Focus on inquiry-based learning in your science class with a series of activities designed for middle schoolers. A helpful packet samples four different texts, which include activities about predator-prey relationships, Earth's axis...

How can engineers help their communities? Three challenges in the first unit explore why STEM is important to communities and how neighborhoods are engineered to experience those benefits. The second unit prompts groups to plan an...

Scholars learn about a series of three challenges when they design a bus system for a small town. They determine the bus routes and then figure out the best type of fuel to use before considering the cost of going electric. Learners...

An engaging unit on wildfires includes three sections, including a background section with eight lessons and five activities, a field experience section with 13 lessons and five activities, and a conclusion section featuring an...

Insects are like little aliens living all around us. Explore fun and interesting insect facts by having the class read a short informational paragraph. The paragraph focuses on how we are similar and different to insects and includes...

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,...

Light and sound are the themes of a unit focused on third-grade skills. Scholars practice spelling patterns, grammar—adverbs, adjectives, synonyms, writing sentences with conjunctions, and listening and responding to read-aloud. Over...

Nine lessons over three weeks explore the human body through read-alouds. Third graders listen to and discuss a reading followed by extension activities, including word work and comprehension practice. Learners draft a narrative essay.

How can you tell if something is living or nonliving? Introduce a set of criteria which can be used to determine which things are alive and which are not. The class discusses the basic needs of all living organisms, checks out an...

Here is a resource with a descriptive approach to explaining the scientific method. It's simple, but effective for both introduction and reinforcement of this concept. 

Here is a math lesson which has learners practice multiplying two and three digit numbers by one digit numbers. They discuss multiplication strategies and use those strategies to play a game.

Investigate deep sea discovery through the emerging technology being built.  For this physical science lesson, students analyze the different types of motion available in the human arm.  Students research educational websites...

From 3-D cities to building bridges, young engineers engage in innovative STEM challenges that promote brainstorming and collaboration. Learners take on the roles of different types of engineers as well as become familiar...

Reading and understanding informational text is a key element to understanding every discipline. Elementary learners read three different articles focused on various animals and habitats in the Hudson River. They answer comprehension...

What is the difference between weather and climate? This is the focus question of a lesson that takes a deeper look at how weather data helps determine climate in a region. Using weather and climate cards, learners decide...

Studying the oceans? Focus on Hawaii's ocean with a resource packed with activity-based worksheets. Everything from products that come from the ocean to the abundance of plants and animals that call the ocean their home, Hawaii's ocean...

Introduce infectious diseases and the epidemiologic triangle. A helpful resource describes the agent, host, and environment from the three vertices as well as the time factor, which is in the middle. Scholars complete a simple...

Building off young chemists' knowledge of the states of matter, kinetic molecular theory is the focus of the unit. Eight days of lessons including multiple demonstrations, one lab experiment, directed instruction, and worksheets,...

Scientific studies show the older we get, the more acidic we become. The activity extensively teaches high schoolers about acids and bases. By the end of the 14th installment of 36, they can define and explain three concepts of...

Middle schoolers complete vocabulary and word work activities including an online quiz. They read an online article while focusing on answering specific information questions. They discuss ways to improve the environment and present them...

As an introduction to Steiner Trees, class members are challenged to find the shortest paths to connect multiple points. The teacher introduces the problem by showing how to connect three points. Groups then go outside and construct a...

While the periodic table looks complex, it is really arranged by only two variables, atomic number and electron configuration. The set of four puzzles focuses on groups 3, 4, 5, and 6 or 13, 14, 15, and 16, depending on your periodic...

Pupils focus on the flow of electricity as they work through three sections of questions as part of a series of lessons on electric circuits. The activities cover the fundamentals, case studies, and law breakers. Learners use conceptual...

Many scholars confuse velocity and acceleration even after they correctly solve basic problems. Using an interactive, part of a series on vectors and projectiles, with immediate feedback focuses their attention on the up or down...