First graders access prior knowledge about pumpkins and read the story Pumpkin, Pumpkin. They will sequence the life cycle of the pumpkin through the use of picture cards and then sing a song about the life cycle of the pumpkin and plant...

One picture but a thousand stories. As a part of a case study of how the death of Michael Brown was reported by professional news sources and on social media class members examine the reactions of various groups to a photograph taken by...

Learn about George Washington Carver's important contributions to agriculture by studying the sweet potato. First graders read about the inventor's observations and prepare sweet potato slips for the class garden. Additionally, they...

A well-designed lesson teaches about the history of Harriet Tubman, the Underground Railroad, and the issues of civil liberties. Young historians watch a video, access Internet resources, and engage in cooperative activities which should...

Students set up and maintain birdhouses on the school grounds in an effort to witness and capture (through video and photos) the major stages in the life cycle of cavity-nesting birds.

Second graders create a movie or slide show depicting a typical day in school. From their perspective, they take photos of events and activities throughout the school day. Students use their collection for a Powerpoint presentation or...

Studenty create a photo essay of a day in their lives. In this photographic story activity, students take pictures throughout their day and use the images to tell a story.  Students create an album with an online account. 

Hunkering down in the trenches of World War I, Leland Linman decided to write a journal about his experiences. By reading Linman's entries in the fourth installment of an eight-part lesson series, scholars get a firsthand look at life in...

What would you wish for if you were granted one wish? Kids read a story about a taxi that bestows wishes upon its passengers in a short cloze activity. They use ten words at the bottom of the page to fill in the blanks throughout the...

As part of a study of the American Presidency, groups investigate five topics: Campaigns and Elections, Role and Responsibilities, Life in the White House, Assassination and Mourning, and Communicating the Presidency.

Allow your classes to research what interests them. An engaging STEM lesson, the fourth in the series of six, asks individuals to choose a topic of interest and analyze the data through regression models. The regression equations allow...

Should bottled water be sold in schools, or should they only provide tap water? The summative unit in the six-part series encourages scholars debating this topic. The lessons teach how to build an argument, how to gain background...

Students research the effects of living in a hurricane zone. In this hurricane zone lesson, students research the impact of natural disasters on humans and the environment, and write a press release describing the devastation of...

Learners view a list of careers and choose one to research.  They discuss each career, gather information, and list their resources, and they should compile. They write a flyer about their career and print it.

Students explore global culture by researching a Mexican holiday. In this Day of the Dead lesson, students read assigned text which discusses the view of death in several different cultures including the U.S. and Mexico. Students write a...

As part of a series of lessons on Family Life and Sexual Health (FLASH), designed for special education classes, high schoolers describe the members of their family and the role these people play in their life.

In this everyday editing activity, students correct grammatical mistakes in a short paragraph about the women in Henry VIII's life. The errors range in capitalization, punctuation, grammar, and spelling.

Thirteen steps make up a lesson that challenges pupils to compare and contrast the daily lives of Pilgrims and the Wampanoag tribe. Learners revisit the Graffiti Wall then break into small groups for an investigative reading assignment...

Oh the joys of love! As a special Valentine's Day assignment, budding authors research the life of one of the most romantic poets, Keats. They read the letter, "To Fanny Brawne, 13 October 1819," then compose a love letter of their own....

After reflecting on jobs people perform in the present day, scholars discuss what they believe jobs would have been like in Colonial Virginia during the American Revolution. Small groups then perform a jigsaw using informational packets....

How do young learners figure out how to balance their energy in and their energy out? The main thing to understand is calories. How many calories are in foods and beverages consumed and how many calories are burned off by physical...

Get a quick peek into the life of Benjamin Franklin with a resource with a comprehension worksheet that asks learners to read a short tale, respond to a series of questions based on the passage, and then to identify the moral...

It might not be easy, but it is worth recycling electronics. Small groups determine the percentage of the materials that make up an iPad 2 and display the information in a circle graph. They then research the recycling process for...

What was it like to enlist as a soldier in the Civil War? By using enlistment papers, young scholars consider this question. After they've looked at the primary source and discussed it, they create a short story of a fictional soldier to...