Do all lunar eclipses look the same? Find out in an activity where astronomers use the Danjon Scale of Lunar Eclipse Brightness to describe the color and brightness of the moon during an eclipse. Explorers make three observations using...

Are you just about to teach persuasion in your class? If so, you should consider this short unit. In small groups, learners create a product, develop a magazine ad for the product, and pitch this product to the class using a visual...

Who wants a hamburger? Scholarly thinkers examine jobs in the fast food industry. Small groups discuss the jobs available in a fast food restaurant, research one of the jobs and gather information about salary, educational needs, and...

Follow up a reading of The Giraffe and the Pelly and Me by Roald Dahl with this collaborative lesson on teamwork. Starting with a fun team game, learners go on to investigate examples of teamwork in the story before...

Young scholars demonstrate their knowledge of geography with this fun, collaborative social studies project. Working in small groups, students develop their very own countries, writing descriptions...

Hot off the presses! A perfect instructional activity idea for a journalism class or even a language arts class looking to incorporate some informational texts. Young writers analyze the front pages of various newspapers to determine the...

What do physicists and musicians have in common? A lot more than you might think. After first viewing a slide show presentation and completing a series of skills practice worksheets on the physics of light, sound, and...

Here's an interesting way to incorporate technology into your classroom. Have your young readers conduct an e-discussion of a story they are currently reading. Learners can post and/or respond to the comments of others reading the same...

This unit introduces book clubs/literature circles to lower elementary classes, but could be adapted to higher grades. It outlines the anticipatory activity that includes a WebQuest, a discussion to clarify questions about the unit,...

Reading with expression excites listeners of any age. They will discuss different ways to change their reading expression as they listen to the teacher read Froggy Goes to the Doctor. Then in small groups, they'll practice reading...

Class members begin this engaging economics activity by listing all the resources used in producing a car and using that example to draw parallels to the four primary factors of production: capital goods, labor, natural resources, and...

Through reading and writing, learners explore common elements found in fairy tales. After discussing traditional fairy tales, class members listen to The True Story of the 3 Little Pigs by John Scieszka, a hilarious retelling of the...

Develop novice script-writers. Small groups sift through a sample script, noting any script-writing conventions to share with the whole class. Using these conventions and plot structures, these groups compose a script for a 10-minute...

Students investigate how transportation has evolved through the years. Students also generalize how transportation may continue to change in the future. Students work in small groups to brainstorm ideas the identify and solve a...

Learners work in small groups to investigate a variety of art and architecture forms common during the Old Kingdom epoch in Ancient Egypt. Learners then evaluate how these art forms reflect a culture's beliefs and values. And, finally,...

Examine the evolution of various species of hominids from their earliest existence approximately 4.5 million years ago to today. In small groups, learners research one of the ten stages of hominid evolution and then create a poster and...

Explore the backgrounds, qualifications, and platforms of the presidential candidates for the 2000 election. Though the lesson is outdated, the activities within the informational text could be good practice for your young learners as...

Middle schoolers will create a children's book on Keiko, the killer whale, that was rehabilitated and returned to the wild after living in an aquarium. In small groups, they conduct internet research to find out the history and current...

Bring literature to your Spanish classroom! Small groups will read one of the selected texts from Cuentos De Eva Luna. After analyzing the text, learners will create mini-quizzes for their classmates and create a presentation discussing...

Explore gender stereotypes by analyzing how male and female characters are depicted in comic books. Using the provided Comic Book Analysis sheet, students record the attributes of male and female comic book characters. Then the whole...

The dynamics between the economies and politics of the United States and the Middle East are here to study. Upper graders read and discuss scenarios relating to OPEC and the current oil crisis, then in small groups role-play members of...

Analyze magazines as a class, looking carefully for the target audience, advertisements, and topics presented. Small groups then work as a publication team and receive a magazine that they have to "sell." Each individual has a different...

Students review what author's purpose is by understanding that authors either persuade, inform, describe, or entertain with their story. In this language arts lesson, students bring in junk mail and in small groups discuss what the each...

One lesson in a series on sexually transmitted diseases, this activity is a good review about HIV/AIDS. Five main points in this lesson direct small groups of learners to read and present their information. They will need to make a...