Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s speech, "I Have a Dream," is one of the most famous in United States history, but why was it so effective? Ask your class to determine the answer to this question. While the resource includes a description of...

Eighth graders take their own "core sample" with clay and/or play-dough and correlate the layers of the earth.

Get two activities with one instructional activity. The first instructional activity, is appropriate for grades 6-12 and takes about 20 minutes. It introduces the concept of measures of central tendency, primarily the mean, and discusses...

The first activity in this resource has learners computing the mean and standard deviation of two different data sets and drawing conclusions based on their results. The second activity has them using a dice-rolling simulation to...

One way to get your class to evaluate and synthesize multiple multimedia sources is through a research project. The idea here is that class members will watch videos and listen to scientific debates in order to create a casebook about...

Through this set of three lessons about Ellis Island, class members will learn about why immigrants came to the United States, find out about the difficulties that went along with coming to America, become familiar with the immigration...

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...

Determining a theme or central idea is greatly emphasized in the Common Core standards. Target that skill though big metaphors and central symbols in Pam Muñoz Ryan's Esperanza Rising. Help your class reach the standard through...

Does a spider spin its web differently in space? What other ways might microgravity affect an arachnid? Pick a topic to research, plan an investigation, and follow astronauts on the International Space Station as they perform some of the...

Juvenile geologists drill clear plastic straws down into a playdough sedimentary rock model, pulling out sample rock cores. As they analyze their cores, they apply the law of superposition and discover that originally horizontal layers...

Your geology class practices taking core samples of a potato to examine the stratigraphy. This is a terrific modeling lesson that helps youngsters visualize strata that cannot be seen from the surface of the ground. The directions...

Junior geologists sort rocks and soil. They separate a sample of river gravel by size, shape, color, and other characteristics. To include Common Core standards, you could have little ones graph the number of particles in each sample.

Humongous vegetables can inspire and awaken your mathematicians to the large math concepts in our Common Core standards. What is the secret to growing such gargantuan garden objects in Alaska? In the state that is closest to the...

The problem seems simple: find the area of the equilateral triangle whose sides are each length 1. In fact, this same problem is solved in 8th grade, addressing a different Common Core standard, using the formula for area of a triangle...

When it comes to rating educational calculators, this calculator is always near the top of this list. Now it's available as an app. There is a lot of calculator power wrapped up in this app. Not only is this a fully functioning...

This amazingly extensive unit covers a wealth of geometric ground, ranging from constructions to angle properties, triangle theorems, rigid transformations, and fundamentals of formal proofs.  Each of the almost-forty lessons...

Data starts to tell a story when it takes shape. Learners describe skewed and symmetric data. They then use the graphs to estimate mean and standard deviation. 

Although it was written to use in a science class, this measurement lesson is adaptable to Common Core standards in math for measurement and data. Youngsters are introduced to two types of measurement systems. They use both the...

Kathy Henderson’s book And the Good Brown Earth introduces the class to how a vegetables grows and changes over time. They use different types of lettuce to do a close study of this quick-growing vegetable. Learners consider the look,...

Brian was devastated when Hostess® filed for bankruptcy, and he was also fearful that his favorite snack treat would be lost forever. The snack food was in danger of being lost, your class won't be lost when using Twinkies® as the...

The ancient Mayans had a complex calendar and number system with a rich history. In fact, the date 12/21/2012 was the center of much controversy as to whether or not it was the end of time. It wasn't the end of time, but...

Challenge young mathematicians to buy classroom supplies by staying within the means of a $1,000 budget. The mathematical activity provides learners with the opportunity to decide what items from the supply list would benefit a class of...

Use context to explain the importance of the key features of a graph. When context is introduced, the domain and range have meaning, which enhances understanding. Pupils use application questions to explore the key features of the graph...

Pupils explore the concept of the bell curve. In this bell curve instructional activity, students discuss the controversy associated with the bell curve. Pupils use an applet to explore a normal distribution. Students discuss mean,...