Seward's Folly or brilliant strategic move? Class members investigate primary source documents from each country to determine the rationales behind the sale and purchase of Alaska, and then stage a debate.

The Alaskan wilderness contains every imaginable element of the water cycle: it has flowing streams, cool spring rain, and frozen glaciers. Pupils use a series of worksheets to identify and define evaporation, condensation, and...

While the lesson focuses on right triangles, this activity offers a great way to practice the area of all triangles through an interactive webpage. The activity begins with the class taking a square paper and cutting in in half; can they...

Animal reproduction in sheep and cattle is explored with the help of Punnet squares. Scholars employ tools using probability to conclude the color of wool a sheep's offspring will have. Acting as animal geneticists, pupils then take...

Students examine how the climate and environment affect people in Alaska. They identify the five regions of Alaska on a map, conduct Internet research, write a report on climate differences across the five Alaskan regions, and write a...

Learn about polar bears and the Arctic circle with a lesson about the countries and conditions of the region. After examining how the area differs from Antarctica, kids explore climates, animals, and geographical position...

Though the walrus spends roughly one third of its time on land, it eats organisms that live on the bottom of the ocean. The first in a series of five, the instructional activity uses a variety of plant and animal cards to have scholars...

Use this packet as a companion to your study of Hatchet by Gary Paulsen. The resource breaks the novel up into several chunks, and for each chunk provides activities, background information, vocabulary, graphic organizers, and response...

As a class, scholars read the poems, Humpty Dumpty, Peter, Peter, Pumpkin Eater, and Jack and Jill, in order to identify words with the same ending sound. Using their rhyming skills, learners brainstorm additional words...

Watch the damage from a forest fire in this interactive simulation activity that challenges learners to estimate the burn area using different approaches. Learners are given a worksheet to track the different burn patterns and practice...

Venn diagrams are helpful in understanding the idea of a set and using attributes to sort items. This basic plan is an introduction with an added bonus of an applet that can be used to demonstrate the activity. If a classroom of...

Young geometers investigate and apply properties of quadrilaterals.  After a review and discussion of key terms, young scholars use a computer applet to explore four-sided figures and classify them according to their attributes. The...

Chemosynthetic communities of cold seep areas are considered in this instructional activity. Working in collaborative groups, marine biology or oceanography learners research and prepare a report about oxidation-reduction reactions...

How would you spend your last days with a loved one? The movie guide for The Fault in Our Stars prompts scholars to compare important scenes from the novel to the film and contains background information about the author, guided...

Students communicate in the Inupiat language using weather-related vocabulary, numbers, and days of the week. They prepare a weather forecast and present it as if they were on a television news program. The forecast must be entirely in...

Students investigate methods of weather prediction before modern communication sources. A local elder lectures the class on weather prediction and safety. They document the experience by creating posters. Applying the methods presented...

If you think you can do better, feel free to give it a try. Pupils learn about the work on Temple Grandin and consider ways to improve animal handling facilities. They work in groups to build models to showcase their ideas.

Here is a lesson that takes an interesting approach to analyzing data using box and whisker plots.  By using an applet that dynamically generates Venn diagrams, the class forms a strategy/algorithm for guessing the rule that fits...

After some instruction, small groups prepare a written report on chemotrophic organisms. Though not clearly mentioned, this resource would work best if groups have the Internet available to research the vocabulary and different organisms...