After watching West of the West's documentary on Catalina Island, The Magic Isle, class members research how Walt Disney's and William Wrigley's different visions impacted the island.

Develop a better understanding of the value of pi. Learners explore the area of a circle using estimation and graph paper. While continuing to estimate the area of the circle using smaller and smaller grids, the number pi emerges. 

What do drugs do to the body and to the mind? What are the dangers of using drugs? How can teens respond to the pressure to use drugs? After reading a series of articles related to drug use and abuse, class members prepare a skit to...

Teach your class how to get out of a cell — or break in. The third installment in a seven-part series introduces the class to cell membranes and their functions. The lesson plan includes information to present to the class,...

Middle schoolers write descriptions, narratives, and dialogues based on objects of art and time periods in a museum. They base several writing assignments on art objects and paintings, including a literal description and an emotional...

Being a statistician means never having to say you're certain! Learners develop two-way frequency tables and calculate conditional and independent probabilities. They understand probability as a method of making a prediction. 

Introduce learners to set of complete instructions that describe how to build a magnetometer that works just like the ones professional photographers use to predict auroras. The diagrams are wonderfully descriptive, and the written...

Using M.C. Escher's Hand with Reflecting Sphere as inspiration, learners create their own set of self-portraits using various reflective surfaces. The lesson begins with a discussion about portraiture and ends with a presentation of work...

Explore heritage and identity through an examination of art and a related project. The featured art, related to the African diaspora, includes several types of art created by different artists. Pupils consider their own backgrounds and...

Robert Coles’ The Story of Ruby Bridges forms the basis of this powerful cross-curricular study of civic education and civic responsibility. Class members consider how the book presents authority, responsibility, justice, and privacy.....

Here you will find three simple and engaging American Revolution projects that will allow your learners to not only express their comprehension of major events and key terms during the war, but also offer the opportunity for great...

If you need an anchor for your unit on Sense and Sensibility, use a concept analysis with key discussion points. It includes literary themes, vocabulary, background information, and suggestions for addressing gender and diversity...

Context makes everything better! Groups use real data to create models and make predictions. Classmates compare an exponential model to a linear model, then consider the real-life implications. 

How do spacecraft detect magnetic fields? The fourth installment of a five-part unit has learners develop a device with magnets that allows for the detection of magnetic fields. They use a map of an imaginary planet to try out their...

As part of a study of the history of the Chumash on California's Channel Island chain, class members view the documentary Once Upon a Time, respond to discussion questions, and create a timeline for the different waves of migration.

Ray Charles used the pain and adversity from his life to influence an entire genre of American music. Learn about the musician's daily life, struggles and success, and powerful musical style with a thorough resource.

Students read a New York Times article as a class and discuss how groundwater near a nuclear test site may have been contaminated. They explore how groundwater contamination can spread through aquifers by participating in a simulation.

Metal slinkies, coils of wire, magnetic fields, and MRIs. To determine the safety hazards of MRI machines, class members use the provided formula to calculate the magnetic field along the axis of the solenoid.

Students conduct a hands-on lab activity in which they analyze a sample of water from a local stream or pond. They introduce a fertilizer solution into the sample and analyze and describe their findings.

Tenth graders participate in an activity in which they practice paraphrasing sections of primary and secondary documents. They are to share their paraphrasing with the class to help with their confidence speaking in front of a group.

Students explore the history of chocolate and its consumption. In this chocolate history lesson, students discover how industrialization changed the way humans consume chocolate. Students use the provided worksheet to note details they...

Students examine the first settlement at Jamestown and its citizens. Using the internet, they discover the role of women and Africans in Jamestown. They role play what the settlement was like before and after women and Africans coming...

Inntroduce primary learners to essential critical reading strategies with an activity based on James Reeves' poem, "The Wind."  Learners listen as the poem is read, first as a riddle, and then re-read with the title visible. The...

Using chapter 1 of Jerry Spinelli's Milkweed, middle schoolers write a personal memoir based on Spinelli's style and a Six Trait writing activity. The instructional activity suggests several ways to activate prior knowledge, including a...