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...

Groups work together to design a lighthouse, from designing and drawing the wiring diagram, to creating prototypes of the switch and circuit, to envisioning and building a scale model along with a blueprint. By including different...

Teaching learners how to evaluate a research source is an important part of the research process. The fresh idea here is that groups first develop a list of reasons why resources should be evaluated, transform these reasons into...

Teach solving absolute value inequalities through inquiry. Groups use their knowledge of absolute value and solving inequalities to find a solution set to an absolute value inequality. Working collaboratively encourages discussion,...

Explore the effect of outliers through an analysis of mean, median, and standard deviation. Your classes examine and compare these measures for two groups. They must make sense of a group that has a higher mean but lower median compared...

Young engineers consider how to apply accelerometers and sensors to help prevent falls in elderly people. They consider forces of motion and gravity as part of the engineering design process.

How many hot dogs does Fenway Park go through in a year? Learners estimate answers to this question and more as they work through the task. Problems require participants to make assumptions and use those assumptions to make estimations.

Students define the purpose of different groups. Using photographs, they practice identifying the group affiliation to one another and describe their characteristics in the picture. They discover the similarities and differences with...

Challenge young scientists to design their own experimental procedures. They write the procedure for properly preparing two grams of a water-insoluble ionic salt. To finish, they perform the experiment and collect data to prove their...

Now that your science class has experimented with pH indicator and identified acids and bases, they attempt to get the cabbage juice indicator back to its original color. This is done through neutralization of the acids and bases that...

Connect art to social issues with a extended inquiry project. Individuals or small groups select a social issue and a type of art to explore. They complete a KWL chart for both the social issue and the art strand and take time to create...

Each group talks about how to test unknown liquids based on their findings in the previous experiment. In this second of four activities, they test unknowns on wax paper, newspaper, and construction paper. As a stand-alone, this lesson...

Geometry students will be ecstatic about these engaging and enlightening end-of-the-year projects! Types of project ideas include interviewing a geometer, an ABCs of geometry poster, an engineering lab report, and origami work. 

What goes into a museum display? A secondary-level STEM project prompts groups to design a museum display for the Tech Museum of Innovation. They create an analogous, interactive model illustrating a science concept to complete the...

Give young scientists a new appreciation of fresh, clean drinking water. After learning about the ways astronauts recycle their air and water, your class will work in small groups creating and testing their very own water...

From their sweat to the water vapor in their breath, astronauts recycle every possible drop of water while in space. After watching a short video describing the different ways materials are recycled and reused in space...

"The Hare and the Water," a Tanzanian folk tale, lends a global perspective to literary analysis. Learners spend the first two days reading and storyboarding. On day three, they examine folk tale elements (worksheet included), and design...

Students design circuits to power 3-9 volt devices such as CD players or flashlights. After measuring the voltage and current requirements for the item, they design a loaded voltage-divided circuit to power it. Students work in teams to...

Students are introduced to the various types of groups in a society. In groups, they create a chart showing the similarities and differences between primary, secondary, and reference groups. Using magazines, they cut out pictures...

Third graders explore why food chains are important. In this food chain lesson, 3rd graders break into small groups to represent parts of the food chain. Different amounts of food are given to each group and any spilled food will be...

A simple, yet memorable, way of practicing with displacement vectors is described here. Divide your class into groups and assign each a different landmark on campus. They measure smaller legs of the path from the classroom to their...

Make sure to consult the teacher's handbook, Inquiry in Action - Investigating Matter Through Inquiry, for two demonstrations that can be done to introduce solubility and measuring crystal mass before having the class conduct this...

Conclude this chemical change unit by having your class combine two liquids that result in formation of a precipitate. The learners discover that chemical reactions result in new materials. Make sure to consider all of the preceding...

Continuing with the concept of volume and its effect on density, learners now work with a piece of clay to see if they can get it to float in water. This is a memorable end to a seven-part investigation of density. Make sure to check out...