Spy games are not just for professionals anymore! Scholars use short video clips, primary documents, and photographs to investigate Nazi spies in America during World War II.  The young detectives analyze the paranoia warfare can...

Go West, young man! Scholars use PBS video clips, slide shows, and interactive materials to create a picture of Manifest Destiny in the American West. Using a variety of primary and secondary sources, young historians learn about the...

Dim the lights, take a deep breath, and press play to explore the emotions and memories that music elicits. Class members begin using relaxation techniques designed to create a positive listening experience. As music plays, learners...

After comparing earthquake and volcanic hazards to one another, fifth graders take a closer look at damage associated with a volcanic eruption. They then create a simulation of mudslides due to a volcanic eruption. Using different...

How much can you learn about an important topic from a single image? High schoolers analyze an infographic that represents the number of stops performed during the Stop and Frisk police procedure. After building background information...

As of 2015, there are 53,481 oil wells in the Gulf of Mexico. Scholars determine how species diversity is impacted based on the ecosystem's distance from a drilling platform.  It focuses on finding the mean of data sets...

How diverse is the rainforest? How much more diverse is a rain forest than a temperate forest? Explore these focus questions in a instructional activity that explores the plants, animals, and insects in forests. After...

It's time for the feast! Young historians complete their study of the First Thanksgiving by completing an online activity, watching a slideshow, and examining a First Thanksgiving timeline. After answering text-dependent questions to...

Explore the excitement and ethical challenges of CRISPR and genetic-editing technology. Participants engage in do-nows, view a slideshow, and collaborate on scenarios about genetic editing. Group members analyze scenarios to generate...

Learn about damage associated with earthquakes and materials that best withstand a quake. A lab engages class members in the experimental design and construction of sturdy structures that can endure various earthquake...

Historical fiction novels give readers a chance to step into someone else's shoes. An educator's guide from Penguin Common Core Lesson Plans provides resources to accompany three historical fiction novels written by Ruta Sepetys: Between...

The many activities in this resource serve to introduce second graders to the Macintosh computer and to various programs and their creative product options. They make sideshows using KidPix, practice using email with the Journey South...

Take your class on a field trip to Fractalland where they'll learn all about number and shape patterns. Based on Disney's movie Alice in Wonderland, this resource takes young mathematicians on an adventure as they explore patterns in...

Everyone learns and experiences life differently. A set of lessons about character intensities encourages middle and high schoolers to analyze themselves, their peers, and characters from a book based on the five listed intensities:...

Students share opinions about the typical images that represent life in New York City. They create their own scavenger hunts to find images that represent the intrinsic character of their respective communities.

Young scholars are introduced to explorer James Cook and explore some basic information. They watch and take notes as the teacher present the Cook overview. Students play Cook Jeopardy following the slideshow. They play Jeopardy to...

What would be in your life's scrapbook? Scholars use short video clips, primary and secondary documents, and photos to investigate a 1909 scrapbook. They analyze and uncover what the Rogue Book tells them about the past in Western...

The women working for equal rights in the early 20th century weren't a part of one large group; rather, they were members of dozens of small groups focused on social reform. Explore the ways groups in the Progressive Era like National...

Though often used in shows of patriotism, Bruce Springsteen's 1985 song "Born in the U.S.A." is critical of America's role in the Vietnam war and its treatment of American veterans. High schoolers analyze the song's lyrics in an activity...

Scholars apply their knowledge of statistical questions to determine which questions meet the criteria. Grade 6 Claim 1 Item Slide Shows offers a couple of practice problems for scholars to discuss.

A picture speaks a thousand words, no matter how old! Scholars use political cartoons from the era of Prohibition and the Temperance Movement to analyze what, a primary document (in this case, a bootlegger's notebook) is telling them...

Students use Podcasting technology as a part of a career exploration. In this career and technology instructional activity, students research and write a documented research paper on the topic. Students use specific skills such as...

Students identify and define the vocabulary words: summer, spring, fall, and rotation. They describe how the earth's rotation affects the seasons. Students match appropriate clothing with each season. They discuss why a particular...

Learners investigate the influence of the Enlightenment on American society and government. In this Enlightenment lesson, students work cooperatively in groups to define the principles of the Enlightenment, American...