Sixth graders explore simple machines. They identify tools and machines that are used in everyday life. Students examine the purpose and uses of everyday tools. They create a tool or machine that can be used to solve a problem.

High schoolers examine the history and purposes of debate, and analyze the different debate formats. They rate the candidates' presentations in the debates, and apply debate strategies to their own debates.

Wait, you mean researchers don't all use Wikipedia? Teach your class about intelligent research with a instructional activity about evaluating digital sources. The instructional activity starts with a quickwrite and includes...

Do speed cameras help reduce accidents? Scholars investigate this question using a series of spreadsheet activities. Along the way, they learn about randomness, probability, and statistical analysis.

Middle and high schoolers examine the uses of propaganda during the Nazi era. Using examples of propaganda used by Hitler, they discuss how it changed the thinking and ideas of people exposed to it. In groups, they identify how and why...

A reading of Peggy Parish's Amelia Bedelia launches a study of idioms. Groups then select several idioms, write the meaning of the expressions, draw or select images, and use GIMP or Photoshop to create an idiom book. 

Scholars explore U.S. Foreign Policy and Cold War ideologies adopted after WWII. They conduct Internet research on a topic or issue related to the Cold War Era, watch two films, and compose a time line and a multimedia presentation to...

Your teenagers may have heard of fracking, but do they really know what it is? And could they debate the benefits and risks? Educate your environmental science class with a lesson about hydraulic fracturing, non-renewable energy...

Students complete a character study using a database to compile information from a novel. They design a five slide presentation highlighting the character's reaction to different situations in the book. They write an acrostic poem using...

Have your upper graders watch the documentary, "The Persuaders" as they explore how advertisers try to gain potential customers. The video is followed by a discussion and close examination of new marketing trends and strategies.

Incorporating the arts into regular classroom practices isn't an easy task. Learners will research background information regarding Russian culture, history, and conflict then see how those things have applied to the rigors of Russian...

A series of activities help middle- and high-schoolers identify and explore gender stereotypes and how they can lead to violence and abuse. Use think-pair-share to activate whole class brainstorming about what it means to "be a man" and...

Young historians view and analyze photos and documents from WWII that are related to blood transfusions and blood plasma. A demonstration of correct and incorrect blood donors visually shows the importance of knowing blood...

To conclude a study of A Raisin in the Sun and to prepare for a visit to the Lewis Museum, class members analyze Langston Hughes' poem "Harlem." Learners then draw connections to characters in the play and to their own experiences...

Using geoboards, computer programs, and hands-on manipulative materials, elementary schoolers engage in a study of two and three-dimensional geometric shapes. This lesson is chock full of good teaching ideas on the subject, and the...

To better understand what it takes to work in the field of training or educating, learners first explore the education career cluster. After they research the cluster, pupils write questions for a guest speaker. This speaker can be from...

An informative list compiled with quotes, authors, and discussion questions, along with 20 out-of-the-box application ideas, make up the collection of lessons geared to spark dialogue and creative thinking about quotations. 

Young biologists discuss the reasons behind the current use of the plant identification system. They get into groups and identify the characteristics of each species of plant which is described. The keys needed for groups to make...

Learners investigate why and how certain historical figures became famous in relation to the Texas Revolution. They view and discuss a variety of images, then in small groups record the names of individuals involved in the Texas...

Learners take a closer look at one journalist's work on UN Peacebuilding efforts in four African nations: Sierra Leone, Burundi, Central African Republic, and Guinea Bissau. They collaborate to define peacebuilding and discuss...

Upper graders view a series of films that depict rituals or celebrations as they occur in different cultural settings. They conduct a cultural investigation about one culture, brainstorm and research objects that have cultural or...

Twelfth graders use computers and the Internet to research a specified area, word processors to prepare an essay, a digital camera, a video camera gather visuals, and a scanner to add visuals to a PowerPoint presentation as they discover...

Judy Clocks are a great invention. Here, learners review telling time to hour and half hour on Judy clocks, begin telling time to quarter hour, use clock stamps to practice, and play computer games using Trudy's Time and Place House...

During this lesson, which is all about making connections, learners watch a documentary about the teenage brain and connect it to Phineas Gage: A Gruesome but True Story About Brain Science, their own lives, and the world.