Pupils make observations while eating food. They act out the process of food breaking down in the body and the roles of various chemical components, such as sugar and protein. It concludes with an activity illustrating the process and a...

During an inquiry-based lesson, scholars decide which variable to test and then design an experiment to determine the needs of producers. After two weeks, they complete a full analysis and research paper.

Electromagnetic waves travel though empty space, something no other wave type can accomplish. Young scientists learn more about the entire spectrum of electromagnetic waves. They sort cards and apply their knowledge to create models of...

Do scientists really change their minds when presented with new evidence? Young scientists learn about two competing theories and must decide between them. They perform a simulation and have access to actual field data. Then, scholars...

Knowing how to scale a recipe is an important skill. Young mathematicians determine the amount of ingredients they need to make a certain number of truffles when given a recipe. They determine a relationship between ingredients given a...

When told to describe a line, do your pupils list its color, length, and which side is high or low? Use a worksheet that engages scholars to properly label line graphs. It then requests two applied reasoning answers.

Parallelograms are pairs of triangles all the way around. Pupils measure to determine the area and perimeter of a parallelogram. They then find the area of the tirangles formed by drawing a diagonal of the parallelogram and compare their...

I like algebra, but graphing is where I draw the line! Worksheet includes three multiple-part questions on interpreting and drawing line graphs. It focuses on the abstract where neither axis has numbers written in, though both are...

There are many ways to correlate coffee to life, but in this case a worksheet looks at the price of two different sizes of coffee. It requires interpreting a graph with two unknown variables, in this case the price, and solving for...

To conclude the study of the play, William Shakespeare's Star Wars: Verily, A New Hope, class members craft an in-class essay comparing Doescher's adaptation to George Lucas's film, Star Wars: A New Hope.

Challenge writers to compose an essay detailing their stance on, and the history of, voting. Three assignments, each broken down into three parts, requires fifth graders to take notes, read and complete charts, write paragraphs, compare...

Let's partition rectangles into equal parts. Assess learners on their ability to divide shapes into equal parts, and their ability to explain their thinking.

Howdy, partner! Scholars partner up to look at the last two rows in the writing rubric. After discussing the details in the rubric about organization and conventions, learners use colored writing tools to circle feedback in their...

Number towers use addition or multiplication to ensure each level is equal. While this is common in factoring, it is often not used with algebraic equations. Solving these six questions relies on problem solving skills and being able to...

What important facts about Dr. Seuss influenced the Read Across America movement...? This is the driving question of a research project that requires scholars to find information about Dr. Seuss' life and work. Class...

Finish or launch your unit on the solar system with a jigsaw project covering major celestial concepts such as the Milky Way Galaxy, asteroids, meteors, comets, Earth's moon, and, of course, all the planets. Learners start by...

The choice is simple: create a PowerPoint presentation, write a book, or invent a compound machine. Whichever project your young scientists choose, they will be engaged in creatively demonstrating their knowledge of simple...

How many matchsticks can be made from a single tree? That is the problem facing middle schoolers. Scholars first determine the volume of a matchstick given its dimensions, and then use this information to estimate the number of...

Free clothes? In the middle school assessment task, learners first consider whether four 25 percent reductions will result in a sale price of $0. Mathematicians then determine the sale price and discount percentage of such a sale.

Could you live without your phone? What about cars, steel, or clothing? Class groups collaborate to produce presentations that argue that either the telephone, the gramophone, the automobile, the textile industry, or the steel...

Writers continue looking at the rubric for their A Long Walk to Water essays. This time, they analyze the demands for the introduction and conclusion paragraphs. Pupils compare the rubric to the opening and closing of the model...

Writers align their position papers with the last two rows in the rubric. After looking at the rubric rows for vocabulary and conventions along with feedback on their papers, class members revise their essays. They then look at the...

Row, row, row, row four. Classmates take a look at row four in the writing rubric and begin the exercise by identifying any unfamiliar words. Literary scholars then use feedback from their initial drafts and the writing rubric to begin...

Feeling the pressure to confirm is something any adolescent can relate to. Explore an essential theme with a response to literature assessment that prompts learners to identify main ideas with evidence and supporting details.