Energy and machines are two things that belong together. This resource provides a clear and simple overview of energy, force, work, and machines. Because the information in this presentation is clear and well-organized it would...

What characterizes a living thing? Scholars explore the concept during a differentiated instruction unit on living things. They perform lab experiments to determine how animals adapt to stimuli, watch videos and learn about...

Fourth graders investigate insulators and how refrigerators actually work to keep things cold through evaporation and pressure changes in the coolant. They create a box to keep an ice cube from melting, and observe a variety of...

Students investigate energy consumption by researching wattage.  In this electricity lesson, students discuss how electricity works and gets transferred to our electronic devices through generators and circuits.  Students...

It is impossible to cool down a glass of water by adding ice. Young scientists explore heat transfer through videos, experiments, and interactive games. They quickly catch on that the water melts the ice and things aren't always as they...

Scholars take part in a grand conversation about the basic needs of living things. Working collaboratively, pupils brainstorm and identify similarities to come to the conclusion that the environment meets the needs of all living...

Prepare your pupils for making excellent presentations. Class members discuss elements of a successful presentation, work in groups to come up with their own scripts for the featured video, compare their work to the original...

Is everything really connected? Take your class on a walk outside, where they will make observations and write them down on a worksheet. Once they are back in the classroom, learners will work to determine if and how things like birds,...

Have new or soon-to-be voters examine different political parties and their platforms as they figure out which one aligns most with their beliefs. After taking a few online quizzes, students split into pairs to discuss and then...

Readers are first introduced to Chinua Achebe's Things Fall Apart by making a map of Africa. They will better understand the novel's historical and literary contexts, European and African literary traditions, and how...

Use song and dance to help your youngsters identify their feelings and embrace learning. Starting with a brainstorming activity, class members talk about learning new things and how this made them feel. After listing to the song, and...

Budding poets create two acrostic poems, one for their name and another using a word of their choice. Over the course of five days, scholars compose, revise, publish, and share their work with their peers.

Wars have a profound effect not only on a country's soldiers, but also on the everyday lives of its citizens. Invite young historians to discover how Britain prepared for the second World War by analyzing a series of government posters...

What happens at the end of a plant's life cycle? Show kids the natural way that plants show that they're decomposing, as well as the importance of compost, with a lesson about living organisms. After reading Log Cabin by Anne Schreiber,...

 High school freshmen consider how their resources and values can support them in their future goals by answering questions such as; What do you value? What do you enjoy doing? What do you do well? Of what accomplishments are...

How can you tell if something is living or nonliving? Introduce a set of criteria which can be used to determine which things are alive and which are not. The class discusses the basic needs of all living organisms, checks out an...

An excellent instructional activity awaits your young scientists! In it, learners are invited to explore the world of pulleys, levers, and planes; simple machines that make lifting heavy things much, much easier. They watch video, and...

Science is magic that works. Magical color-changing beads and a coffee can that follows voice commands are just two examples of magic tricks that rely on science. After completing a hands-on activity and an experiment investigating the...

Students explain basic principles of aeronautics such as gravity and lift. In this How Things Fly lesson, students visit the interactive, hands-on How Things Fly gallery at the Smithsonian. Students perform three experiments that...

Young learners take a look at what they eat in one day and compare it to how much physical activity they do on that same day. Point out that this is only a one-day glimpse at balancing the energy going in and what energy being used. They...

Momoyama and Edo are periods in Japanese history that can be defined culturally and artistically. Learners explore and discuss how the samurai used sword guards and grip enhancers. Pupils read the story "The Inch-High Samurai," examine...

Students explore the concept of atoms and how they combine to form molecules and compounds. In pairs, they read an article on how atoms work and discuss the main points. They draw atoms and write a paragraph about their elements.

Third graders examine life in a terrarium and relate it to life in a larger environment. In this terrarium lesson, 3rd graders examine how living and non-living things work together by examining the changes in a terrarium. They make...

Sure to be a hit with your charges, here is a science lesson that has lots of hands-on activities packed into it. The focus is simple machines, and how they help us perform work. After a discussion and demonstration session, groups of...