In a time of fake news, media manipulation, and Internet trolls, a resource equips learners with the tools they need to recognize and combat resources that are designed to appeal to our cognitive biases. Introduce learners to five...

Be sure to click "Download this Activity" to view the plan in its formatted version. The first worksheet has learners review what types of titles are italicized, underlined, or placed in quotation marks. The second page contains the...

Here is a cross-curricular ecology and technology instructional activity; your learners create spreadsheets depicting the location and number of groundhog dens in a local park. They research groundhogs and analyze data about where the...

Venn diagrams are helpful in understanding the idea of a set and using attributes to sort items. This basic plan is an introduction with an added bonus of an applet that can be used to demonstrate the activity. If a classroom of...

Good versus bad data. Pairs rate online collections of data representations from good to bad and then suggest ways to improve the visualizations. The class then creates a list of best practices and common errors in data representations...

Scholars explore compound conditional logic and learn to use the Boolean operators AND, OR, and NOT within conditional statements by incorporating these operators to improve a previously created app.

Navigate the ups and downs of learning about energy. Future engineers consider how potential and kinetic energy apply to roller coasters. They design a roller coaster of their own and then use computer design software to showcase their...

Pike fish pose a threat to native trout and catfish in lakes. Would you drain and poison a lake to get rid of the Pike fish? If the lake was drained and poisoned, then refilled and repopulated with trout and catfish, how would you...

Introduce search engines with an activity that models how search engines work and the different algorithms they employ. Working in groups, class members then build search queries to demonstrate the knowledge learned.

What a wonderful way to follow up on the reading of, Roll of Thunder Hear Me Cry! The lesson has pupils split up into small groups of two to four students. Each group must work collaboratively to create a multimedia project that relates...

A colorful and comprehensive PowerPoint highlights this instructional activity on waves. Junior geophysicists pretend that they are hired to analyze seismic waves. A worksheet is provided to go along with an online article about how...

Young geometers investigate and apply properties of quadrilaterals.  After a review and discussion of key terms, learners use a computer applet to explore four-sided figures and classify them according to their attributes. The...

That's not what I said! My message did not arrive in the correct order! Introduce the concept of packets and the transmission control protocol used to send and receive information over the Internet. The class participates in an...

Demonstrate strategies for tackling unfamiliar vocabulary words in preparation for the SAT. Using Visual Thesaurus computer software, middle and high schoolers interpret contextual clues, solve sample sentence completion questions, and...

Students use data to find the best renewable energy potential.  For this solar energy lesson students import data into Excel and explain how solar energy is beneficial. 

Can turning on the television lead to toxins in the food supply? The lesson offers an opportunity for young scientists to complete guided research. A worksheet lists each question as well as the web page necessary to answer the question....

Students investigate inventions and the impact they can have on people. In this technology lesson, students research Thomas Edison and discuss how the invention of the light bulb impacted others. Students sketch out an invention they...

Sixth graders explore various waterfowl species and discover how duck stamps are used. After researching specific types of birds for a stamp competition, they draw the birds in various natural settings. Before sending the submissions,...

Students collect data, use a computer spreadsheet program to create various graphs, and compare the graphs. They state the findings of each graph in writing and decide which graph type best represents the data.

Students familiarize themselves with specifications used to describe models of computers by researching and developing a consumer guide.

Students create a Mother's Day video gift by utilizing the latest video technology in class.  In this film making lesson, students utilize important photographs related to their mother and import them into a computer timeline using...

Sixth graders view an animated program showing how the continents fit together millions of years ago. In groups, they compare and contrast the distribution of rocks and fossils based on how the continents fit together. After reading a...

Second graders investigate rice farming. In this farming equipment lesson, 2nd graders discover what type of equipment is needed to get rice farms ready to plant. Students gain knowledge about what a combine does and how it is important...

Students compare and contrast parallels between various aspects of slavery. In this anti-slavery instructional activity students examine types of slavery from the Holocaust to contemporary issues of slavery in the world today.