Although the methods are all scientific, forensic science was started by police officers rather than scientists, who relied on observation and common sense. Young detectives use many tools to solve crimes around the school in a...

Your pupils may believe that you and their parents are the oldest things in the universe, but surprise! There are elements of the universe that are even older. Elementary scientists create a class timeline to demonstrate the...

Scholars examine, cut, paste, and sort 12 images featuring different types of movement in order to show what they know about energy—potential and kinetic. 

Students utilize a digital camera to record interesting objects in their environment.  In this ecology lesson, students participate in a mini-field trip around their campus as they take 2-3 pictures of the school environment....

Piece together American and Canadian culture by learning about peace parks! Scholars discuss differences between Waterton Lakes National Park and Glacier National Park as a group. The newly-informed pupils answers questions about this...

Accompany a reading of First Come the Zebra written and illustrated by Lynne Barasch with a teacher's guide equipped with before reading, vocabulary, and after reading activities. Additional social studies,...

Learners make up questions in groups about the solar system and quiz the other group. For this solar system lesson plan, students demonstrate good cooperative learning techniques by reviewing the solar system together and quizzing each...

Partners or groups work together to practice the correct spelling of words. They speed-cut letters from print sources and arrange them into correctly spelled words from their lists. Newspapers are suggested, but magazines might result in...

Should bottled water be sold in schools, or should they only provide tap water? The summative unit in the six-part series encourages scholars debating this topic. The lessons teach how to build an argument, how to gain background...

Students explore marine animal adaptation. In this introductory ocean life biology lesson, students access prior knowledge by participating in a whole class "thought swap." Students form two lines, respond to a prompt from the teacher...

Students learn the characteristics of the rainforest.  In this rainforest lesson, students read stories about the rainforest and discuss them.  Students work in groups to brainstorm all the facts they know about the rainforest...

Young scholars participate in various hands-on activities to visually demonstrate the positions of the planets from the sun. Then they draw a pictorial representation of the order of planets from the sun.

Students explore psychology by participating in a student behavior activity. In this group dynamic lesson, students identify ways to keep several students interested and focused on one task. Students complete worksheets discussing family...

Students analyze timber and use measuring techniques to figure board feet.  In this investigative lesson students learn why accurate measurements are important and how to convert standing timber to board feet. 

Learners estimate the total number of species in Ecuador using the capture/recapture method. They collect data about each species and act as members of a science expedition to determine the total number of species by using mathematical...

Students classify the characteristics of butterflies and moths moths. In this life cycle lesson, students identify butterflies and moths common in the state of Iowa as well as their characteristics.  Students then learn the proper...

Fifth graders are introduced to the concept of clustering. In groups, they use their new science vocabulary words to put into a web or cluster. To end the lesson, they read a book related to electricity and write the definitions of any...

Ninth graders investigate motion. In this science activity, 9th graders conduct experiments on objects to analyze motion and speed. They define motion in everyday life.

First graders complete sunlight and solar effects activities to learn about light and its power. In this solar activity instructional activity, 1st graders complete a sunscreen test activity, a light test, a black light test, a cloudy...

Students strengthen leg muscles while learning about the environment. In this environmental lesson, students use scooters to pick up poly spots from the floor. The poly spots are metaphors for trash.

Play a coordinates game to encourage collaborative learning and grid use! Learners plot points on grids and play a game that challenges them to locate a specific point on a coordinate grid by using horizontal and vertical movements.

Young scholars discover patterns and write conjectures relating to perimeters and polygons. Working in cooperative learning groups, they use manipulatives and graphic organizers to solve problems then answer a series of questions in...

Students analyze a set of data. They work in cooperative groups and use chain links to identify the mean, median, and mode of the chain.

Students, in groups, learn and review bird flash cards, after hearing stories about the birds from the teacher. They participate in labs such as owl pellets, feathers, etc.