sensitive topic. They learn about leptin deficiency, the hypothalamus, and more.
Nuffield Foundation
Investigating Factors Affecting the Heart Rate of Daphnia
What variables change heart rate? Young scientists observe the beating heart in Daphnia to understand these variables. They make changes in temperature, chemicals, and other factors as they graph the heart rates. Analysis questions help...
Nuffield Foundation
Intrepreting Information about Sweating and Temperature
Why do we sweat? Scholars analyze data about body temperature, sweating, and other factors to better understand sweating. They note the changes after drinking ice water to sweating, skin temperature, and body temperature. Analysis...
Howard Hughes Medical Institute
Natural Selection and the Evolution of Darwin's Finches
Darwin explained the connection between species of finches 150 years before scientists understood DNA. Technology and progressing science proved he was right, yet many struggle to understand how natural selection happens. Scholars use...
Howard Hughes Medical Institute
Comparative Anatomy of the Domestic Chicken
Are chickens and crocodiles really related? Young scientists compare the bone structure of current domestic chickens to other animals throughout evolution. This helps them understand the branches that separate crocodiles and birds as...
Howard Hughes Medical Institute
Survey Methods
How many African elephants are on earth? How do scientists answer a question like that? An interactive resource explains a variety of survey methods and their advantages and disadvantages. It connects the need for a survey to...