Students investigate the basic needs of organisms that must be met in order to carry out life processes. They view a variety of organism that are meeting and competing for resources. Students create an Idea Web for the animals shown....

"I do solemnly swear that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States..." Scholars investigate the nomination process of Supreme Court justices when assuming office. Through examination of primary and secondary...

Launch a discussion of the creative process with a short video that features the daily ritual of Slobodan Dan Paich, a San Francisco artist. Slobodan models his approach to tea painting and shares his reflections on the...

What does it take to be a great negotiator? Learners discover the factors that affect the negotiation process through group discussion and brainstorming. An installment in a series of peacebuilding activities compares the needs and wants...

From a tiny seed needing water and warmth to the bud that will blossom into a flower, elementary pupils illustrate the stages of the sunflower life cycle through dance and drawing.

The life of a tree is the focus of a packet consisting of several activities all covering a different subject. Second graders measure shadows, make pinecone critters, write poems, count rings, complete a word search, play tree tag, and...

Momoyama and Edo are periods in Japanese history that can be defined culturally and artistically. Learners explore and discuss how the samurai used sword guards and grip enhancers. Pupils read the story "The Inch-High Samurai," examine...

What's life like aboard an ocean exploration vessel? Junior oceanographers examine the important role of communication in ocean research in lesson plan two of a five-part series from NOAA. The materials introduce the class to life...

What does it mean to say that a right is unalienable? How did the founding fathers convey this revolutionary concept in the Declaration of Independence? Engage in a close reading and analysis of the Declaration of Independence, and...

Students hike a local mountain and examine its life zones. They measure various components at each zone and collect leaf litter at the sites. At the mountain top, students make descriptive observations and complete a handout about the...

While cities had only a small fraction of the population in colonial America, they played a significant role in pre-revolutionary years, and this was certainly true for the largest city in the North American colonies: Philadelphia. Your...

How likely is it that the school cafeteria will serve chicken tomorrow? Discover the concept of probability with the roll of the dice. Pupils evaluate the liklihood of several statments about everyday life. Then, a mathematical...

Can a sponge cure cancer? Life science pupils visit the drugstore under the sea in the fifth lesson plan of six. Working groups research the topic then get hands-on experience by testing the inhibiting effects of several plant...

Wouldn't it be great if you could produce your own food? Scholars learn about the processes of photosynthesis and cellular respiration in plants. They consider how to use photosynthesis as a model of an efficient system and how to apply...

Determining whether or not something is living can be more difficult than it seems. Put your young scientists to work defining their own criteria to identify life, then work with three samples to see if they are alive or...

North is to factory as South is to plantation—the perfect analogy for the economy that set up the Civil War! The first lesson in a series of five helps teach beginners why the economy creates a driving force for conflict. Analysis of...

The Very Hungry Caterpillar is the inspiration for this project-based learning activity. Kindergartners create a lifecycle chart for a butterfly with four sections: egg, caterpillar, pupa, and butterfly. It is a three-dimensional...

Explore a variety of fables to learn life's lessons through engaging stories. Add rigor to the learning process with activities that include matching a a fable to the story's moral, short answer exit slips, and a three-column graphic...

Use folk tales as inspiration for learning about and using personification in creative writing. Learners brainstorm together in order to practice personification before writing their own poems or paragraphs about a household object.

Get high schoolers thinking about their post-secondary plans with a lesson plan that teaches them how to navigate the application and financial aid process. They create a junior/senior calendar identifying time-sensitive tasks,...

What do whales sing about? Invite your class to imagine the thoughts of whales before writing acrostic poems on the topic. The plan blends together a bit of life science with plenty of opportunities for creativity and writing.

Students explore the life cycles of insects and how they interact with each other in the prairie to create a healthy ecosystem and viable food chain. They list animals or insects in their own community that are similar to the prairie...

Simulate a real-life situation with a project proposal activity for an art installation. Learners look at work by Joe Fafard and examine his website for information about public art displays. They also search for other proposals for...

A pool of brine in the deep sea can be up to four times as salty as the surrounding sea water. The deep sea ecosystem relies on chemosynthesis and the organisms that live there are often strange to us. The lesson focuses on researching...