Judicial Branch of California
The Power of the Press: The First Amendment
Was what happened in 1886 at the Haymarket riot a crime or a case of xenophobia? Using political cartoons from the time, young historians consider the role the media played in anti-labor sentiment during the time and how that influenced...
University of Waikato
Temperature, Salinity and Water Density
The difference between sinking and floating may be a little salt. Young experimenters analyze the effect of salt and temperature on the density of water. They use their results to predict the effect of climate change on ocean ecosystems.
Healthy Native Youth
Chapter 5: Learning About HIV/AIDS/STI's and Hepatitis Transmission
Middle schoolers delve deep into facts about HIV, AIDS, Hepatitis, and other STI's by way of discussion and a hands-on activity. Scholars ask and discuss questions anonymously using a Question Box. Two experiments showcase the...
Committee for Children
Create a Positive Classroom Climate and Help Stop Bullying
Encourage kindness and respect with an activity that challenges scholars to create a poster that details three ways to exhibit the desired character traits.
Thoughtful Learning
Taking Action Against Bullying
A mini-lesson offers suggestions for young learners on how to take action against bullying, both for themselves and others. Individuals then craft a paragraph about strategies they might use.
Thoughtful Learning
Using Perspective Shifting to Imagine History
Imagine what it would have been like to walk from Georgia to Texas! Perspective shifting, a key part of developing social awareness, involves just this sort of imaging. A short mini-lesson asks learners to shift their point of view and...
Thoughtful Learning
Expressing Emotions Through Drawing
Draw it out! Sometimes creating a picture is an easier way for pupils to express how they are feeling. A short mini-lesson encourages just that approach. After drawing an expressive picture, artists are asked to reflect on their work and...
Thoughtful Learning
Seeing Emotion in Facial Expressions
Learning to read body language, especially facial expressions, is the focus of a mini-lesson. Young learners examine a series of photographs, identify the emotion being illustrated, and then discuss the cues that revealed the emotion.
Thoughtful Learning
Understanding the Parts of the Brain
A mini-lesson explains the role the parts of the brain play in thinking and learning. Scholars discover why feeling safe, calm, and connected is essential to learning effectively.
American Museum of Natural History
Start a Rock Collection
Rocks hold evidence of Earth's past. A three-step guide describes the process of creating a rock collection. It provides a data collection sheet to make notes about each sample.
American Museum of Natural History
Anatomy Adventure
Sometimes science is puzzling. Using an online animation, individuals manipulate skeletal bones of an ancient species to recreate its skeleton. Learners complete the skeletal puzzle and learn about the process of paleontology in person...
American Museum of Natural History
Be an Energy Saver
Small conservation steps can have large impacts. Individuals access an online checklist and rate themselves on their conservation practices. They reflect on current practices and learn about new ways to contribute and how to do better....
American Museum of Natural History
Fighting Dinos
A famous fossil of fighting dinosaurs holds as many questions as answers. Scholars first analyze the fossil itself by virtually highlighting the specific bones of the dinosaurs and read about their function and importance. They then test...
Teaching Tolerance
Oral History Project
Get up-close-and-personal with history using guidance for an oral history project. An engaging resource takes pupils through brainstorming through feedback for a project to interview and collect oral histories from members of their...
Thoughtful Learning
Adjusting Your Writing Voice
"Yo, what's up?" "Nuttin!" While such a dialogue might be appropriate between friends, it would be ill-advised in more formal situations. A mini-lesson asks young writers to consider how to adjust the voice they use to bring their...
Las Cumbres Observatory
Play Bingo with Charles Messier
Let's play an out-of-this-world Bingo game! Using pre-made Bingo cards and an online randomizer, host a game of Bingo to practice identifying the objects of the cosmos. Pupils must match a picture shown to a similar picture on their...
Las Cumbres Observatory
Measure the Diameter of the Sun
Measuring the diameter of the sun may get a little heated, but using an indirect approach can help individuals keep their cool. Learners use the reflection of the sun to measure how long it takes for it to move one diameter. Using the...
Las Cumbres Observatory
Create a Hubble Tuning Fork Diagram
Add a little color to the universe. Learners recreate images of the galaxies using real data and Photoshop software. They display their images in a Hubble tuning fork diagram by classifying and categorizing their shapes.
Las Cumbres Observatory
Star In a Box (Paper-Based)
Do stars age gracefully? Young astronomers use colored paper and data on luminosity and temperature to model the changes of a star during its lifetime. They then compare models of stars of different mass and radii.
Learning to Give
Deliver Gratitude Day
Gratitude is the focus of a discussion that sets the stage for pupils to take part in a service-learning project in which they deliver notes of kindness by way of social media or mail. A reflection closes the learning experience.
BrainPOP
Famous Historical Figures Lesson Plan: Who Am I?
History detectives select a famous person to research, fill a bag with items associated with their subject, then ask class members to guess the historical figure represented by the artifacts.
DocsTeach
Celebrating America's Bicentennial in 1976
Budding historians learn the process of preserving history in an interesting hands-on-activity. The resource walks academics through the process of restoring the Declaration of Independence. Individuals place a series of images in...
American Chemical Society
Chlorofluorocarbons and Ozone Depletion
The best of intentions can have negative results. Learners explore the history of the use of chlorofluorocarbons and their effects on the ozone layer. They discover how widely the compound was used because of its unique chemical...
American Chemical Society
Setting the Standards of Excellence
A number doesn't have much meaning without a standard of reference. Learners read about the history of developing standards to measure chemical and physical properties and complete reading guides to process the information. They focus on...