Teaching learners how to evaluate a research source is an important part of the research process. The fresh idea here is that groups first develop a list of reasons why resources should be evaluated, transform these reasons into...

In order to give young scientists experience with critical thinking skills, introduce them to a current controversy and prepare them to debate. Choose a topic, such as genetically modified organisms, and assign groups to represent...

Here are two great lessons that work together and are inspired by the Stephen Sondheim musical Into the Woods. Young writers and actors will retell the story of "The Frog Prince" through games, improvisational script writing, and...

What a wonderful way to meld art and culture! Learners create art work in the Suminagashi style using this detailed lesson plan. This art form, which is Japanese in origin, employs ink to create beautiful results. This will be a hit with...

Learning to analyze language, symbols, and codes is part of becoming a deep and critical thinker. Young analysts consider their ability to see hidden messages as they analyze the work of Paul Chan. There are two fully developed...

Learners are asked to advise a fuel oil dealer on a possible investment. They must use two different rates to set up an equation and solve to determine how much oil he should sell now to break even after selling the remainder the next...

Go ahead. Spill the ink! Combine the study of art, social studies, and science with a Suminagashi (spilled ink) activity that produces "unique and unreproducible" works of art.

Many researchers focus on one impact of climate change in isolation, but researchers gain a global perspective when they come together. A timely lesson teaches scholars about the projected impacts of global temperature increases. Then...

School budgets don't have a lot of extra money, so when students propose saving the district money, everyone jumps on board. The first lesson in the series of 21 introduces the concept of an energy audit. Scholars form an eco-action team...

Students explore ocean environments. In this ocean environment lesson, students identify the things ocean animals need for survival. Students use KWL charts and search the Internet collecting information about ocean habitats....

Second graders practice using technology to gather information. In this online research lesson plan, 2nd graders use technology to find information for a research project. Students write a research paper, and give a presentation to the...

Students discuss the evolution of the eye and how a complex organ can evolve through natural selection. They research genetic variation, adaptation, and sexual selection. They analyze data to determine how beak length of Gal??pagos...

  Students build boats out of clay to test the buoyancy of the boat in water.  Students break into pairs and construct their boat to specific guide lines, then experiment with their boat in the water.   

"The Masque of the Red Death" provides readers with an opportunity to research and plan a presentation about a topic related to Edgar Allen Poe's classic short story. 

Second graders take a field trip to a nearby church or other historical building and examine it from a mathematical perspective. In groups, they calculate the seating capacity, describe the window patterns, differentiate types of...

Leave no student behind with this differentiated geometry unit on perimeter and area. Over the course of five lessons, young mathematicians explore these foundational concepts through a series of self-selected hands-on activities and...

What is an emergency, and how can having a plan help make emergency situations safer? Pupils are tasked with creating a short presentation that can help teach younger children about emergencies, community helpers, and first...

Pronouns are the most helpful parts of speech! Model the ways that interrogative, indefinite, personal, and demonstrative pronouns can specify meaning and enhance writing with a hands-on activity.

Apply the principles of geology to a series of collaborative, hands-on class activities. Young earth scientists learn more about igneous, metamorphic, and sedentary rocks before classifying and weathering rocks that they find....

Swimming is more fun with quantities. The short assessment task encompasses finding the volume of a trapezoidal prism using an understanding of quantities. Individuals make a connection to the rate of which the pool is filled with a...

Encourage scholars to problem solve everyday frustrations using the STAR method. Using the acronym, learners remember to stop, think, act, and review. Participants begin with a math analogy in which they problem-solve to find the correct...

There are four activities in this extensive lesson covering the identity matrix and scaling, the linear representation of translations, the linear representation of rotations, and reflections. In small groups, they use the Cabri II...

Nine questions make up a mixed practice worksheet. The word problems require scholars to show what they know about money, addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division using numbers up to 5,300.

Can corn power the world? Young scientists learn about how corn and other plants can provide renewable biofuels in the second of nine lessons. They set up an experiment to investigate how different variables affect plant growth. All of...