National Security Agency
Go One-on-One with Decimals
Shoot and score with three basketball-themed lessons about decimals. Young mathematicians compare game statistics, make trash can hoops, and play a data spinner game to practice identifying digits and values within decimal numbers.
Calisphere
The 6 C's of Primary Source Analysis
Arm your class members with the six C's of primary source analysis—content, citation, context, connections, communication, and conclusions—and help them to establish a solid system for analyzing historical sources of...
National Security Agency
Awesome Area - Geometry and Measurement
Break out those math manipulatives, it's time to teach about area! Capturing the engagement of young mathematicians, this three-lesson series supports children with learning how to measure the area of squares, rectangles, and other...
Novelinks
Running Out of Time: Anticipation Guide
Get your class ready to read with this anticipatory set for Running Out of Time. Small groups each consider one thought-provoking statement. After each group comes to a consensus, the whole class participates in sharing ideas and voting...
EngageNY
Scale Factors
Is it bigger, or is it smaller—or maybe it's the same size? Individuals learn to describe enlargements and reductions and quantify the result. Lesson five in the series connects the creation of a dilated image to the result. Pupils...
Rainforest Alliance
My Forest or the Rainforest?
The differences between tropical and temperate rainforests range from animals and flowers to climate and landscapes. Kindergarteners compare and contrast characteristics of their local forest to a tropical rainforest.
Rainforest Alliance
Knowing the Essential Elements of a Habitat
To gain insight into the many different types of habitats, individuals must first get to know their own. Here, scholars explore their school environment, draw a map, compare and contrast their surroundings to larger ones. They then...
University of Colorado
The Moons of Jupiter
Middle schoolers analyze given data on density and diameter of objects in space by graphing the data and then discussing their findings. This ninth installment of a 22-part series emphasizes the Galilean moons as compared to other...
John F. Kennedy Presidential Library & Museum
Ask Not What Your Country Can Do for You
Ask not what the lesson here can do for you, but what you can do with the lesson. The answer is quite a lot! Young scholars revisit JFK's famous inaugural address with a focus on his plea for civic engagement. There's a...
Channel Islands Film
Island Rotation: Lesson Plan 2
Why are Torrey pines only found in La Jolla, California and on Santa Rosa Island? Class members examine images of Torrey pines from these two locations, noting the similarities and differences, and then develop a demonstration model that...
Syracuse University
American Industrial Revolution
While the Industrial Revolution may have fueled America's rise to the top of world markets, the child laborers often faced dangerous conditions. Using primary source images and other information, scholars consider what these children...
University of Colorado
Are All Asteroids' Surfaces the Same Age?
Did you know scientists can tell the age of an asteroid by looking closely at its craters? This final instructional activity of a six-part series focuses on two asteroids, Gaspra and Ida, in order to demonstrate the concept of dating...
Columbus City Schools
Changes All Around Us
Whoa! What just happened? That's right, change is everywhere. But what exactly is changing? Middle school science sleuths get to the bottom of the changes matter can experience. Through simple demonstrations, engaging videos, and an...
Curated OER
A Whale of Importance to the Arctic People
The bowhead whale of the Arctic region is of great importance to the people that live there. Your class will brainstorm all they know about this wonderful whale and create an informational video, which they will share with the children...
Curated OER
Pledge of Excellence
First graders discuss their prior knowledge of The Golden Rule and compare it to their school's Pledge of Excellence. They discuss the five parts to the pledge and discuss how to be a caring friend, how to do their personal best, how to...
Curated OER
Changes in the New Nation
Young scholars explore how technology has slowly changed the world, starting in the 18th Century. In this United States History lesson plan, students work in teams to complete numerous activities that compare and contrast life...
Curated OER
Exercise and Water
Second graders discover the needs of their body by trying different types of aerobic exercise. In this physical education lesson plan, 2nd graders analyze The Busy Body Book by glancing at the pictures inside and predicting what...
Curated OER
Reading and Thinking About Evolution
Students are given a science reading assignment outside the text followed by a discussion on the content. The reading is augmented with a series of thought questions for students to consider prior to class discussion. They direst the...
Curated OER
Comparing Fossils
Young scholars explore early hominid evolution as they analyze bones that share characteristics of both apes and humans. Students compare and contrast key skeletal differences between chimpanzees and humans. In groups, they sort and...
Curated OER
Studying Fossils
Students compare and contrast key skeletal differences between chimpanzees and humans: brain size, teeth, hand and thumb, trunk, pelvis, lower limb, foot and big toe. They then sort and group a set of mixed "fossil bones" of chimpanzee...
Curated OER
The Identification of Bacteria
Students are given a two week period to put to use the knowledge they have gained while studying bacteria. As a culminating activity, students each receive three unknown bacteria to identify.
Curated OER
Exploring Basic Physical Science Concepts
Young scholars use the concepts of simple machines to construct a mobile. The inquiry is made in groups and presentations are made by constructing reports. The assessment is based upon the final product of the mobile and how students use...
Curated OER
Who Has Seen the Wind?
Students investigate the characteristics of wind. In this weather lesson, students use poetry and van Gogh's paintings to discuss the movement of wind. Students are introduced to the Beaufort Scale and use the tool to measure the wind...
Curated OER
How Many Is Too Many?
Learners explore the population explosion. They view a video depicting the exponential growth of human population. Students research the internet to project future population data. They perform hands-on, multimedia activities to study...