Students read and discuss an article about carbon dating, then participate in a hands-on lab to discover how carbon dating works. Students also write a letter to a friend explaining the process, and how archeologists use the process to...

Middle schoolers identify lines of symmetry.  In this symmetry lesson, students create objects and identify their lines of symmetry.  They answer questions about lines of symmetry.  Middle schoolers cut shapes out of...

Students watch the Discovery program "Racial Inequality: Remnants of a Troubled Time" then examine the ratification of the 14th Amendment and the Plessy v. Ferguson decision. They research one of three events that tested Brown v. Board...

Young scholars create a first person account of life in the middle ages from the perspective of a king, noble, knight or peasant. They view and discuss a Discovery Channel video then research the roles and responsibilities of their...

Students, in a high school class for autistic children, take a virtual tour of Boston's "Big Dig" and the artifacts discovered there. During weekly lab sessions, they discover the processes involved in artifact preservation. Using...

High schoolers investigate the sum of the measures of the angles of a triangle. They draw a triangle and measure the interior angles. Using Cabri Jr., learners find the sum of the measures of the interior angles. The lesson provides an...

Students explore their own heritage as they learn more about Roger Clemente. In this social studies and music lesson plan, students study cultural heritage through a study of Puerto Rican music and instruments.

Students explore how an archaeologist works and makes discoveries. In this archaeology lesson, students participate in a simulation in which they excavate broken pottery. Students use measurement, geometry, and observation skills during...

Fifth graders research and complete a graphic organizer about the principles of flight. In this aviation lesson, 5th graders experiment to understand the work of Daniel Bernouli and his discoveries about air pressure. Students create...

Students investigate plant tropisms using the scientific method. For this life science lesson, students learn about tropisms and test the response of corn seedlings to gravity. Response questions, extensions, and an adaptation for...

Middle schoolers investigate methods of pollination for various flowers. In this plant biology lesson, students learn the parts of a flower and form a hypothesis about the method of pollination for the flower. They determine the...

Students examine urban growth in America. For this urbanization lesson, students watch segments of the Discovery video "Urban Growth in America." Students conduct further research pertaining to the industrial revolution, New York City's...

Students research the Westward Movement and struggles encountered by the pioneers as they moved from Nebraska, Westward along the Oregon Trail. In this Westward Expansion instructional activity, students read an Oregon Trail poem and...

Through learning about cubic functions, students graph cubic functions on their calculator.  Students determine the local maximum and minimum points and the tangent line from the x-intercept to a point on the cubic function. ...

Students research and write about Christopher Columbus, his voyages, and his impact on the Native Americans. In this Christopher Columbus lesson, students work at stations where they learn vocabulary, perform Reader's Theatre, work with...

Students explore history through archaeology. For this critical analysis lesson, students work in teams to recreate a model of the archaeological discoveries made in the excavations at Monticello. This lesson is designed to help students...

Students take a closer look at the death penalty. In this U.S. government lesson, students watch a Discovery video about capital punishment in the United States and then compose letters to the editors of newspapers about their stance on...

While incomplete, this lesson could provide ideas for a lesson on the California gold rush. Learners look at a chart to analyze population growth in San Francisco after the discovery of gold, analyze political changes that occurred, and...

Students discover, through the discovery method, how electricity works. They construct a simple circuit and a parallel circuit, make an electrical motor work and add a switch to turn it on and off.

Students explore the various ways in which geologists create fossil records. Working in pairs, students create a model of a fossil record through a hands on activity. They relate their experience to recent discoveries in geology and...

Learners read a New York Times article in order to explore issues about the celebration of Columbus Day. They, working in groups, research the legacy of exploration and colonization. They use the research to create a first person narrative.

As learners watch a video on voting, they take notes on a worksheet that lists various voting topics, including electoral and popular votes, early voting, and exit polling. Then, young people research the Internet for their state's...

Set in Oklahoma in the 1930s, The Grapes of Wrath presents a powerful view of life during the Great Depression. An insightful lesson plan takes a closer look at the characters in John Steinbeck's classic novel, combining the...

Introducing ... the aerogel. The first of a two-installment series teaches young engineers about the properties and uses of aerogels. A PowerPoint presentation provides information about this unique material to help solidify the concept.