In this similarities and differences worksheet, students identify the strategy of reading for similarities and differences. Students study a Venn diagram and then complete their own Venn diagram for similarities and differences in a text.

Ninth graders create a T chart of their needs and wants. In this environmental science lesson, 9th graders brainstorm ideas on how to create a sustainable community. They decide what they would give up and keep to make the community...

Computational thinking can be used to take a complex problem, understand what the problem is and develop possible solutions to solve or explain it. In these six Quest, students will learn about the four stages of computational thinking:...

Find out about the four cornerstones of computational thinking, and how these contribute to task completion and learning.

Toddlers imitate what they see, preschoolers try hands-on trial and error, and kindergartners tap language and abstract thinking skills to solve problems. This article takes a look at the ages and stages of developing problems solving...

Are you an avid video game player? Do you think this helps you have fast reaction times? This Science Buddies science project lays out an experiment to help you test your hypothesis. The Science Buddies project ideas are set up...

Images have power-they can trigger memories or symbolize abstract ideas. Middle schoolers put the power of images to the test as they analyze symbolism in Night and create symbolic photomontages.

A clever and compelling interactive introduction to art appreciation and visual literacy. Parent and child or older child/younger child can pair up to solve an art gallery mystery. The object of this activity is to answer questions about...

In computational thinking, patterns in the world can be abstracted into functions. Students learn to develop algorithms into functions so that they can better understand and utilize the laws of our world.

A fun lesson plan for younger students incorporating art, math, and writing. Student create their own counting stories, and illustrate them. Also provides resources and adaptations. (To access this lesson plan, you must register with...

In this lesson, students analyze spelling errors and large sets of data to find patterns, develop abstractions, and discover how large amounts of data can tell us much about our society.

Great lesson for upper elementary students who think that all art has to look "real." Through the images of Edvard Munch's work, students come to understand the role emotion can play in creating visually compelling work.

Throughout the history of mankind, the subject of identity has sent poets to the blank page, philosophers to the agora and seekers to the oracles. These murky waters of abstract thinking are tricky to navigate, so it's probably fitting...

Dramatic play allows children to develop skills in such areas as abstract thinking, literacy, math, and social studies. In order to derive the full benefits from dramatic play as it relates to learning, early educators should "set the...

This site is designed to be used by psychology students at the university level, but it provides helpful instruction for anyone writing critical reviews of non-fiction. Instruction includes everything from how to be critical to...

A lesson plan in which younger students draw on prior experiences that made them happy or sad, build two-sided masks, work with Venn diagrams, and connect personally with the emotions conveyed by poems in The Way I Feel by Janan Cain...

Art moves fashion designers to play with unusual forms and shapes, while fashion can encourage artists to think about qualities such as texture and create art that engages with the human body. Take a look through this glossary for terms...

Have your students look at what memory is, in particular how a linked list can be used to represent a list of numbers. Explore linked lists in a game setting.

This resource provides a database of abstracts and articles about perception.

This Science Buddies project asks that you identify different kinds of bridges, discover why they are built as they are, and then build three different bridges of your own out of balsa wood. See which one you think can bear the heaviest...

Inspired by Mem Fox's Wilfrid Gordon McDonald Partridge which includes four metaphors for memory, this writing prompt asks students to think of an original abstract noun. Students will brainstorm details as they come up with ideas for...

This is the second version of a task asking students to find the areas of triangles that have the same base and height. This presentation is more abstract as students are not using physical models. They still determine the area of each...

A secular news and photo service that provides limited access to its 24-hour coverage of religious issues of the day. You can view abstracts of news stories that the service is following; click over to a calendar of events that lists the...