In this first of four lessons on book design, young scholars are introduced to the vocabulary of book design through the use of bookwalks and a non-linear PowerPoint presentation in game-show (Jeopardy!) format.

Art classes, like any lab class, require extensive preplanning and set-up time. Use this planning template in the quiet before the storm to identify the equipment and materials that will be needed, the procedures and processes...

Challenge young scientists to design their own experimental procedures. They write the procedure for properly preparing two grams of a water-insoluble ionic salt. To finish, they perform the experiment and collect data to prove their...

Forget your local meteorologist — build your own barometer and keep track of the weather with an activity that provides directions to build a barometer out of a narrow necked bottle, a glass, and some water. Using their barometer,...

Here's a super survey on supermarket products. An interactive lesson has classmates design and conduct surveys on a product of interest. They analyze the data, choose a data display method, and present their findings to the class.

Stability is key when building a bridge. Scholars explore the forces acting upon bridges through an analysis of Newton's Laws and Hooke's Law. The activity asks individuals to apply their learning by building a bridge of their own.

Discover how to calculate the expected value of a random variable. In the seventh installment of a 21-part module, young mathematicians develop the formula for expected value. They connect this concept the dot product of vectors.

Lather up! That's the takeaway from two activities that focus on skin cancer. To begin, class members read articles to gather information about sun exposure, tanning, and skin cancer. They use this information to design a pamphlet to...

Five questions make up an interactive designed to boost the multiplication of fraction skills. An assortment of color-coded fraction blocks assists participants to find the right answer. Question types include multiple-choice and fill in...

Scholars give life to a pumpkin as they design a Jack O'Lantern that exudes a certain emotion. Participants choose one of nine feeling words, or add up to three that aren't listed, locate and cut out face pieces, then glue them to the...

There are lots of good reasons not to smoke. Make sure your middle and high schoolers understand each and every one with a activity that prompts them to read anti-smoking posters, note the main points, and write a short response on the...

What a great lesson, upper graders are sure to love. They explore costume design and the relationships between theatre, culture, and history. They research three time periods, write a response about two of them, then create a composit...

Sixty multiple choice questions cover the entire gamut of chemistry concepts. This is the local section of the U.S. National Chemistry Olympiad, where your chemistry candidates take a shot at entering the national competition. They...

Upper graders use the potter's wheel to make Japanese style tea cups, which they will use in a Japanese style tea ceremony. They hone their sculpting techniques while exploring Japanese cultural and the history of tea. There are two...

Farming is full of mathematics, and it provides numerous real-world examples for young mathematicians to study. Here, we look at a cylinder-shaped storage silo that has one flat side. Given certain dimensions, students need to determine...

The National Chemistry Olympiad exams are comprehensive tests covering an entire  year of chemistry concepts. You can use them as practice for competing in the challenge, or simply as a review, or as an actual final exam for your...

Sixty multiple-choice chemistry questions make up this comprehensive exam used for the 2001 US National Chemistry Olympiad. Every topic that you would expect to approach in a general chemistry class is queried on. You could easily use...

Students create a product out of concrete. For this concrete lesson plan, students also demonstrate safety when using the tools provided.

Students review the human respiratory system and the effects on the human body.  In this design lesson plan students brainstorm and create a prototype then present it to the class.     

After a quick study of Native American art, symbolism, and pattern design children make a ceramic vase. They read about the use, production, and design of Native American vases or pots, then use clay to create one of their own. Tip:...

The perfect resource for a beginning journalism teacher or someone designing a journalism unit, this activity prompts students to write a newspaper article. It covers all aspects of the writing process, such as a guided warm-up...

Breathe some life into product design. Pupils learn about the stages of product creation, use, and disposal—sometimes called a cradle-to-grave assessment. They see how this cycle relates to the life cycle of organisms.

What is water worth to you? The answer probably depends on many different variables. Learners explore the value of water in space and what it takes to transport the resource to locations in a galaxy far far away. They then consider...

Protect skin from UV radiation! Groups design and conduct an experiment to test the effectiveness of UV safety products. The groups collect the data from the experiment and prepare a lab report. In the second day of the activity,...