Brine Shrimp: Getting to Know a Salt Water Arthropod
Gather small observations of arthropods. Using brine shrimp, pupils observe the life cycle of arthropods. Learners set up saltwater aquariums and observe the brine shrimp over a three-week period. To finish, they compare and contrast how...
Keeping a Betta
Swim with the fishes. Class members observe, research, and record physical characteristics of Betta fish. They change the environment of the aquarium by adding rocks and plants and observe any reactions the fish have to the new environment.
American Museum of Natural History
Space Jell-O
A tasty treat lends its curious substance to space exploration. Mimicking the discoveries of Albert Einstein, young astronomers beginning by making a batch of Jello-O, then four hours later, scholars place edible objects that act like...
American Chemical Society
What Makes It Snow?
Discover the icy world of snow from the comfort of the indoors. Young meteorologists study visuals and a video to examine snow formation and structure. Using the information they learn, scientists follow a procedure to construct a...
American Chemical Society
Why Do Puddles Dry Up?
Bring evaporation right into the hands of young scientists with an entertaining, hands-on activity. Investigators view videos and images while participating in class dialogue focused on water evaporating from surfaces. A short experiment...
American Chemical Society
Atoms Can Be Rearranged to Make Different Molecules
Uncover the building blocks of the universe as budding chemists explore atoms and molecules in an exciting inquiry-based activity. Investigators view an interactive video describing the chemical structure of six molecules. Using...
DocsTeach
Extending Suffrage to Women
Votes for women! The activity highlights the push for the Nineteenth Amendment giving women the right to vote. High school scholars learn how the Fifteenth Amendment giving African American men the right to vote helped to spark the...
DocsTeach
Exploring America's Diversity: Miguel Miñan (Beginner)
Many have traveled from around the globe searching for the American dream. Scholars research the life Miguel Miñan, an immigrant from Brazil, using ship and census records. The activity focuses on American diversity and highlights the...
DocsTeach
Exploring America's Diversity: Gertrud Danneberg (Beginner)
Everyone is an immigrant in their own way. Young scholars read historic documents to understand one woman's journey from Germany to the United States. The activity uses a mixture of text, discussion, and written prompts to help...
EngageNY
Building Background Knowledge: Investigating the Scientific Method with Max Axiom Super Scientist
Let's have a look at something different. Scholars take a look at the text Investigating the Scientific Method with Max Axiom Super Scientist and discuss how the structure, graphics, and images appear different than previous works they...
Academy of American Poets
Teaching the Vietnam War with Poetry and Archives
The language of and the perspective of photographs, poems, and official reports differ. After a close reading of two photographs, two poems, and a military report about the Vietnam War, individuals adopt someone's voice or something from...
American Museum of Natural History
Mesozoic Museum
Mini museum curators create an exhibit that showcases the Mesozoic era. Pupils use their knowledge of dinosaurs to make informative posters, drawings, and dioramas. Following three steps to complete the hands-on activity, scholars read...
Angel Island Immigration Station Foundation
Culminating Writing Project - Reporting on Angel Island
The unit study of Angel Island Immigration Station concludes with scholars using information from the previous lessons to craft a news story about the Angel Island program.
American Museum of Natural History
Drawing Dinos
Five steps walk budding artists through the process of drawing a dinosaur. A drawing guide showcases four dinosaurs—stegosaurus, tyrannosaurus rex, triceratops, and allosaurus.Â
American Museum of Natural History
Finding Fossils
How does one go about finding fossils? Find out with an informative webpage that looks at the digging process, showcases rocks and common fossils, helpful tips, and a list of archeological do's and don'ts.Â
Angel Island Immigration Station Foundation
Conditions in China: Why Might One Leave Home Forever?
Primary source texts provide scholars with the background information they need to understand why Chinese peasant farmers were driven to emigrate. After underlining keywords, phrases, and/or lines in the texts, individuals craft a...
Angel Island Immigration Station Foundation
Where Is Angel Island? An Introductory Geography Lesson
Prepare young historians for a study of Angel Island Immigration Station with a lesson plan examining primary and secondary source materials, maps, and websites. Using what they have learned, individuals create a map of Angel Island,...
Nemours KidsHealth
Cold and Flu: Grades 6-8
Wouldn't it be lovely if people were immune from colds and flu? Alas, such is not the case; however, there are things we can do to avoid getting or spreading these pesky health hazards. Middle schoolers read articles that provide them...
Nemours KidsHealth
Bike Safety: Grades 6-8
Two activities teach tweens and teens about bike safety. After reading articles about bike safety, class members design tags with important safety reminders that can be attached to bikes. Groups then create a dance video that...
American Museum of Natural History
Make Your Own Creatures of Light
Bioluminescent animals are the focus of a hands-on craft in which scholars create a scene of either a land or sea bioluminescent creature.
Nemours KidsHealth
Smoking: Grades 6-8
Light up middle schoolers' understanding of the monetary and health costs of smoking with two activities. First, class members calculate how much a smoker would spend in a year if they smoke a pack a week or a day. They then explore...
Nemours KidsHealth
Alcohol: Grades 6-8
To get the word out about the realities of teens and tweens drinking alcohol, class members engage in two activities. For the first, groups design highway billboards about the dangers of alcohol drinking. Class members then create a...
Nemours KidsHealth
Water Safety: Grades 6-8
Taking care of younger children is often the first job for many middle schoolers. Learning how to keep themselves and their young charges safe, especially around water, is essential. Two activities teach teens, and tweens water safety...
Nemours KidsHealth
Food Safety: Grades 6-8
The flu or food poisoning? Middle schoolers learn how to safely prepare, cook, clean up, and store food with a instructional activity that has them first read articles about food safety. Partners create a video that shows them modeling...