Students experience Zen philosophies reflected in artwork, poetry, and architecture. Students will explore these connections and expand the discussion to include a professional author of their choice.

Young scholars blog their way through history. In this historical perspectives lesson, students use teacher-created blogs to log their impressions and opinions regarding the historical events they are studying. Steps are included for...

Students study Chinese jade carvings and then carve an animal from soap in a similar fashion.

Students create PowerPoint presentation on the topic they researched. In this biology lesson, students fill out a storyboard about their topic. They share their project in class.

Students prepare PowerPoint presentation on DNA and cells. For this biology lesson, students create a storyboard of their presentation. They share the finished project in class. 

Sixth graders demonstrate their knowledge of Earth clay construction by creating, inscribing, and glazing an earth clay Egyptian cartouche. The instructional activity culminates with learners sharing their knowledge of key terms in the...

In our increasingly visual society, it is often difficult for some readers to create a mental picture of a picture created only with words. An image-rich text like F. Scott Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby can therefore, present a real...

What's in a cell, anyway? Kids read informational text on what makes up both animal and plant cells, including a page of vocabulary terms they will need to be familiar with (cytoplasm, ribosomes, vacuoles, etc.). Full-color images...

Your class might be surprised to learn that mirrors have been around since the first century AD! Young scientists explore reflection and refraction of light through a series of challenges. They use this knowledge to design their own...

Explore the history of immigration through photographs. Scholars will view and discuss photographs depicting the culture and lifestyle of late 19th and early 20th century immigrants. They take pictures of current examples of culture in...

Breathe some new life into charcoal. Scholars use biochar to improve soil fertility. They test the effectiveness of this addition by conducting an experiment with soil having 0%, 2%, and 4% biochar.

High school artists create a collaborative piece based on a historical image. Each member of the class is given two days to draw one part of the whole image, when the two days are up; they put their pieces together and discuss the...

Beautiful music doesn't just write itself, but if you ever feel bad about procrastinating, remember that Mozart wrote the overture to Don Giovanni the morning it premiered. Introduce young scientists to the elements of sound including...

Although students are aware of news as information that influences their perceptions of the world, they are often unaware of the various ways to present that information. Encourage them to investigate, discuss, analyze and make valuable...

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.

Learners hone their drawing techniques to create a nature-inspired piece of art. They practice hatching, cross hatching, stippling, and shading. They discuss how each method is better suited for creating specific elements in nature such...

Practice expository and creative writing with your class. Pupils use magazines to find pictures, cut them out, and create a collage. This work of art is then used as a writing prompt. They describe the collage in either a creative or...

The New York Times offers of two articles and two summaries for learners to consider. They read each article and then post a blog response to each of the seven related questions. The topic of the articles asks the question; Is TV...

Track your class's progress on all of the ELA Common Core standards with these handy charts. Along the left side, each seventh grade identifier is listed along with the full text of the standard. As you teach, reteach, assess,...

Make electricity flow through Play-Doh. Individuals create animals or other creatures using Play-Doh. The engineering aspect? Eyes that light up and Play-Doh that conducts electricity.

Bilateral suborbital hematoma? Call an audible? 404? Have fun with “the twittering or warbling of birds,” or as 14th century French speakers would say, have fun with “jargon.” Groups match specialized jargon with plain speech, decode...