Get kids' heads spinning by challenging them to design a top that will rotate for a minimum of 10 seconds without leaving a 30-cm circle. Groups of learners collaborate through a planning stage, testing stage, and evaluation stage. Some...

Third graders explore the library media center using the characters and story of "Goldilocks and the Three Bears" by James Marshall. They discuss what rules Goldilocks would need to follow in the library, complete a sequence chain for...

The construction of skyscrapers is no simple undertaking, involving the careful coordination and planning of many different people. The third lesson in this series explores this detailed process by first teaching children about the main...

Discover how copying nature can be beneficial to humans. Scholars read articles about examples of biomimicry and its potential applications. Along the way, they learn about Nature's Nine Laws and how they relate to biomimicry. This is...

Young engineers consider how to apply accelerometers and sensors to help prevent falls in elderly people. They consider forces of motion and gravity as part of the engineering design process.

Students create and extend patterns. For this pattern lesson, students learn to identify patterns using multiple senses. Students work at centers in small groups to explore and extend their understanding of patterns.

Explore the Ukraine through a reading of The Mitten. Readers will determine the sequence of events, cause and effect, make predictions, and find the main idea of the story. They also use math skills to make charts and graphs. Finally,...

Here is an authentic assessment task for Shakespeare's Macbeth. Young literature scholars prepare, perform, and record a news broadcast about the major events in the play. For example, groups may choose to report on the death of Lady...

How much rain can that cloud make? Through a simulation, the class estimates the amount of candy rain contained in different cup clouds. After probing the clouds using different methods, class members adjust their estimates. Participants...

Peers discuss cyberbullying and how they can defend their friends that may be bullied online and offline. They discover the value in showing empathy for those who have been cyberbullied. Class members then generate multiple...

Young scholars research the Wright Brothers and their plane. In this airplane history lesson, students use a hotlist of sites to research and create an airplane. A question is provided for each site.

Third graders examine the role of the library media specialist in the school by listening to a read aloud of The Library Dragon and visiting Carmen Agra Deedy's website. They talk about respect for the books and the others using the...

Sixth graders read several poems and choose one to create a Powerpoint presentation. They create original illustration for the poems and use graphics from software resources. Students are then are given jobs in order to create a...

Students use FoilSim to complete the activity to create tables of data sets comparing the lift values for a 3-D model of a symmetrical wing section to the values predicted by the FoilSim software.

Students write an article in a newspaper.  For this writing and editing lesson, students review how to write for a newspaper, type their articles, and engage in peer editing.

Using the sun's light as a source of energy is not a new concept. Give your environmental studies, engineering, or physical science class this list of how humans have used solar energy throughout history. Assign groups a certain time...

A simple, yet poignant lesson gets teens reading ads for clinical trials and discussing the requirements for participation. At home, they peruse the newspaper to find current examples of similar advertisements. The purpose of this lesson...

In this literature instructional activity, students read the Jeff Brown book Flat Stanley and collaborate to create claymation characters from the story. Students create a claymation video and discuss using word cards during hte movie.

Seventh graders practice the use of word processing software and writing skills. They read letters to Santa from a second grade class and compose an answer that is grammatically correct. Afterward, they cut and paste, save the file to be...

Are you reading Lois Lowry's The Giver in your language arts class? Have your young readers create a PowerPoint presentation about their life, and how they connect to the lives of the characters from the novel. They present information...

Learners read a short tutorial and complete one or more online activities. They visit an online math dictionary to learn the value of a day, month, week, and year. In addition, they construct word problems based on a favorite month;...

Students explore musical pitch. In this cross curriculum musical instruments and "sound" physics lesson, students identify and describe common traits of woodwind instruments. Students research "pitch" and what causes pitch fluctuation by...

Art is a thoughtful and beautiful to motivate students in so many subjects. This lesson has students practice basic computer skills while examining a famous piece of art. They consider the color, style, and feeling of the piece. A...