A "Magic Minute" activity asks class groups to develop a commercial to advertise a way to turn a time-waster into a time-saver. Ad groups begin by brainstorming time-wasters and then problem-solve was to turn them into time-savers. After...

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...

Where is the best place to work? Small groups map out a kitchen on a coordinate plane and find the centers of the work triangle to find the best place to install an island. The teams use algebraic methods to locate the center by finding...

Working in groups, pupils plot three points on the coordinate plane representing three different parabolic paths. Using a calculator, they determine the quadratic regression equation for their models. Each team then figures out the...

Learn about dichotomous keys, plant identification, and how to care for the planet with a lesson that includes several hands-on and innovative activities. Kids go on a plant scavenger hunt and classify the plants that they find...

Here is a must-have resource for studying fairy tales, myths, and folktales with your class! It includes instructional ideas, activities, and materials to support a month-long review of these three unique genres of writing.

Having read and discussed Bullfrog at Magnolia Circle, third graders demonstrate their bullfrog expertise by writing informational paragraphs. Building on the note-taking and paragraph planning from the previous lesson plan,...

Introduce middle schoolers to playwriting and the elements of drama with a six-session storytelling unit that encourages kids to expand their acting and writing skills. The 12-page packet includes overviews of the lessons,...

Four projects enable class members to show what they have learned about ways they can stand up for democracy. to begin, individuals review their identity charts and craft a mask that represents themselves. Next, groups create a short,...

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...

Project Paperclip, the Redstone Arsenal, and the Huntsville Space Center are all featured in a resource that investigates the contributions of Dr. Werner von Brawn and other German scientists to the US space program....

Before coaching or beginning your next PE unit on volleyball, take a look at this 30-lesson unit that offers instructional techniques for each lesson, as well as warm-up activities, set inductions, and suggested coaching refinements.

After examining and discussing Guy Ben-Ner's Treehouse Kit, a contemporary art installation with a sculptural and video element, small groups work together to create short silent films. The films should be built around a particular topic...

Would your ideal science lab be filled with bubbling beakers and zapping Tesla coils? Or would it contain state-of-the-art computer technology and data analysis? Dream big with an innovative lesson that connects math and language...

Academics take turns as actors in an engaging poetry cafe. Elementary learners work in small groups to create original poems or stories addressing community issues and read their work in front of a live audience. Scholars also reflect...

Introduce middle schoolers to the First Nations that inhabited the Northeast during the Age of Exploration with a series of activities designed for differentiated groups.

Get to know quadratics from a couple of different perspectives. Classmates work in small groups to determine the optimal cooking time for microwave popcorn. Group members pop bags of popcorn for different times and collect data on the...

Use whatever material floats your boat. Working in groups, scholars decide on a type of metal and a type of coating to use for building a boat. They test their creations by leaving their boats in a pool of water for several days before...

The big idea in the last lesson plan in the Health Smart series is that individuals must practice emotional first aid, that just as we take care of physical injuries, we must take care of emotional injuries. Scholars watch a short video...

Groups work together to design a lighthouse, from designing and drawing the wiring diagram, to creating prototypes of the switch and circuit, to envisioning and building a scale model along with a blueprint. By including different...

Time for the reveal! The nineth instructional activity of the series of 18 has scholars compare DNA fingerprints of cats to their samples to identify the father of Sparky's kittens from previous lessons. They analyze the DNA bands to...

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...

The size of a nanoparticle is difficult for pupils to grasp. A hands-on experiment is designed to give your classes perspective. Learners analyze different sports drinks for the content of electrolytes as an introduction to nanoscale....

Now that your science class has experimented with pH indicator and identified acids and bases, they attempt to get the cabbage juice indicator back to its original color. This is done through neutralization of the acids and bases that...