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...

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...

Trace Columbus' voyages by locating them on 21st Century maps.  Using a navigators lesson, 4th graders will examine the Age of Exploration and trace Columbus's routes accurately on laminated world maps using different maps. Note:...

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 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...

Young scholars learn how tools help us accomplish things. In this tool discovery lesson, students review the function of tools. They then make a class chart and categorize different types of tools found in the classroom. Finally, they...

For this World War II worksheet, learners discuss the war with older people, and visit local libraries and museums to learn how the war changed the place where they live. They use resources to find out which countries were occupied and...

Students understand the destructive force of a tornado. They learn the role of a thunderstorm in the creation of a tornado.

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...

Class members engage in a STEM experiment and investigate how materials affect heating in a house by creating models of houses and using different top surface materials. They record the temperature inside the models and consider what the...

Discover the science behind astronomy. After reading the book Maria's Comet, which is about a young woman who breaks new ground by becoming a female astronomer, young learners practice reading comprehension with...

Let's get a closer look at DNA and other molecular structures. The first lesson plan in the series of four introduces a variety of imagining techniques that engineers and scientists use to visualize molecular structures. The resource...

What's it like to be a deep-sea explorer? Tap into the imaginations of your fifth and sixth graders with a vivid lesson, the second part of a six-part adventure. Learners close their eyes and submerge themselves in an expedition aboard...

Explore the inventions of the past with a project on ancient tools. After reading an article about hunting during the Archaic period, the Late Prehistoric period, and the Historic period, kids fill in a cause-and-effect chart about the...

How much water does it take to brush your teeth? How about to wash your clothes? Perform an experiment that measures water usage in everyday tasks and compares them to the days before indoor plumbing, specifically the California...

Good versus bad data. Pairs rate online collections of data representations from good to bad and then suggest ways to improve the visualizations. The class then creates a list of best practices and common errors in data representations...

Sea explorers and scientists have found that because of temperatures being two to three degrees Celsius at the bottom of the ocean, most animals are lethargic in order to conserve energy. In this web quest, pairs of learners read about...

Patterns in polygons lead to patterns in polynomials. Presented with a series of polygons, individuals create polynomial expressions to represent their patterns. The algebra project consists of nine problems that incorporate polynomial...

Challenge young learners to cut the clutter with this fun engineering project. As employees of a home and office supply company, young engineers are asked to develop devices that organize everyday items. After participating in a...

Students discover why explorers left their homes to explore and how they played an important part in the discovery of the New World. Students create PowerPoint presentations of a specific explorer's journey and discoveries and the...

Students complete a unit of lessons on ecosystems. They participate in online activities, create a diorama, write journal entries, and develop a Hyperstudio multimedia project on a selected ecosystem.

Students learn about farms through literature and center activities. In this farming lesson plan, students read about farming, sing songs about it, sort materials, and do more activities related to farming.

Students explore the impact of political cartoons on American elections. In this presidential elections lesson, students discuss the election process and then analyze political cartoons that were published during presidential elections....

Students decide what the most necessary things they should take with them in a survival situation.  In this survival lesson students complete an activity while divided into groups.