Students investigate child labor during the Great Depression. In this US policy lesson, students evaluate multiple layers of the social, economic, and political affects of policy during the Great Depression. Students will engage in 5...

Has media always had an influence on public policy? After researching and reading news articles written during World War I, learners understand the influence of communication and media. They discuss articles in small groups and as a...

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...

Get artsy with this WWII group activity, starting with a whole-class assignment. Create a map of Europe, Northern Africa, and the Pacific using geometric shapes cut from construction paper and placed on the floor. Consider splitting the...

Students assess how patterns, functions and algebra can assist NASA engineers design new ways of propelling spacecrafts. They explore how electricity and magnetism are replacing the fuel-consuming rocket propulsion. Electromagnetism is...

Eighth graders with a number of disabilities visit people and places in their community while using digital cameras to record their visits. They take digital pictures which they include in books, posters, and other publications which...

A scientist, inventor, entrepreneur, politician, and the founder of a nation—and that's just one person! Learners investigate the many lives of Benjamin Franklin. Using a hands-on interactive online resource, they analyze primary...

Learners identify pollution around their local community. They discuss the sources of polution and categorize objects based on their properties. They discover ways to make changes to the environment and how to inform the public.

Students engage in a paper treasure hunt to find a lode deposit of gold using the placer deposit concentrations of metals found in stream sediments. They use topographic maps and metal concentrations to assist them. Students discuss the...

Fifth graders, in groups, conduct an experiment in which they measure ground level ozone levels using an ozone measuring kit. They analyze and compare the weather conditions and locations where ozone readings are highest and lowest.

Students investigate the distribution of the earth's water. They conduct a demonstration of water distribution, and create a pie graph to display the results.

Students identify qualities of clean water and develop an awareness of people in the community who keep our water clean.

Fifth graders investigate the process of water treatment. They listen to the book, "The Magic School Bus Visits the Waterworks," design a plan for a water treatment system, construct a water filter using various materials, and test the...

Students examine how water travels in and out of houses through pipes. They discover how water is treated and discuss the importance of the treatment centers. They participate in an experiment with different size piping and water.

Students set up their own composting bin. They observe and record their findings during a period of time. They describe the decomposing process as well.

Students discover the concept of decomposition. They examine how it makes the soil more fertile and how it helps plants. They put a compost bin in their backyard and record their observations.

Learners examine the issues surrounding air pollution. They discover how it affects peoples health and the government's regulations. They complete a word search activity to practice the vocabulary.

Students complete an experiment to determine how dirty the air is in their local community. They analyze images and discuss the varying degrees of air pollution. They discuss the results of the experiment.

Fourth graders work together to complete an experiment on air pollution. They identify visible and invisible forms of pollution. They gather their data in notebooks and analyze their results to end the lesson.

Young scholars test a variety of plastic bags to test its biodegradability. They record their observations and discuss them once the experiment is complete. They identify materials best suited to be placed in a landfill.

Students conduct an experiment to show how water gets contaminated through neighborhood runoffs.

Students examine two devices used to clean up the air waste stream before it enters the atmosphere. They construct and use a wet scrubber and an electrostatic precipitator, and answer discussion questions.

Learners take a field trip to a local estuary and analyze water samples. They analyze and graph the data results, write an essay, and create a food web of their field site.

Students investigate the idea of gender descrimination in the classroom. In this algebra activity, students collect data in stereotyping, and gender bias in the classroom, school materials and activities. They graph and analyze their...