Pupils make binoculars to reinforce fine motor skills. In this fine motor skills lesson plan, students use colorful materials such as toilet paper rolls, craft paper, crayons, glue, scissors and yarn to make binoculars. By doing this...

Skim, reread, and then take notes. The step-by-step procedure outlined in this resource can be used to help pupils write a summary of a reading passage. Using their notes, class members then draft a summary focusing on the main idea and...

Help your class find the the magnetic field of a toroid, a solenoid bent into a circle with an activity that allows the class to see how a loop of wire carrying an electrical charge behaves much like a magnet. The resource provides...

Fixin' to add a great resource to your plans? Scholars perform an experiment to investigate nitrogen-fixing bacteria from plant roots. Along the way, they learn about the concepts of symbiosis and mutualism.

Provide your class with the tools they need to design a research project. Groups examine case studies to gain information about the process involved in designing a research project. They use materials provided to brainstorm and develop a...

What energy conversions occur in the operation of a device? Small groups investigate devices and the energy conversions that occur. The groups create energy flow diagrams with added conversion processes for each of the devices...

Using the paintings On to Liberty and A Ride for Liberty, 10th graders analyze historical perspectives on life after the Civil War. They attempt to determine what the Civil War meant for free slaves, then read a paragraph highlighting...

Plant respiration can be a difficult concept for young biologists to grasp; with a hands-on lab, learners can collect and graph data, then calculate the metabolism rate for the plants they studied. If you do not have a respirometer,...

How does one's experience reading a poem's text differ from listening to its audio version? Delve into the insightful question with the poem, If by Rudyard Kipling, as pupils compare and contrast their experience using a note-taking...

Change one variable and try again. Teams build basic balsa gliders and collect data on their flight distances and times. Through collaboration, the team decides on two modifications to make to the basic design and collect data for the...

Learners explore how different materials (sand, gravel, lava rock) with different water contents on different slopes result in landslides of different severity. They measure the severity by how far the landslide debris extends into model...

Introduce teams to quantum dot solutions with an activity that has them expose solutions to a blacklight, observe the colors, and take measurements. Groups graph the data and analyze the dependence between particle size and...

Discover the properties of water-loving and water-hating surfaces. In the seventh installment of a nine-part series, scholars explore hydrophilic and hydrophobic surfaces by conducting an experiment. They observe surface coatings,...

Who or what do you miss? That's the question that launches an activity that asks writers to craft a paragraph filled with sensory details that shows how they feel. Next, they listen to Richard Blanco reading his poem, "Translation for...

Discover the many contributions and sacrifices of Native Americans during World War II. After gaining background information through a detailed PowerPoint presentation and guided notes, your young historians will participate in...

Here is an instructional activity that asks pupils to analyze poetry and sparks discussion about two different types of texts: asking how is the poem, If by Rudyard Kipling alike and different from the story, Bud, Not Buddy by...

Explore capillary action from different perspectives. In the fourth installment of a nine-part series, scholars perform several experiments to observe capillary action. They look at the meniscus of water in a glass, observe capillary...

Seventh graders create and perform a skit that demonstrates their conflict resolution skills. They begin by examining the process of crafting a performance and review what they have learned about conflict resolution. Next, they...

Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.'s "I Have a Dream" speech provides the text for a activity that introduces scholars to the significance of syntax. After examining several types of clauses, phrases, and structures, class members use the...

In a series of activities, high schoolers research and compare batteries of different chemistries (such as nickel-cadmium), measure current and voltage, and use multimeters and math to compute their capacities. In the end, they try to...

Take the last step in writing a literary argument essay using Bud, Not Buddy by Christopher Paul Curtis in an activity focused on feedback. Using the stars and steps revision method, pupils consider teacher and peer feedback to revise...

What is a megalomaniac? Scholars discover the word's meaning as they read and analyze paragraphs seven and eight from Julia Alvarez's essay "A Genetics of Justice." They also read Mark Memmott's article "Remembering to Never Forget" and...

How do statistics help people understand the universal refugee experience? Using the resource, scholars engage in an activity called a Chalk Talk, working in teams to analyze statistics from informational texts about refugees. Also, they...

How can industries manage water more sustainably? Building on the previous activity, scholars explore the topic by creating a stakeholder chart for agricultural water management. Next, they participate in the World Café discussion...