Scholars build a boat using an assortment of materials such as foam plates, aluminum foil, and skewers, then test its buoyancy with pennies. Challenge boat builders to construct the strongest or fastest boat in a healthy competition with...

Explore the works of Dr. Seuss, such as Horton Hears a Who, Horton Hatches and Egg, The Sneetches and Other Stories, The Lorax, The Butter Battle Book, and Yertle the Turtle and Other Stories. Each story lesson includes reading...

Wind it up and let it go. Individuals build a basic spool racer in the second portion of a six-part unit on energy. After receiving three criteria, pupils modify their designs to meet the new challenge. Pairs compete against each other...

Change one variable and try again. Teams build basic balsa gliders and collect data on their flight distances and times. Through collaboration, the team decides on two modifications to make to the basic design and collect data for the...

Hop from country to country to practice knowledge of international capitals using an interactive video game. Pupils take control of frog avatars and direct them to leap from the name of a capital to its home country. The video game...

Most companies have logos to represent them. Ask student teams to come up with their own logos and enter them in a class competition to be screen printed. Groups must include the school initials and the team name and follow a list of...

Challenge young engineers to design a one-bedroom scale house to collect and maintain as much heat as possible. Particular constraints must be adhered to, but creativity is also allowed. Included is a diagram and background information...

The first STEM lesson in a group of 10 explores composting. After discussing how to make a better tomorrow, classes are challenged to track garbage in their communities, visit a local waste management facility, and conduct a survey...

Krill is a very small ocean animal that is key to keeping the ocean ecosystem going. The class reviews food webs and chains, learns about the importance of krill, discusses krill anatomy, builds a model of a krill, and then has a...

Elementary ecologists pretend to be migratory hummingbirds. They fly between wintering and nesting grounds, trying to reach a habitat haven. In a musical-chair fashion, some birds will miss out, and are removed from the game. To further...

Blow away the competition with a lesson about wind power and turbines. Groups build windmills to test how the size of blades affect the amount of work done. The scholars build a variety of blades and collect data on how each type...

After reading up on the history of sports racquets, engineering teams design and construct a racquet for batting a Velcro-striped ball at a target. Teams evaluate their design by aiming for the target three times each and answering...

Review content, fill a few minutes of time, hold a competition between several teams of students, and more. It all starts with asking pupils to hold tablets or smartphones up to their foreheads! From there, your class will head straight...

In a nose-cone to nose-cone competition, which rocket will prevail? Teams form rocket companies to design and build a rocket while competing against other teams in an economic challenge. The team that comes up with the best benefit/cost...

Can you build it? Yes you can! This interactive game includes four design challenges presented on separate cards. The cards outline the challenges with limited restrictions but with an end goal in mind. The competitions include building...

The Election of 1912: an election with four competitive opponents. Pupils get to know the candidates with informative reading passages that provide context to the election. Then, the class engages in a debate and answers questions as one...

Learners become butterflies to complete an activity that has them collect tokens that represent food, water, and shelter. They must collect their necessities while in competition with other butterflies in the same area. Once the...

Hop across the country like a penguin from ice floe to ice floe using an interactive video game. Acting as a penguin, learners match capitals to their states. Game features allow teachers to set up competitions and check learning progress.

Here's a new twist in the egg drop competition. Using only six inches of tape, four straws, and 2 pieces of newspaper, teams build a structure that keeps an egg from breaking when dropped. What's different about this project is that the...

Get your class working on the railroad with this detailed and interactive lesson. After reading and discussing Ten Mile Day, learners explore division of labor, human capital, and productivity with a hands-on group activity in which they...

Ready to prepare young scholars for their first placement test experience? Give them the support they need using a test-focused instructional activity. Fifth in a series of six junior-level college and career readiness instructional...

Though the walrus spends roughly one third of its time on land, it eats organisms that live on the bottom of the ocean. The first in a series of five, the lesson uses a variety of plant and animal cards to have scholars build an arctic...

Now you see it, now you don't! The stick bug exhibits the ability to disappear into a wooded environment. Why does this adaptation manifest in some species, but not in others? Life science learners explore animal adaptations in nature...

How do scientists determine what questions to ask to meet their research goals? Help your class develop an inquiry mindset with a lesson based on studies in the Gorongosa National Park. Partners create their own research questions by...