Students participate in a series of hand-on, online, and multimedia activities to examine 2 dimensional and 3 dimensional shapes. They describe common geometric solids. They construct rectangular prisms using straws and ribbon.

Build visual literacy, discussion, and critical thinking skills with an innovative art lesson. Young analysts discuss the use of decalcomania, surrealism, and automatism in various contemporary pieces, discuss constructed truth, and...

Young mathematicians explore the maximun area for patio with the added complexity of finding the mimimum cost for construction. First, they maximize the area of a yard given a limited amount of fence and  plot width v. area on a...

How many ways can you create a dilation? Many! Individuals strengthen their understanding of dilations by using various methods to create them. The new technique builds on pupils' understanding of the ratio method. Using the ratio,...

In a nose-cone to nose-cone competition, which rocket will prevail? Teams form rocket companies to design and build a rocket while competing against other teams in an economic challenge. The team that comes up with the best benefit/cost...

Will that structure survive the force? The differentiated lesson plan allows pairs to choose the structure they would like to construct and the building materials they wish to use. Individuals record their findings in...

This Discovery Education activity provides the information needed to understand the basics of flight. Before taking off, young pilots learn the eight stages of the engineering design process. Small groups then design and build...

Class members learn how to estimate the total costs involved to design and build a bridge by including design, material, equipment, and labor costs. The activity includes a discussion about the trade-off between cost and aesthetics.

The Sierra Mountains in Nevada and the Tetons in Wyoming originally formed as fault block mountains. In order to visualize these fault blocks, pupils use construction paper to create layers of earth. They cut the paper models and form...

What is the cost of change? Roberto Guerra's photo essay "La Carretera: Life and Change Along Peru's Interoceanic Highway" asks viewers to consider the impacts of the 1,600 mile-long highway through Peru and Brazil that connects Pacific...

Keep everything under control. The lesson, the 16th segment in a 22-part unit, provides a more detailed look at the parts of a plane, specifically the control surfaces. Pupils learn about the construction of the wings and the tails and...

Very simply, pairs of learners construct a model of the tetrahedral silica structure using raisins and toothpicks. They dip it into a soapy solution and then blow a bubble "atom" into its center. The lesson plan gives instructions that...

Close a unit or the year with a five-step research project. Class members choose a US landmark, research the landmark, compose a report about it, build a model of it, and present their model and findings to the class. Each step is...

Can you build it? Yes you can! This interactive game includes four design challenges presented on separate cards. The cards outline the challenges with limited restrictions but with an end goal in mind. The competitions include building...

Two blooms of phytoplankton, instead of just one, now occur in the Arctic due to declining sea ice, which will have widespread effects on the marine life and climate. In small groups, participants build an Arctic food web with given...

Did you know light can decrease visibility? Light pollution absolutely makes it more difficult to see stars. Scholars build a simple magnitude reader to determine the magnitude of stars. They use these data to estimate the impact of...

The procedure for constructing a working model of the respiratory system is revealed in this resource. A wonderful approach would be to have biology learners work in pairs to create a model and write the suggested paragraph explaining...

Fifth graders define vocabulary terms, identify the characteristics of a pillbug, and create a dichotomous key. Then they examine the pillbugs and make observations and record these observations. Finally, 5th graders observe specific...

Using toothpicks, marshmallows, and round colored sticky dots, physical science enthusiasts build models of an atomic nucleus. In this eighth grade chemistry lesson plan, they play an atom-naming game with the models that they have...

Explore language arts by reading two similar stories in order to compare and contrast them in class. Young readers read two Aunt Isabel books, by Kate Duke, and discuss the main characters, plot, and setting. They complete a graphic...

Help your young mathematicians master three-digit place value with a hands-on activity that builds on their social orientation. They create a place value house from construction paper and sort "number friends" according to which house...

How did an investigation into the causes of the collapse of the Twin Towers, as a result of the 9/11 attacks, inform the construction of the new 1 World Trade Center? That is the central question of a resource that asks class members...

Find out just how enticing learning about neurons can be by creating models with sugar cookies, icing, and candy. With great background information for you and an easy procedure for the kids, studying cells has never been more fun or...

This is one of those great ideas I totally love. Youngsters with visual impairments practice counting and left-to -right sequencing by counting out a set number of edible objects from the left and putting them in a bag on the right. They...