Play letter sound detective with your class, and snoop out sounds, onsets, blends, and rhyme. In pairs, children take turns choosing a card from the pile; as they sound out part of the word, their partner attempts to figure out which...

I can find the error in an array of cards? After watching a demonstration class members search for the error is the provided cards. The resource provides a real-life example of using ISBN numbers in error detection and using check...

Police find a man murdered in a local hotel, DNA everywhere, and now they need scholars' help. Budding detectives step into a crime scene playing the roles of victim, suspects, and investigators. They apply knowledge of criminology and...

Test your learners' sensory awareness with three hands-on activities that ask pupils to use their other senses to identify and describe everyday objects hidden from sight.  

Make sound waves visible with an experiment that asks middle schoolers to build a model ear drum using plastic bottles, rubber bands, plastic wrap, and sand-like substances.

Every time a bell rings ... there is lightning in the area. The activity provides directions to build a model of a lightning detection system. Similar to a system designed by Benjamin Franklin, the system uses static...

A picture really can speak a thousand words—no matter how old! Scholars become history detectives as they learn how to analyze historical photos and evidence to uncover the past. The fun hands-on activity makes history come alive through...

The distinctive attire of royalty, working class, and peasants of the Victorian era conveys much about the conditions of the time. Learn more about why people dressed as they did, and how their fashion changed during the 64-year reign of...

How did the Ebola virus first infect humans? Young virologists examine genetic sequences from the 2014 Sierra Leone outbreak to find similarities during a riveting activity. Following similar methods used by MIT and Harvard, partners...

Two scenarios are presented for chemistry detectives to decipher. Both require the use of an infrared spectrometer and focus on the examination of polymer materials. In the first, lumps in polyethylene bottles are analyzed. In the...

Turn young learners into pattern detectives with this fun hands-on activity. Using the included set of cards showing different block towers, children replicate each pattern with their own manipulatives while...

History detectives eschew that time machine and follow the paper trail to go back in time to investigate an unfamiliar object. The goal is for class members to develop their skills as historical detectives.

I bet I can cross the room without having the lights come on. Class members set up an experiment in which they try to determine what materials will mask motion detected by a sensor. Groups predict how materials will interact with...

As an introduction to the hypothesis and testing method of investigation, young history detectives engage in a special investigation of a family artifact. After watching a short video that demonstrates the method, they develop a...

Bubbles aren't just for children. In the third installment of a seven-part series, teenagers use bubble solution to create bubbles and observe patterns of refraction on the bubble surfaces. Application of this concept to thin films in...

Give your class a chance to show what they know. In the last installment of a seven-part series, pupils summarize and review what they have learned in the series. They present their solutions for creating a biosensor to detect cancer...

Sherlock Holmes may have been the greatest detective in literary history. A study guide for The Hound of the Baskervilles introduces a story featuring the famous detective before sharing activities related to the text. Readers...

Being a historian requires serious sleuthing. They examine primary source documents and look for evidence, for clues that reveal who wrote the document, when, and why. After watching two historians model the process, young history...

Life science learners discover the range of peripheral vision. They compare the angles at which they can detect motion, colors, and detailed shapes. 

We are used to finding the area of a circle by plugging the radius into an equation. Here, learners are required to go further to find multiple areas and calculate the difference. They must detect a pattern in order to figure out the...

The proof is in the probate record. Much can be learned about history by investigating old, primary source documents. Class members hone their detective skills by examing the 1759 probate record of Sarah Green. Who was this lady? Was she...

Pupils are transformed into detectives in the case to solve the motive behind the assassination of Julius Caesar. This resource includes eight engaging "exhibits" of unique primary and secondary sources for students to analyze...

Class members use an air quality monitor to measure the amount of gas-phase pollutants emitted by different sources. Groups choose three different sources and make predictions about what the monitors will detect. Teams then expose...

It is just magnetic. This resource presents the concept of Earth's and another planet's magnetic field and how spacecrafts detect them. Learners study a problem using magnetometers and participate in three experiments to come up with a...