Planning a unit on simple machines? Save some time and energy with this collection of lessons and activities that explores how these devices are used in the real world to make life a little easier. 

"Words, words, words." Despite Hamlet's opinion, words can be significant. In this inquiry lesson, middle schoolers learn how the words in Harriet Beecher Stowe's Uncle Tom's Cabin, in the view of many, lead to the American Civil War. To...

There's more to that glowing ball of light in sky than most children realize. From the overall structure of the solar system, to the changing of the seasons, these hands-on lessons open the eyes of young scientists to...

Trace the links between a variety of math concepts in this far-reaching unit. Ideas that seem very different on the outset (like the distance formula and rigid transformations) come together in very natural and logical ways. This...

Your learners combine their knowledge of real and imaginary numbers and matrices in an activity containing thirty lessons, two assessments (mid-module and end module), and their corresponding rubrics. Centered on complex numbers and...

The lesson guides young academics through the steps in producing a 10-page research paper on any topic in American history. Historians begin by formulating a thesis and gathering resources, then move on to creating an outline, and end...

Picture someone's excitement of seeing a horse for the first time. How about a cow? The Columbian Exchange changed life for not only Native Americans, but also for Europeans and the entire world. The second lesson of a 22-part series...

Travel the world instantly—and learn about math along the way. Using pictures of famous places taken from Google Earth, scholars look for parallel and perpendicular lines based on slope and angle measurements. They also calculate...

Crime doesn't pay, but everyone can learn from it. Learners consider different situations involving mischief at a school, such as stink bombs and rockets, and analyze them using mathematics. They must apply trigonometry, quadratic...

Lois Lowry's The Giver is one of the most engaging and thought-provoking works of literature in the middle school curriculum. Round out your novel unit with a collection of reading activities, comprehension questions, memoir and...

How do you read a frame? How do you read a shot? Here's a resource that shows viewers how to read films. As part of the study, class members examine the camera angles, lighting, movement, and cinematic point of view in Mr. Smith Goes to...

Who wants to go fast? The answer? Your sixth-grade science superstars! The complete resource offers the ultimate, all-inclusive playbook for mastering the important concepts of speed versus time; distance versus time; and how...

You have the power! Scholars learn that they have power of the pen in their writing. After reading and viewing various sources about standardized testing, they express their own opinions about the testing by writing letters to the...

Genetic modification is a hot topic in the science and political world. A complete unit gives learners an opportunity to research genetic modification, play an interactive genetic engineering simulation, and interact with the information...

First graders explore how earthquakes release energy in a set of hands-on activities. During the pre-lab, they discover how energy from an earthquake releases waves through the earth using a water-filled cup and...

Third graders research and study animal adaptations and then use their findings to write narratives that include scientific criterion. This lesson is all about literacy and science! The lesson is completely designed for addressing Common...

Watch scholars' understanding of fractions bloom. The resource presents a performance task where the fractions are equal parts from the same whole, and mathematicians must use them to solve problems about a grade level garden. Teachers...

Use texts and dances to teach inequalities and equations. A sixth-grade unit covers using variables in equations and inequalities to solve problems. Learners show what they know at the end of the unit using two performance tasks, one...

Create a geometric playground. Pupils work through a performance task to demonstrate their ability to use geometric concepts to solve everyday problems. The accompanying engineering design lessons show teachers how the assessment works...

A geometry module connects algebraic reasoning to geometry. It challenges scholars to investigate the slope criteria for parallel and perpendicular lines, prove theorems involving coordinate geometry, and write equations for circles and...

In this, the third in a series of four resources that use Robert Wise's 1951 version of The Day The Earth Stood Still as the core text, young film makers examine the language of film including shot composition, camera angle, lighting,...

Start your engines! This five-lesson unit introduces physics and Newton's laws through automobile racing. Each lesson includes background information, a student worksheet, and an answer key. There are also culminating...

Order up a unit on rational numbers. A unit overview gives a basic outline of instruction and activities on rational numbers for the 7.NS domain. A performance task on profits at pizzerias assesses understanding of the concepts in the...

There's a high likelihood for learner success in this set of probability problems and activities. From support activities that walk learners through joint and compound probabilities through the cumulative activity of planning to win...