After reading about biomedical engineering and properties of materials, collaborative groups design a cast for setting a broken bone. They test for stability and mass, and then communicate their invention by creating a poster. This...

Students experiment by creating an oil spill and trying a number of clean up methods. They determine which methods are the least costly and most effective. They role play as an environmental engineer and as an oil company owner who must...

Students role-play as soldiers rescuing lost mountain climbers. Working in teams, they interpret maps to locate the climbers and use flashlights to send and receive coded messages about the rescue. Their goal is to complete the task in...

Young scholars discover how cell phone service works while participating in a role play activity. They identify its advantages and disadvantages based on service. They examine how engineers use this information to develop better...

To underscore the importance of practicing good listening skills class members engage in a series of activities that model poor listening skills. In pairs and then as a whole group, class members enact different, more positive techniques...

It's electric! Young anatomists use Virtual Neurons software to build, control, and analyze complex nerve circuits within the body. Colorful and packed with content, class members enjoy interacting with the nervous system...

The link to Ideas for Resources: Geology Manual is no longer valid, but the link to How to Teach Using Role-Playing does. Choose a realistic problem related to your focus topic, assign roles, and send your geology learners off to...

Students research current events and simulate a newscast of a current news story. They watch the evening news and write a summary of a story of interest, conduct Internet research and complete a worksheet on a current event, and...

Students determine how much it would cost to build a pyramid using modern materials and ancient methods. They design scale drawings, models and submit final cost bids in an attempt to get the job of building a pyramid.

Young scholars study the building of the Brooklyn Bridge and the inventions of Thomas Alva Edison. They design an infomercial to sell a product or a service for an invention. They create an invention that improves the world and write an...

Students practice using their estimation skills by utilizing apples.  In this percentage lesson, students utilize a scale and an apple to discover the percentage of each bite they take.  Students share their data with the rest...

Students study inventions and how they have impacted us.  In this investigative lesson plan students study the history of two inventors then pretend that they are an inventor. 

Sixth graders draw a habitat and write about what they would need to survive in the habitat. They define the input of items such as materials, energy, and information, and what goes out of the habitat. They play a "Habitat Address" game,...

Young scholars discuss different ways to spread infectious diseases. For this bioterrorism lesson, students model the rate of smoke emission using CalRoad software. They analyze the effects of airborne release of...

Young scholars perform computer simulations on air dispersion. In this chemistry lesson, students calculate energy transfer based on specific heat and temperature change. They explain the causes of smog.

Fifth graders prepare a television briefing reflecting on their experiences in an earlier lesson in which they simulated surviving a crash into the Amazon and using maps to achieve rescue. They develop and present a summary of their...