Students explore the food pyramid and how to eat a healthy diet.  For this nutrition lesson, students use pictures to make charts of food from the different food groups, record the food they eat throughout the day, investigate the...

Learners complete a craft project.  In this Mother's Day lesson, students learn about Mother's Day around the world, write an essay about their mother, create a Mother's Day card, create coupons for meaningful time with their...

As part of a unit on the chemistry of the brain, thinkers learn how chemicals work to transmit messages between individual neurons and how controlled substances impact the synaptic cleft. They do so by playing a dice-and-card game in...

In cooperative groups, middle schoolers contemplate the probability of 18 different situations occurring. After they make predictions, they compare them to the actual risk factors. This eye-opening exercise demonstrates that the odds of...

In an introductory lesson, youngsters take a pre-assessment quiz, get a grasp of a gram of mass, and then estimate the mass of microorganisms that live within a human body. Using Glo Germ™, a material that allows you to simulate the...

Learners share a bowl of goldfish crackers. In this lesson on sharing, students see how a limited resource goes furthest when it is evenly shared. Learners are allowed to take as many crackers as they would like, and then in contrast,...

Scholars share ideas about health topics relevant to teens. They read posts on Well, the Times health blog, and produce their own health blog featuring teen health issues. In addition, they read and discuss the article "Well: A Times...

Students write an essay to describe the contents of a compost bin.  In this composting lesson, students create a compost bin. Students examine soil for its contents and explains in an essay the impact of the soil on the environment.

Students examine cereal boxes for nutrition information.  In this nutrition lesson, students redesign cereal boxes to reflect their nutritional value. Students understand that some cereals contain too high a percentage of sugar...

Students complete an experiment to understand changes to the environment over time.  In this hydrogen lesson, students discuss electrolysis and conduct an electrolysis experiment.  Students observe and record their experiment.

Students collect data about energy usage and use mathematical calculations to analyze their data. In this energy conservation and statistics math lesson, students survey their homes to complete an energy usage worksheet. Students...

While science Jeopardy games are a dime-a-dozen, this one has some pretty unique categories that are still relevant to a middle school physical science curriculum. The topics include: leading nations, famous Americans (who invented...

Young pupils should benefit from this wonderful series of activities designed to teach them how to get along with, and respect each other. Learners recognize how to demonstrate both respectful and disrespectful behavior, and take part in...

Where is HIV/AIDS most prevalent and what are the current trends regarding HIV? Have groups work together to map the world's HIV/AIDS rates, then create a class map with all the data. Lesson includes cross-disciplinary concepts including...

Fifth graders explore the wetlands to discover its benefits in removing pollutants in the water.  For this wetlands lesson, 5th graders discuss how stormwater wetlands are created to purify water. Students test the water.

Examine global health issues and the philanthropic efforts of Bill Gates. Working in groups, your class will research selected diseases focusing on symptoms, transmission, and prevention. They also conclude by writing grant proposals to...

Offer your youngsters an extra helping of nutritional knowledge and healthy tips with this resource, which centers around the MyPlate nutritional guide and offers three "courses" of plans and worksheets on the food groups and the...

What's missing from most studies of the American Revolutionary War is information about the role African Americans played in the conflict. To correct this oversight, middle schoolers research groups like the Black Loyalists and ...

As a more personal part of a unit on brain chemistry, your class discusses stressful situations and the body's response to them. They talk about how, while the reactions are initially helpful, some can be harmful to your health. Finally,...

Students create a solar water heater. In this solar energy lesson, students conduct an experiment to determine which colors absorb more radiant heat. Students investigate the relationship of heat loss to insulation. Students then create...

Assign each group of 3-4 upper elementary engineers to a different type of transportation fuel. A background information page is provided to get them started with researching their assigned fuel. Each group then produces an exhibit...

Life science learners read a set of six short Discovery Readings that describe historical events in the field of microbiology. For each, they identify clues about when the event occurred and then they try to arrange events in...

Your life science class works in their groups to review the concept maps that they have constructed over the course of a microbiology unit. They share what they have learned with the rest of the class. In a second session, they are given...

In the preceding lesson from the unit, beginning biologists discovered that microorganisms are everywhere, so the question follows, why are we not sick all of the time? Class members read and discuss an article in small groups about...