Explore optics using an inquiry-based experimental approach! Young scholars use a set of materials to design and build a unit capable of focusing a beam of light. They experiment with different lenses to determine the best approach to...

What is the main difference between an engineer and a technician?  This is one of the driving questions in a plan that proves that analysis at every step of development is crucial to the engineering design process. The activity...

Are the people on the other side of the world standing upside down? Pupils discuss the relationship between movement and position words. The unit explores the concept of reference points through animation, modeling, photography, and...

What does the future of energy look like? Junior engineers collaborate to discover a solution to the global energy crisis during a very hands-on lesson. The unit focuses on learning through collaboration to develop a deep understanding...

How do people transport fresh water long distances to ensure everyone has access to it? The final lesson in the 10-part Fresh Solutions unit encourages individuals to design their own solution, or solutions, to that very problem. Groups...

Scholars investigate an issue associated with food systems and design their own solutions. Working collaboratively, they follow each step in the design process to complete the 10th lesson of the 13-part Our Hungry Planet series.

Discover how the periodic table tells the story of its elements. Learners begin by studying the makeup of several mixtures. Their analysis leads to a discussion of elements and the periodic table. As they dig deeper, they understand the...

Fifth graders develop and practice the steps involved in imaginative writing. They follow the steps/worksheets included and write imaginative stories of their own.

Considering using Nancy Taylor's award-winning science fiction novel The House of the Scorpion as an option for book circles or as a whole-class reading? Check out this packet that includes background information, information about the...

When you think about environmental sustainability, the Ford Motor Company probably isn't the first company to come to mind. A four-lesson unit introduces learners to the idea of sustainability and environmental stewardship. It describes...

Set the stage for a unit or lesson on the African savanna by creating a cute habitat diorama. Cheetahs, lions, zebras, and elephants are all present in a shoe-box-sized craft that requires your learners to color, cut, and paste. These...

In Beacon Valley, katabatic winds regularly knock fit adults to the ground. The lesson compares the actual temperatures to the wind chill after factoring in katabatic winds in Beacon Valley. Scholars learn to calculate wind chill and...

Students develop an artwork made entirely out of recycled materials to exhibit during an Earth Day celebration. They participate in a lecture discussion on the history of Earth Day and environmental issues, do internet research on a...

Students define conservation, identify actions that conserve habitat and those that reduce habitat, and generate ideas about how one can practice conservation in everyday life.

Students study the Human Genome Project through classroom discussion and the video, Cracking the Code of Life. They research reports about the issues of disease, human health, and the ethical, legal, and societal implications of the...

Students explore sea life. In this cross curriculum fine arts, science, and P.E. "dolphins" lesson, students sing songs and play games about dolphins, perform water experiments, create mosaics, and use their five senses to explore sand...

Eighth graders engage inn role-playing activities as families caring for babies with genetic defects. A partial list of activities include: dressing the babies ( raw eggs), designing birth certificates, and recording a log of care,...

Young scholars explore nuclear scientists.  In this nuclear science research activity, students choose a scientist who has contributed to nuclear theory, research his/her life and accomplishments, and write a paper. Young scholars...

Pupils research controversial statements about biological applications and write a persuasive essay. In this biology lesson plan, students are assigned a controversial statement as a research topic, then they use this topic to create a...

Through a variety of physical and theoretical situations, learners are led through the development of some of the deepest concepts in high school mathematics. Complex numbers, the fundamental theorem of algebra and rational exponents...

What's cooking? A sizzling STEM unit challenges scholars to build a solar cooker that can successfully cook an egg. The unit opens with a study of Earth's rotation, the sun's energy, and shadows. Pupils use a compass and thermometer to...

After a discussion of chemical reactions and electricity, scholars break into groups and follow a scripted activity to discover if fruit can power a clock. After a concluding discussion, the class a presented with a challenge.

Students analyze and record major events that occur in the development of Medaka fish eggs from fertilization to hatching. In small group, students describe the processes involved, creating a timeline of the major events in the...

Don't cry over broken pottery. A cross-curricular lesson challenges pupils to consider how to restore ancient pottery. Using a computer program and their knowledge of transformations, they come up with a way to recreate the original...