Readers of Tuesdays with Morrie are directed to use a K-W-H-L chart to record what they know, what they want to learn, how they will find information, and what they learned about a particular topic related to Mitch Albom's book.

Intended as a follow up to the Protecting Your Drinking Water activity, young environmentalists use their assessment of the a hypothetical town's water supply to debate the installation of underground chemical storage tanks. With...

Considering adding more research to your curriculum? Check out this idea. The assignment example, which connects to the Common Core, is written for a lesson on "The Scarlet Ibis." However, you could adapt the bigger idea to almost any...

Up it goes! Groups must design and build a windmill able to lift a weight. The packet includes discussion points to use prior to the build that cover topics such as variables, fairness, and the design process.

With Earth Day quickly approaching, as well as many science fairs, why not challenge your class to investigate geothermal energy or other renewable energy resources? There are five driving questions explored in depth here, as well as...

How much math can your learners pour out of a cereal box? Your middle schoolers will explore their favorite cereal and calculate the surface area, volume, and weight ratios and log this information on the provided worksheet. They get to...

Young scholars get familiar with money during this series of engaging math activities. A game has class teams accumulating money and using symbol and number cards to display their total amount correctly on a pocket chart. All the symbol...

Birds help other birds find food? Scholars are placed into one of five groups of different birds. Each group then "feeds" on letters of paper in a field and gather five pieces per person. As each group plays, more food is exposed,...

The conversion of a private residence into an AIDS patient group home results in a lawsuit brought by neighbors in the mock trial case, Neighbors Against AIDS Homes (NAAH) v. John King Trust.

Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.'s "Letter from Birmingham Jail" serves as an exemplar for a mini-lesson on semicolons. Working alone or in small groups, class members first circle all the semicolons in the letter, and then consider how this...

Encourage your learners to examine the setting in Theodore Taylor's The Cay. Pupils work in small groups to put together a description of the setting before reading two more chapters of the book. They use their double-entry journals to...

Build understanding of theme with an activity designed for The Cay and the Common Core. Small groups or pairs use graphic organizers to determine themes, find and record related details from the text, and formulate theme statements. In...

It's a time of change. A hands-on activity engages young scientists in a lesson highlighting the change of seasons. They brainstorm indicators of season changes in nature and then look for them. Next, they record observations in a field...

If you're looking to set your class up for writing effective arguments, try out this idea. While originally created with freedom as a guiding idea, the activity could easily be adapted for other themes. As a class, create a chart of...

How long do we have to wait? Given several days of times between eruptions of Old Faithful, learners create a graphical representation for two days. Groups combine their data to determine an appropriate wait time between eruptions.

It's the end of the sixteenth century in the middle of the Spanish Inquisition when a group of prisoners decides to dramatize the story of Don Quixote. A study guide provides a summary and other important information about the play Man...

Before Hamilton, Lin Manuel-Miranda gained fame with In the Heights. A study guide prepares theater goers for a performance of the musical about a group of friends living in the New York City neighborhood of Washington Heights....

What makes an issue or event newsworthy? Scholars complete a K-W-H-L chart based on a recent news event. As they complete the chart, small groups collaborate to analyze coverage of the story or event.

What does it take to support a friendship? Youngsters complete a group activity using yarn and balloons to demonstrate qualities of a good friend, and their importance in a strong friendship.

The Cay has been criticized by groups such as the Council on Interracial Books for Children because of the way race is portrayed. Explore the argument against the book while taking the author's perspective into account. Class members...

Where does tradition fit in a divided community with violence on both sides? Scholars learn about the marches in Northern Ireland and the many issues surrounding them. They take on roles in the community and try to convince others of...

What fun! Try out some of these PE warm-up and cool-down activities with your youngsters. Find several ideas written out along with tips to designing an effective warm-up or cool-down with elementary schoolers. 

Get all your blends organized into neat little boxes! This resource provides pages and pages of words that you can print out and place into labeled boxes so that you can find the exact words you want to work on with your class...

Teaching class members all about the importance and meaning behind Veterans Day with an informative resource. Pupils complete a classroom activity guide and individual research to learn more about the brave men and women who defend the...