Students examine the class systems of New Spain. In small groups, they create a five-day diary about the family life, food, occupation, and government involvement of an assigned personality from the time of Colonial Latin America.

Students develop a working vocabulary of terms related to the life cycle. In small groups, students play the life cycle's game which consists of matching and defining vocabulary. Directions for creating the game board are included with...

Young scholars work in small groups to illustrate a story board of a folktale. They develop the meaning of a trickster as a humor device in folktales by listening to several about Leprechauns and the Coyote of Native American tales. They...

Fourth graders break into groups having 10 come to the front and figure out the fraction of students are wearing jeans, glasses, have brown hair, etc. They write the fraction together. Each student then makes a picture and be able to...

Seventh graders engage in a study that compares the body structures of bears and dolphins. They conduct research to find information and use questions to find the differences or similarities and then conduct a class discussion about the...

Students examine and sort objects by specific attributes and apply prior knowledge. In this properties everywhere lesson, students work in groups to arrange objects in categories then discuss various sorting options while...

After brainstorming reasons why Native Americans mapped their lands, your young critical thinkers will work together to review their ideas and determine the definition of a map. With today's extensive use of mapping technology and GPS...

Is Yuki a selfish character? Analyze her motivation and behavior during a unit on Shizuko's Daughter by Kyoko Mori. Readers fill out two sides of a graphic organizer with reasons why or why not she is selfish, and then come up with...

After reading about marine engineers and naval architects, it's all hands on deck to design and test a speed boat. This lesson is designed for the Next Generation Science Standards in engineering and can be a centerpiece for a STEM...

Our young scientists have now specifically identified a problem, and this step helps them think of possible solutions. An outline, including guidelines, for brainstorming helps scholars stay on the right path. The resource includes...

After reading about how engineering has made adaptive devices possible for people with disabilities, pupils work in groups to discuss different devices to determine whether or not they are adaptive. They also disassemble a pair of...

New roads, new businesses, new developments, new mass transit systems. All growth has both positive and negative effects on communities. Government classes investigate the principles of Maryland's 1997 Smart Growth program and...

What are the characteristics of an outstanding citizen? Nebraskan J. Sterling Morton contributed to the formation of societal and family values in his state. Learners gather information on Morton's life accomplishments from primary...

Teach your class about various approaches to solving the problem of maximizing the area of a rectangle space with a fixed perimeter in the context of a farmer's dog pen. Then, they complete a worksheet independently to summarize the...

What caused the collapse of the environment on Rapa Nui (Easter Island)? Who constructed the Moai? What was their purpose? Class members assume the role of investigators and use evidence drawn from field studies, ships' logs, and...

Third graders do a hands-on activity after being read aloud the story of The Rag Coat, in cooperative groups.

Fourth graders cooperatively develop a classroom belief statement that serves as their classroom constitution. Each student is involved in the creation of the statement. Each group presents their belief statement to the class.

Students research information on bats while working in cooperative groups. They design posters with the information from their research.

Young scholars, in cooperative groups, research a variety of Native American tribes on the Internet and complete corresponding activities. They participate in a play about Native Americans by Sandra Widener.

Students increase their skills in word attack, fluency, and spelling of words and research and find information on topics from the Internet. They then use the Quick Cam with the computer and will increase cooperative skills in small...

Third graders use a variety of hands-on activities to increase their understanding of synonyms. They exchange synonym plates with other groups and complete synonym puzzles by using the dictionary.

Seventh graders explore the concept of percents, ratios, and proportions. In this percents, ratios, and proportion lesson, 7th graders have 237 ounces of beads to weigh. Students work in groups to weigh the beads in a way so that each...

Students investigate the concept of the Oregon Trail. They conduct research using a variety of resources. The class divides into different groups to take a different aspect of the research. Then the groups present the findings to the...

Sixth graders explore the role of rivers in the construction of early civilizations. In this importance of rivers instructional activity, 6th graders listen to a poem written by Langston Hughes and work cooperatively to develop a graphic...