What motivated Europeans to explore the New World, and what effects did their exploration have on Native American populations? The second installment of a 16-part American Passages series prompts pupils to watch a video and read several...

Take your class on an out-of-this-world adventure with this fun engineering design lesson. Working in small groups, young scientists design, build, and test crew exploration vehicles using some creativity, teamwork, and...

Dora, Dora, Dora, Dora, Dora! This may be your little ones' best guess as to what it's like to be an explorer! Give them a deeper understanding with this compact examination. A four-minute video introduces them to Robert Ballard,...

Where am I? The second installment of a 23-part NOAA Enrichment in Marine sciences and Oceanography (NEMO) program starts with pupils guessing the years in which major ocean exploration events took place. The lesson then focuses on how...

Change, growth, and a sense of belonging are the focus of a unit that uses poetry to explore these themes and the distinguishing features of poetry as well. 

Can plants grow on the moon? The second lesson in a five-part series has pupils explore the resources available on the moon to determine if plant life is possible. They use lava rocks as their soil and draw conclusions about the...

When asked to list everyday objects that require energy, most people list technology that use batteries or electricity. Through hands-on exploration, young scientists discover energy is much more than just circuitry. They play with...

Take young mathematicians on an exploration of the world of 3-D geometry with this seven-lesson unit. After first defining the terms perimeter, area, and volume and how they apply to the real world, students continue on...

The Age of Exploration is the theme of a unit designed to boost third-grade ELA skills. Scholars practice spelling patterns, examine words with prefixes and suffixes, build sentences with linking words, and use comparative and...

To prepare for the Exploring the World Performance Task, class groups generate a list of places they would like to explore, examine images of seven natural wonders of the world, and consider why these sites are wondrous. A map and images...

Math and science come together in this cross-curricular astronomy lesson plan on planetary motion. Starting off with a hands-on activity that engages the class in exploring the geometry of circles and ellipses, this lesson...

Every 18–24 months, nuclear power plants shut down to remove their used uranium fuel, a radioactive waste. Show learners how energy is made and used around the world and then focus on the United States' usage. Viewers then specifically...

Find out the science behind ancestry testing! Investigators watch a video exploring how ancestry works before participating in a hands-on group activity. Scholars role play scientists while learning about testing protocols and test...

Adolescents explore self-esteem and the various factors that influence a person's sense of self in this four-part lesson series. Through a combination of whole class instruction, small group discussions, and independent work,...

Engage young biologists in exploring the mysteries of life with this collection of hands-on activities. Enlisting the help of numerous digital resources, students get an up-close look at the structure of plant and animal...

Math is fun with algebra tiles! Young mathematicians explore eight expressions involving the distributive property and use algebra tiles to expand simple expressions. The resource is perfect for both guided and independent practice.

Delve into the Age of Exploration with a multiple-intelligences research project. Learners generate a rubric and worksheet to guide their studies and research one explorer. There is emphasis on research skills, citing sources,...

Designed with many of the Common Core standards in mind, this 10-lesson unit is brimming with ELL strategies, teacher's notes, and the best of core instructional methods for teaching the common elements of folktales, and exploring...

Nano-nano! Nanotechnology can seem like it's from another planet! After learning about this tiny technology, collaborative groups experiment with how smaller particles affect chemical reactions. They do this by immersing a whole and a...

Here's an awesome unit that uses The Cay as the anchor text. The 16-page packet is loaded with teaching ideas, activities, and suggested adjustments.

Human bodies prove evolution thanks to our genes, bones, and more. Learning about specific body parts and how they evolved from other species helps individuals better understand the transition species that helped us become who we are today.

What's that silly thing spinning in the wind? It's a whirligig! Explore wonderful windy whirligigs with a STEM-based unit that teaches the science and concepts behind these gigs. Scholars discover how gravity and air resistance...

Young artists examine pictures from and discuss the holiday Día de los Muertos. The symbolic skull showcases the use of warm and cool colors. Color exploration allows learners to use coordinating colors to create two paper...

In 2006, about 20 percent of the world's electricity was generated from hydroelectric power. In the presentation, scholars review the water cycle and gravitational energy to begin to understand how humans harness the power of water. They...