Will the real computer please stand up? The premise of this activity is for the class to ask questions to a human and to a computer and to determine which is which. The class asks a given set of questions, and the person playing the role...

You don't need to know how to code in order to teach your students! Show them learning is a lifelong skill by learning along with them. Take this activity for example; the code is on the left, and the result is on the right. Can you...

Get to know the computer program, Microsoft Word, by completing 24 tasks, including typing a line of text, experimenting with format options, inserting page numbers, headers, footers, and more.  

See how changes in initial populations and parameters affect a biological community. Individuals use a special software program to simulate a desert community with five species. They adjust initial populations to see how the community...

Lead your class through creating and sharing documents with Google Drive with a step-by-step activity. The document illustrates each step with screenshots and includes clear and effective instructions that prompt active engagement....

Students study the criteria for evaluating web sites and use information found in authoritative web sites to create questions for a game of Jeopardy. They evaluate three different web sites, some with minor errors and some with major...

Scholars take to computers or devices to boost reading skills using educational software or websites.

Prepare middle schoolers for life in the tech world with a lesson on entering, storing, sorting, and creating database collections. They use a database tool, such as excel, to record the contents of their CD collections. They then...

Listen to the sound of children's fingers flying across their keyboards as they perform these fun typing lessons. From creating alphabet books and multimedia presentations to researching presidents and writing class...

How do computers sort data lists? Using eight unknown weights and a balance scale, groups determine the order of the weights from lightest to heaviest. A second worksheet provides the groups with other methods to order the weights. The...

Can multiple computers sort a list faster than one? Using a network drawn with chalk outside, groups move through the decision network to sort numbers. A series of extension questions come with the lesson and can be used in the same...

How does a computer perform a search in order to find data? The lesson begins with a demonstration on finding one number out of 15. Pairs then play three games of Battleship by using different search techniques. The lesson...

Tap into the desire to learn about computer codes. Pupils apply the Tap Code and the Polybius Square to send secret codes using sound. They design a code that tells a robot what movements to make and then test out their code using one of...

Hook your class into an exploration of and discussion about violence in video games with a cute animal clip and a video game trailer. After a quick discussion about how media can affect mood, class members read a related article and...

Let the sun shine as your young coders move the clouds across the sky while practicing animation coding skills in JavaScript. Younger learners may benefit from more guided help or a whole-class discussion before trying this coding...

See what it feels like to be a robot. Scholars use programming vocabulary to program a human robot and test out their codes by acting them out. The code should result in stacking six cups into a pyramid.

Create a list of your favorite foods while you practice writing text in JavaScript. Use fill, textSize, and text functions. This is a quick activity that helps solidify basic skills. Expand with additional challenges...

A primary source set of photographs, videos, newspaper articles, and FBI reports provides insight into race relations during the 1960s, the Sixteenth Street Baptist Church bombing, and the murder of Emmitt Till. Designed to be used to...

How do we determine how much information to include and what can be left out? By playing a game of 20 questions, the class generates the best strategies for finding a number. They then move on to guessing the next letter in a short...

Color the town red. Demonstrate the concept of graph theory with a task that involves determining the least number of colors needed to color a map so that neighboring countries are not represented by the same color. Pupils...

Young coders build on their programming skills by adding color to their pictures. The background, fill, and noStroke functions are explored in the JavaScript coding activity.

Scholars follow five steps to make personalized Earth-themed stationary. Personalization includes name and returns address.

Sexual harassment and sexual violence are by no means new issues. What has changed is the role of social media in these issues. This powerful and troubling lesson uses a specific rape case to launch research into a discussion of the...

Computers need precise directions to complete a task. Class members experience what it is like to program a computer with an activity that asks one pupil to describe an image while classmates follow the directions to duplicate the picture.