Using a variety of online resources, learners study life and society in California during the gold rush. They use a map to identify area where gold was located, explore pre-selected websites, describe mining practices, and create an...

Students explore agriculture by researching the native food crops of California. Students define a list of agriculture vocabulary terms and analyze maps of California which explain which foods come from which area. Students write a...

Students read an online CNNfyi.com article related to the energy crisis in California. They calculate the monthly cost of running household appliances. They develop a list of alternative methods of energy sources.

Believe it or not, this is a 76-page series of lesson plans published by the California Commission on Agriculture which is designed to teach upper-elementary learners about agricultural practices and products in the state. There are two...

Turn your algebra learners into meteorologists. Students are given three graphs that contain information about the weather in Santa Rosa, California during the month of February, 2012. Graph one shows temperatures, graph two displays the...

Think like an engineer and an agricultural scientist over the course of 12 lessons in a STEM based unit. Young scientists take on the roles of animal physiologists, animal geneticists, agricultural engineers, animal nutritionists,...

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...

The battle over same-sex marriage is a prevalent issue in the United States, and a valuable topic to be discussed in your social studies classroom. Here is a basic outline of introductory questions, focus questions, vocabulary, and media...

How many hands tall are you? Challenge kids to measure themselves the way the 19th century Oklahoma horse traders measured their prize horses (can they guess how many hands tall a horse had to be?). There's some background information...

Americans wanted to fulfill Manifest Destiny, and this pattern continued with the Mexican War. The resource specifically teaches about the Mexican War through a variety of exercises including a research project, group work, brainstorming...

Students research the current driving laws. They investigate what has happened in states that do have tougher laws to restrict passengers with teen drivers. Students discuss the pros and cons of making a change in their state.

Three, two, one, blast off to a better understanding of force and motion with this exciting science lesson! Beginning with a discussion about rockets and gravity, young scientists go on to complete a series of worksheets about net...

Ninth graders research early mining in California. They study the "placer method" for mining gold, which is surface mining that does not involve tunneling. They examine what it was like for the early miners to pan for gold with...

Students review telling time to the hour and half hour on an analog clock. In this time lesson, the students learn how to determine the time in each of the 4 standard time zones.

Students use the internet to research and determine who their representative is. In groups, they discuss how the representatives set their priorities and identify the various roles they can play. They determine which role their own...

Seventh graders distinguish characteristics of living things and identify the importance of careful observation. They identify five things that are not alive, but display characteristics of life and list five things that are alive, but...

Ninth graders analyze published geologic hazard maps of California and comprehend how to use the map's information to identify evidence of geologic events of the past and present and predict geologic changes in the future. They select...

Students explore the concept of normal distribution. In this normal distribution lesson, students find the normal distribution of taxes in the 50 US states. Students make histograms, frequency tables, and find the mean and median of tax...

Students identify the law of superposition and it states that beds of rock in a series are laid down with the oldest at the bottom and younger layers on the top. They construct a legen for a block diagram and construct a block diagram...

High school physicists demonstrate Bernoulli's Principle by blowing on different items and finding that they do not move in the expected direction! They apply Bernoulli's equation to the flight of an airplane. This well-organized lesson...

Using plastic Easter eggs to represent parent phenotypes, genetics enthusiasts simulate the passing of alleles. They record the phenotype of each half of the egg, one representing the mother's and one representing the father's. They...

A total of five experiments lead chemistry pros to understand the difference between physical and chemical change. They also experiment with exothermic reaction factors that affect rate of reaction. The procedures are not written in the...

Students discover that proteins that are the product of DNA translation are different for different species. They determine that by analyzing their mass and charge they can differentiate between two different species. They use some of...

Students, in teams, follow the process of design, including the stages of investigation, creation, and reflection, as they devise a way to help "save" a (simulated) pet who is trapped in a pipe.