Wrap up a documentary creation project with the final lesson in this series. Class members reflect on their learning and compose responses to four questions relating to what they learned, whey they would do differently, and how the group...

Students are able to describe what happens to light when it strikes different materials. They describe the law of reflection. Students are able to explain why a mirror froms a virtual image. They are able to describe diffuse reflection.

Ahoy, matey! Here is an engineering expedition that mini mariners are sure to be swept away by! After reading a brief description and history of periscopes, they work in crews to construct one. Use this activity to enhance a lesson on...

Middle schoolers determine how they are included in "Circles of Strength." In this character activity, young scholars reflect on how they are part of "Circles of Strength" in the "Circle of Life." They make an individual circle that...

Bring art and society together with this highly creative and interesting lesson. Learners research various uses of masks in ceremonies. They then create a ceremony of their own and a mask to go along with it. They film themselves...

Can you imagine what it's like to be able to carve an animal out of stone? Kids do, as they analyze the techniques used to create the South Indian sculpture, Sacred Bull of Shiva. After a critical look at the piece, they write a...

Students experiment with mirrors. In this Mirrors and How They reflect lesson, students read how mirrors reflect light. Then students perform over ten experiments and record their conclusions about mirrors and reflection. Students create...

Fifth graders study reflectional symmetry and rotational symmetry. They go outside and explore symmetry in the environment. They come back inside and make symmetrical masks that represent their way of life.

Examine how art and music can be powerful tools for conveying a political or social message. After considering the issues surrounding rapper Paris, students design their own album covers that reflect their political and/or social...

Have your young television viewers discuss popular shows among their peers. After choosing one show to analyze, middle and high schoolers read about the 2007-2008 network television lineup with the New York Times article "Gauging...

Students write a letter as a culminating activity to a service project. In this reflection project, students draw something that occurred during the project and attach words to their drawings. Students pair share to edit their work.

Lights, shadows, action, and inquiry await your artistic scientists. They explore the way light travels, absorbs, reflects, and transmits through shadow play. They create folktale-inspired shadow puppets, explore the science of light,...

Demonstrate and discuss the three types of transformations: rotation, reflection, and translation. Participate in a game which helps to reinforce and practice what they learned. Groups work collaboratively to complete the game.

The first of a three-part series on bullying, this plan has class members present skits about bullying, write and sign an anti-bullying pledge, and complete a service project. For the skit, learners use information from previous lessons...

More space, in this case, means more status. Kids consider the status assigned to Tlingits via house partition. They discuss a carved piece that shows household space partitioned by status. They then write their own clan stories and draw...

Students study the laws of reflection using light beams and mirrors. In this reflection activity, students work in teams to direct light beams to targets around the classroom. Students use mirrors to change the beam's path and compete...

Students reflect on field trips in writing. In this journal writing instructional activity, students write about a recent experience by using 4 of their senses to tell what they remember. They turn these into poetry. 

With the use of a model rocket kit, aspiring aerospace engineers work cooperatively to construct and launch a rocket. A preparatory reading assignment is included, covering Newton's laws of motion and information about the first...

Students design an experiment to investigate how light reflects. In this physics lesson, students apply the scientific method in conducting the experiment. They collect data and formulate a conclusion.

Students complete activities to learn about service learning. For this community service lesson, students answer reflection questions about community service. Students create thank you cards and letters to sponsors, government officials,...

Students participate in an activity in which they share with each other what success means to them. They are given bags of crayons and blank sheets of paper and create an image that displays what success means to them. Bags of crayons...

Exploring the baroque era can be exciting and fun when it's done thorugh the arts. Middle schoolers examine the music and art history of the baroque era through research. They use their findings and class notes to create an expository...

Young authors examine a clay figure in order to learn about the 6+1 Trait writing process. They consider how the art was made or buit up step-by-step, they then write about a process in their own lives that occurs in a similar way. 

Shake things up in your STEM or earth science classroom when you have small groups construct their own seismographs. A reading assignment on the history of seismographs, the Richter scale, and current technology sets the stage for the...