Get your scholars examining short and long-term causes and effects of the European discovery of the Americas. This graphic organizer is simple and easy to understand: learners fill in long and short-term causes of the discovery, then...

Witness the birth of the Americas in this presentation, which details the European Explorers who contributed to adding vital details on our modern-day maps. Viewers' worlds will literally expand after seeing the results of Cortes and the...

When Christopher Columbus landed, he found many things to comment on. Have your class read this letter that he wrote to Luis de Sant Angel in 1493. The text is split up into sections. Each section is paired with two to three...

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

How did the discovery of the Americas change the world? A US history textbook covers topics such as the Americas, changes in European society, and the trans-Atlantic slave trade. Young academics also complete the assessment included in...

What is the cost of change? Roberto Guerra's photo essay "La Carretera: Life and Change Along Peru's Interoceanic Highway" asks viewers to consider the impacts of the 1,600 mile-long highway through Peru and Brazil that connects Pacific...

The assassination of Abraham Lincoln was a pivotal moment in American history, but what were the immediate effects throughout the newly unified country? A document-based question focuses on the consequences of the first...

Here's a worksheet to help your class envision the Lewis and Clark expedition. Your young historians read a one-page article on the expedition, use context clues and a dictionary to define eight terms from the article and write a...

Young ecologists examine the case of the prairie dog, and their near extinction. They read a terrific student handout embedded in the plan, and engage in a class discussion that's based on what they read. Learners perform research on...

Did you know that Pluto is smaller than the United States of America? It is difficult to conceptualize the size of planets and the distance between them, and the instructional activity addresses those exact issues. After a discussion,...

Do you want to hear a joke about nitrogen and oxygen? NO. We all know there is oxygen in the air and that plants produce oxygen, but how was it discovered? Scholars read a handout, answer questions, and analyze material in the...

Explore the causes of ozone depletion and the effect on plankton, algae, plants, amphibians, and humans. Learn how the Montreal Protocol has possibly helped reverse the decline of the ozone layer. Warning: photos of skin and eye...

Young scholars, after reading Chapter One in the book, "The American Colonies' Sense of Who They Were," analyze the actions of the colonists as well as compare the similarities between the protests of the colonists and protests of today....

Celebrate the whimsical world of Dr. Seuss on Read Across America Day with a collection of science, technology, engineering, the arts, and mathematics activities, each linked to a popular Dr. Seuss story. 

Students, after reading Chapter 1 in the book, "First Encounters Between Spain and the Americas: Two Worlds Meet," design and create a map of the Aztec Empire at the time of the first contract with the Spanish. They create the map from...

By providing an in-depth and interesting overview of European exploration in the New World, this presentation would be a wonderful complement to a unit on this topic. The 17 slide presentation is both thought-provoking and informative....

Looking for resources that explore alternative perspectives of the Christopher Columbus story? Check out the images, videos, cartoons, primary source documents, and other texts in a packet designed to spark...

The American Museum of Natural History offers a website sure to engage young anthropologists. Learners can dig into a site that offers an explanation of the field of archaeology, the kinds of questions archaeologists ask that launch...

Immerse your young marine biologists in the world of marine animals. The lesson includes several activities that are age-appropriate for preschoolers and kindergartners, including coloring pages, gluing feathers and sand onto paper...

How would the story of the discovery of America be different if indigenous people told it through their eyes? Individuals compare the conventional account of this moment in history to an account given by one of the native peoples. After...

Students perform a play about the early explorers to America.

Few Americans have heard of the burgeoning scientific community known as the America Philosophical society, started by none other than Benjamin Franklin. With inquiry, research, and discussion, high schoolers come to understand their...

Students complete a unit to learn about early American exploration. In this Americas exploration lesson, students complete eight lessons of activities to learn about Columbus's discovery of the new world and the early exploration of the...

Young scholars examine the role of women in Mesoamerica. They watch segments of the Discovery video "Mesoamerica: The History of Central America". After conducting further research pertaining to specific Mayan women, they write...