Connect science, math, and art for a true interdisciplinary lesson! Learners explore simple machines in art. Through analysis with a physics app, they identify positions of kinetic and potential energy and make conclusions about work.

There's a lot of thought that goes into setting up safe and supportive classroom environments. From establishing a whole group meeting area and arranging desks, to organizing classroom supplies and creating bulletin board displays,...

In collaborative groups, emerging engineers or environmental scientists plan and construct a water wheel or watermill that rotates for a total of three minutes. Everything you need to carry out this lesson is included: objectives,...

Before diving head first into the year's curriculum, take time to establish clear routines and procedures for your classroom. Starting with how to set up a class schedule that meets the needs of fifth grade learners, this sample...

What characterizes a living thing? Scholars explore the concept during a differentiated instruction unit on living things. They perform lab experiments to determine how animals adapt to stimuli, watch videos and learn about...

For twenty-two lessons over five weeks, scholars practice sound-spelling correspondence, spelling patterns, tricky words, and reading decodable text. Assessments aid in small group formation and gauge comprehension. Lessons begin with a...

How do we know if the wind turbine at our school is impacting birds? Here, small groups work together and conduct field work in order to determine the impact of a human-made structure on birds. The groups also determine their searcher...

Two slide shows, viewed side-by-side, permit middle schoolers to compare and contrast the lives of the Pilgrims of the Plimoth colony and the Wampanoags. Four videos take learners on virtual field trips to the Plymouth plantation. And an...

Bring history to life for your young scholars with a Fourth of July lesson series. After a class reading of the Declaration of Independence, students translate this pivotal document into layman's terms before working in small...

Get ready to apply yourself! Lesson four in a series of five college and career readiness lessons introduces the basic parts of a job application. Pupils discover the necessity for good references and create a master job application for...

Explore the behavior of light with different materials. Collaborative groups determine whether certain materials absorb, reflect, diffract, or transmit light waves. They then measure the angle of incidence and angle of reflection.

Teams design and build a windmill, under budget, that can lift an object. The groups evaluate and reflect on their own design, then on those produced by other teams. The goal is to determine which design is the most...

Much like the methods of group work, the writers of the Federalist Papers worked together to advocate for their viewpoints against the anti-federalists. The resource enables learners to break into small groups and conduct research before...

See the underwater world through a different pair of eyes! Middle school marine biologists identify deep-sea organisms by examining images taken by an ROV from the Okeanos Explorer. After determining what creatures lie beneath the...

There's no need to run around trying to plan a unit for the book Maniac Magee, the work has already been done for you. Through a series of whole class, small group, and independent lessons and activities, students practice...

Water is a powerful force; harness it through watermills. The task at hand is to create a simple watermill that functions in flowing water for at least three minutes. Scholars work together in teams to design and construct such a...

Greed is the theme of this collection of multidisciplinary activities. As a class, read The West African folktale, Anansi Goes to Lunch by Bobby Norfolk, and take part in a grand discussion about it's plot and theme. Reinforce the...

How does chemistry help deep-sea explorers? Part four of a five-part series of lessons from aboard the Okeanos Explorer introduces middle school scientists to technologies used in ocean exploration. Groups work together to analyze data...

Capture the engagement of young mathematicians with this hands-on sorting activity. Given a bag of objects, students work independently sorting the items based on their physical attributes, counting to determine the size of each group....

Are the earth's oceans really just giant batteries, waiting for their energy to be harnessed? Middle school mechanical engineers will be shocked by the amazing amount of energy that forms around them after diving into part four of a...

Life in the great, wide-open spaces of the West! Scholars analyze the reasons behind the vast movement to the Great Plains after the passing of the Kansas-Nebraska Act and the Homestead Act. Using photographic, document, map, video, and...

Ready, set, act! Using the fun resource, pupils patriciate in a vocabulary charades activity to practice key terms from the unit. Next, scholars work in expert research groups to read an article about the invention of the traffic signal...

Whether you're a self-starting entrepreneur or a cubicle commando, finding a career that suits your personality is a must! The second lesson in a series of five career and college lesson plans focuses on work ethic and values. Learners...

What skills do employers look for in potential employees? Introduce scholars to the skills that pay the bills during the second of six career and college readiness lesson plans. Once they have defined critical 21st-century skills, groups...