Second graders discuss the importance of using maps and how they are used. After they listen to a folktale, they develop their own story line maps and write their own folktale to accompany a map. They also identify and locate the seven...

Students explore the concept of design, and identify items in their lives that have been designed. They explore the concept of book design and create and arrange their own page layout.

Students design an on campus treasure hunt to find various architectural vocabulary words which they then create definitions for on the blog page on the Environmental Design website.

High schoolers assess persuasive techniques in propaganda. They identify and critique rhetorical devices in primary source documents (sources are not specified, but links to sites that contain various documents are included). Groups make...

Over the course of a week, class groups interview one another, search for similarities and differences within the group, and then prepare a PowerPoint introduction of their group for the entire class. An interesting way to incorporate...

Students examine the concept of kindness to others. They define kindness, listen to various stories about random acts of kindness, and create an e-mail chain describing their own acts of kindness that is sent around the world.

While this focuses on Ancient Rome, the objectives are improved research and information evaluation skills. In one class period, class members narrow their topic, research it, select the best information, log useful sources, and discuss...

Students work together to examine the tastiest towns in the United States. After discovering the names of the equipment, they identify the seven continents. They take a survey and locate the cities and states of the foods mentioned.

Students design their own emblem. In this introduction lesson, students get to know one another by designing an emblem that combines symbols that represent themselves. They express themselves to their classmates. 

Designed for teachers, this resource identifies problems learners face when attempting a research project and approaches instructors can use to help their class members overcome these obstacles. Suggestions are included for how to help...

Introduce budding scholars to the many types of academic plagiarism.  Potential plagiarizers develop a definition of the infringement and determine how it has been committed. The instructor provides the writing examples and...

Young scholars work in the classroom and in the computer lab to produce a Personal Poetry Book.

Students practice problem solving skills by asking questions and participating in a design challenge. In this asking questions lesson, students work in pairs to ask questions to design a solution for a difficult personal problem....

Small groups place sand and ice in a covered box, place the box in the sunlight, then observe as evaporation, condensation, and precipitation occur. These models serve as miniature water cycles and demonstrations of the three phases of...

Clever! In order to compare indoor and outdoor dispersal rates for the movement of gases and particles through air, collaborators will participate in a classroom experiment. Set up a circular grid and set students on lines that are...

Students practice strategies that can be applied to current and future reading materials. Using a matrix, students monitor which strategies they have mastered and which strategy needs more practice. Students read health related materials.

Students work with a partner from a different grade level to brainstorm, draft, edit, illustrate and publish alphabet-themed books. They take turns reading the books to each other and conference with a teacher to review their work.

Young scholars explore quilting. They read and discuss the book, Sweet Clara and the Freedom Quilt. They research African American quilting traditions on the Internet and name three common qualities in quilts. They create a quilt...

Fourth graders conduct a novel study of the book Freedom Train North. They identify the parts of a story that include beginning, middle, and end. Students also recognize the setting, plot, and theme after reading a part of the book daily.

Fourth graders explore language arts by analyzing poetry styles. In this writing analysis instructional activity, 4th graders read several sample poems in class and identify similes, metaphors and other figurative language within them....

Young scholars demonstrate an understanding of words with multiple meanings. They give the meaning for each "trunk" in the sentence.

Eighth graders view pictures of life in a small town during the Great Depression in Illinois to gain an understanding of living conditions during the era. They read novels based on life of this era.

Fourth graders participate in reading and listening to poetry. They are exposed to a variety of poems and examine and identify basic elements of poetry. They write their own poems and recite a poem with enthusiasm, expression, and props.

Students discuss the concept of peace and brainstorm ways to show peace. They read "Sadako & the Thousand paper Cranes" and discuss the theme of the story. After watching a video of "A Thousand Paper Cranes peace Project 1977,"...