MENSA Education & Research Foundation
Connecting Africa: A Project-Based Learning Adventure
Mission Possible: Your task is to design a new highway route from Tunis, Tunisia to Cape Town, South Africa. If you accept the challenge, you must create a small map of the route that has already been rejected, a rationale for rejection...
Curated OER
Newspapers in the Digital Age
Is journalism more or less reliable with the influx of Internet sources? Learners investigate the issues of freedom of speech, journalistic ethics, and social responsibility in the age of Twitter and Facebook. After examining the...
Eye On Education
I Say Tomato, You Say To-Mah-To
Turn your junior high talkers into effective arguers. Introduce these budding lawyers to skills that show how to support a claim, decide what clear reason is, and how to use evidence to support an argument. Time is scheduled for class...
Curated OER
The Treasure of the Sierra Madre: An American Grail?
Students discuss the possibility of a treasure lost in the Sierra Madre mountains that could be considered the American holy grail. After reading a novel, they examine the relationship between the grail, gold, and characters. To end the...
Curated OER
Wickets & Woozles Exile Simulation
Students divide into two groups and become Wickets and Woozles. They are separated in the classroom and then participate in a simulation activity in which one group is in "exile." They follow the activity with a class discussion and...
Curated OER
Managing a Checkbook
How do grown ups do it? Teach your upper graders the ins and outs of personal finance by having them use their algebra skills to balance a checkbook. They examine the financial side of math, set up a checking account, and balance their...
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Wet World in Danger
Students investigate the reasons why wetlands are threatened especially by people. They study the wise use of water to preserve wetlands.
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Making Good Money Choices
Students determine how to spend donated money. In this money choices instructional activity, students explore the needs of the community. They determine the best use of donated funds for a good cause or charity. Students play a bingo...
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Island of the Blue Dolphins Jigsaw
Fourth graders research three topics from the book, either Village Life, Sea Life, or San Nicholas Island. They research independently and meet in a jigsaw format to share what they learned. As group they create a poster for class...
Curated OER
Married Math
Students participate in a two-week real-life math unit. In pairs, they calculate salaries, taxes, and a budget, plan a vacation, buy insurance, make a will, and design a room. They conduct Internet research to plan the vacation, and...
Curated OER
History of the American West
Ninth graders research early mining in California. They study the "placer method" for mining gold, which is surface mining that does not involve tunneling. They examine what it was like for the early miners to pan for gold with...
Curated OER
The Cold War Warrior Defending: The Moral Beacon of the World
Learners identify President Reagan's domestic and foreign policy, describe America's attitude toward communism, list characteristics which endeared Reagan to the American people, and explain why some Americans spoke out against Reagan's...
Curated OER
Life Before Electricity
Students describe life before the introduction of electricity, and debate the implications of the introduction of electricity on society.
Curated OER
Hey Kid, Want To Buy A Bridge?
Students study the building of the Brooklyn Bridge and the inventions of Thomas Alva Edison. They design an infomercial to sell a product or a service for an invention. They create an invention that improves the world and write an...
Curated OER
Grandpa's Mountain
Fifth graders read the book Grandpa's Mountain and discuss how land was taken away for "the good of the country". In this social studies lesson plan, 5th graders then create a newspaper, poster, poetry, interviews, surveys, or other...
Curated OER
The Brick Industry
High schoolers listen to an oral history radio program from the Countdown to Millennium project. They discuss the lifestyles of various workers heard on the radio program and how has the area changed.
Curated OER
Why do people mover where they do?
Students read factual stories of migration to Hawaii, analyze and explain push and pull factors, interview parents about their cultural heritage, identify countried of origin of their ancestors, graph migration patterns on an world map,...
Curated OER
The Plight of Women's Work in the Early Industrial Revolution in England and Wales
Students read about, discuss, and answer questions regarding the various jobs women performed in the early Industrial Revolution in England and Wales.
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Social Studies: Causes and Effects of Divorce
Students examine the factors leading to divorce and its ramifications on family members. Among the reasons considered are finances, selfishness, and communication difficulties. The lesson pays particular attention to effects on...
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Discovering Places & Regions
Fifth graders research physical and cultural features of a place. They practice skills in gathering information from various sources, using tools such as graphic organizers, word processing, multimedia, and use of the Internet.
Curated OER
Module 8-Tax Credit for Child and Dependent Care Expenses
Young scholars explain the tax credit for child and dependent care expenses. They distinguish between a tax deduction and a tax credit. They see how the tax credit for child and dependent care expenses affects the tax liability.
Curated OER
Modern Day Pilgrims
Students examine the similarities and differences between modern day immigrants and pilgrims. They listen to stories, discuss their ancestors' origins, and create a native costume for a paper doll for where their ancestor is from.