Read and discuss the article "Welcome to Cicadaville (Enter at Your Own Risk)" to gain a better understanding around the confusion regarding cicadas and locust swarms. In groups your young analysts research statements about animals to...

More than half the world's population eats rice as a daily staple ... imagine if that rice could prevent illness. Scientists genetically engineered rice to include vitamin A for just that purpose. However, room for debate still exists....

Disease prevention or designer babies? Use a set of slides to introduce the growing practice of preimplantation genetic diagnosis, or PGD. Teens read related articles and then break into groups to address different scenarios. Afterward,...

Students read three articles with different points of view on the water and sanitation issues in the Florida Keys. They identify the facts and opinions in each article and write a summary. In addition, they write an essay expressing...

Just because we have the ability to determine an organism's traits through genetic testing, should we do it? Middle-school medical experts examine the ethical dilemmas in biotechnology in the 18th and final installment in a series of...

Young scholars read opposing views on the lead contamination issue, identify the facts and opinions in each article, and infer the opinion of the author. They create an essay expressing their opinion on the issue complete with citations.

What does your class know about GMOs? Are they savvy to selective breeding? Challenge young minds to engineer the greatest crop of all time using a hands-on genetics unit. Learners discover the good and bad details of selective breeding,...

Work on research procedures in this lesson, which prompts writers to collect and evaluate information pooled from a number of sources. They work in teams to collect information about crocodiles from different sources. They compare the...

Scholars voice their opinions about animal consciousness with an article that challenges common ideas about nature. After reading the article, learners engage in a thoughtful discussion before writing out their arguments...

Students examine journalism and its different styles.  In this effective communication instructional activity students create an editorial message and articulate an article.

Young scholars design an experiment to discriminate between chemical diffusion, osmosis, facilitated diffusion and active transport through a membrane. Be specific about predictions and interpretations!

Young scholars consider the impact of legislating exessive packaging. In this environmental issues activity, students visit selected websites to discover information about packaging and UK laws to reduce it. Young...

Investigate the choices people make between economic growth and personal growth and development using the ethical/decision making model. Small groups create and present a position paper describing their feeling for or against the...

Discover colonies! Young historians will listen to a primary source journal entry read aloud with a backdrop of wave sounds. They discuss the entry, add historical facts to a chart and personal insights to another. Then they listen to...

What are the causes and effects of pollutants on the quality of the air we breathe? Groups research emission standards, emission controls, career opportunities in the area of air quality control, and things government and individuals can...

When studying pollution and the environment, you can use this activity as an enrichment. Safety-conscious learners read a 2005 article about an ammonia leak from a Kentucky fast-food product plant. They work in small groups to discuss...

Students discuss global warming. In this global warming lesson, students read an article about global warming and list five things they learned. Students work in small groups to compare what they wrote. Students illustrate one of the...

Students conduct an experiment. In this Earth's layers lesson, students learn about soil, sand and rock. They complete their own Jell-O Mountain and investigate the Earth's layers on-line.

Students research sleep following a class discussion on an article in The New York Times. Students use their research information to create a health and wellness exhibit that addresses topics related to sleep.

Young scholars discuss nutrition and compare nutritional values of a snack product claiming health benefits with a candy product.

Students working in groups study different types of biomes and the issues or environmental problems that can affect them. They design a poster board that displays the characteristics of their biome. They make a model of the biome that...