The construction of skyscrapers is no simple undertaking, involving the careful coordination and planning of many different people. The third lesson in this series explores this detailed process by first teaching children about the main...

What's the best way to learn how watersheds work? Build one! Combining engineering, the water cycle, and ecology concerns, the activity is the perfect fit for an interdisciplinary unit. Teams construct a model watershed with simple...

This challenge game activity focuses on not just following directions, but on active listening as the players receiving the directions are blindfolded. The players giving directions need to be clear and concise in telling the blindfolded...

How do people manage to get everything done when there are so few hours in a day? Scholars explore the question as they participate in small group discussions about time management. They construct a daily schedule and complete a...

Four lessons, each following the same routine, explore the careers of a teacher, nurse, electrician, geologist, plumber, and police officer. After listening to a read-aloud and thoughtful discussion, young scholars construct puppets...

"Sí, se puede!" Cesar Chavez and Dolores Huerta believed organizing farm workers and changing their working conditions were possible. Scholars examine provisions of the Bracero Program, videos, and the United Farm Workers' (UFW) work....

There is a strong need for workers skilled in trades (agriculture, construction, transportation, the service industry, manufacturing, industry). Middle schoolers listen to an interview with a tradesperson and then go online to...

Equity. Increased productivity. Price stability. Environmental protection. Decreased poverty. Governments establish socio-economic goals and then must design and fund programs to address these goals. Groups investigate various...

As of 2015, there are 53,481 oil wells in the Gulf of Mexico. Scholars determine how species diversity is impacted based on the ecosystem's distance from a drilling platform.  It focuses on finding the mean of data sets...

Pack the lesson into your plans. Young mathematicians learn about packing and optimization with the context of circular paving stones. They use coins to model the paving stones, and then apply knowledge of circles and polygons to...

The Massacre of Tlatelolco is the focus of a discussion-based lesson plan. Civil-minded learners consider the nature of student movements that have ended in violence based on over-reaction and government oppression. They discuss the...

Developing and maintaining healthy interpersonal relationships is difficult, especially as middle schoolers begin dating. A short activity permits eighth graders to practice their skills as they consider how they should respond to a...