Baylor College
What Is a Neuron?
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...
Baylor College
Neurotransmitters Contain Chemicals
Human body systems students play a card game, "Locks & Keys" in order to learn that neurotransmitters carry a message from one neuron to another by fitting into a receptor site on the receiving nerve cell. While this activity can...
Curated OER
Making Parent Volunteers in the Classroom a Win-Win-Win
Volunteer class time help in the primary grades can benefit you, your class, and your parent volunteers.
Baylor College
Crossing the Synaptic Gap
As part of a unit on the chemistry of the brain, thinkers learn how chemicals work to transmit messages between individual neurons and how controlled substances impact the synaptic cleft. They do so by playing a dice-and-card game in...
Curated OER
The 1:1 Transition: Paving a Smooth Road for Students
Teaching expectations, routines, and skills make the transition smoother for students and teachers alike.
Curated OER
Divide to Differentiate
Divide your class by ability level to effectively differentiate and appropriately challenge all students.
Baylor College
Serving Sizes
Are serving sizes for different foods always appropriate for what you need? In this hands-on activity, learners work in groups to estimate what one serving size of various foods are, and then evaluate their hypotheses by measuring...
California Academy of Science
Kinesthetic Astronomy: Mars Opposition Dance
Your class will watch as one child orbits the sun as Earth, while another orbits as Mars. If the timing is right, they will see the repetitive dance between the two planets and discover how often they are opposite from each other. For...
California Academy of Science
What's on a Penny?
As a lesson on scientific observation, have your class investigate the features of a penny and a nickel. Working in pairs, they practice writing detailed descriptions using their senses and a ruler to gather information. This is an...
California Academy of Science
Kinesthetic Astronomy: The Meaning of a Year
How many times have you traveled around the sun? Aspiring astronomers grasp what a year is and they differentiate between orbit and rotation by walking around the sun right within your classroom. Place a lamp in the center of the room to...
California Academy of Science
Kinesthetic Astronomy: Moon Phases
We are the world! Each of your class members models Earth and holds a styrofoam ball to see its phases. Thorough teacher background information and a detailed lesson plan will make this a cinch to teach. If you do not want to purchase...
California Academy of Science
Kinesthetic Astronomy: Longer Days, Shorter Nights
A lamp, four globes, and some signs taped around the room are all you need to set up a solar system simulation for teaching how Earth's tilted axis creates the seasons. (Sticky dots are also needed, but not mentioned in the materials...
California Academy of Science
Kinesthetic Astronomy: Earth's Rotation
After completing the activity, "Kinesthetic Astronomy: The Meaning of a Year," zoom in on Earth's rotation using the same simulation setup and this outline. Each class member dons a map of the Western Hemisphere and plays the part of...
California Academy of Science
Kinesthetic Astronomy: Birthday Stars
Space explorers take a virtual trip around the sun right within your classroom! They stand in a circle facing away from the "sun" (a lamp) in the center of the room. As they move according to your instructions, they view different...
California Academy of Science
How Big is Big?
In a math or life science class, "mini-me" models are created with cardstock to reflect a 1:10 scale of students' bodies. Learners measure each others' heights with meter sticks, and then reduce the size by 10. After this exercise, they...
Model Me Kids
Model Me Going Places 2
Social stories are wonderful teaching tools specifically designed for learners with Asperger's, autism, PDD-NOS, non-verbal learning disabilities, or other developmental disabilities. They are used to model appropriate social behaviors...
Curated OER
Get Organized! Three Websites All Teachers Should Know About
Bring classroom planning into the digital age with these time-saving, flexible web tools.
Curated OER
Beyond The Catcher in the Rye
J.D. Salinger’s Catcher in the Rye is still a classic after more than 60 years because the novel answers the questions of human psychological needs.
McGraw Hill
The Wellness Triangle
Health is not simply the absence of disease or a one-dimensional notion, but is really a combination of physical, emotional, and social components. Discover the wellness triangle, which not only includes signs of health and ways to...
Illustrative Mathematics
Price per Pound and Pounds per Dollar
Help learners understand the concept of unit rate as it is applied to buying beans at a grocery store. The objective is to determine the unit rate in two ways, and then apply each ratio to an additional problem. The attached commentary...
California Academy of Science
Coral and Chemistry
Using cabbage juice as a pH indicator, future scientists explore the effect of increasing carbon dioxide on the pH of the ocean and relate it to the health of coral reefs. Ideal for an earth or environmental sciences course, this lesson...
California Academy of Science
Global Climate Change and Sea Level Rise
Ice is nice, and its condition on the planet has a significant effect. Junior geoscientists experiment with ice melting in both water and on land to discover how each affect the rising sea level. This detailed lesson plan outline even...
Curated OER
Bring Read-to-Learn Activities into Your Classroom
Shift your instruction from teacher-centered to student-centered, which requires learners to do the heavy lifting.
Curated OER
Learning to Teach: Dos and Don’ts
Walking the tightrope of etiquette involved with student teaching…in front of thirty kids.