Students study how to mark inclines and construct a mountain profile.  In this topographic map lesson students mark contour intervals and draw mountain profiles. 

Fifth graders brainstorm a variety of topics for writing. As a class, learners create four types of graphic organizers on selected topics. They discuss how to use graphic organizer in constructing a written paragraph.

Students explore how to describe the Gulf Stream, how Benjamin Franklin charted it, and correctly plot it on a map.

Future energy engineers visit several stations, each one dedicated to a different alternative source of energy. They describe how solar energy is converted into other forms of energy, the patterns of distribution of energy resources in...

To gain insight into the many different types of habitats, individuals must first get to know their own. Here, scholars explore their school environment, draw a map, compare and contrast their surroundings to larger ones. They then...

Show the class the world as they've never seen it before—from way above! Learners try to unravel the mysteries presented by rich satellite imagery, learn to interpret topographic maps, and study erosion by constructing their very...

Class groups collaborate to produce the storyboard for their video project. After determining the sequence of scenes, the camera angles, and characters in each scene, each group member is assigned a number of scenes to illustrate. When...

Middle schoolers investigate the concept of tracking and spatial movements of animals in relation to the environment in which they live. They participate in an interactive activity by tracking one another over a pre-defined region,...

Explore how illustrations add to a story. Young learners will look at picture books to see how the pictures tell the story. They create illustrations to go with a chosen story, and then flip the activity so they have to write a story to...

What's the best way to study? Well, it depends. . . Session two of a 23-lesson life skills series focuses on a variety of study skills strategies and suggests when/why to choose one over another.

As part of a study of the history of the Chumash on California's Channel Island chain, class members view the documentary Once Upon a Time, respond to discussion questions, and create a timeline for the different waves of migration.

Students recognize the different climatic zones. They describe what aspects differentiate the climatic zones. Students offer explanations as to what climate is and the role that it plays on creating regions. They rationalize why the...

Functions help make the world make more sense. Individuals model real-world situations with functions. They match a variety of contexts to different function types to finish a helpful resource.

Don't stuff money under your mattress. To find out why learners first complete a task determining how $24,000 in cash would affect the height of a mattress and whether this same amount would fit into a suitcase of given dimensions....

Connect the size of a rolling cup to the size of circle it makes. Pupils view videos of cups of different sizes rolling in a circle. Using the videos and additional data, they attempt to determine a relationship between cup...

As part of a study of percent and percent change, learners first complete an assessment task with several percent change problems. They then complete an activity using cards to create a diagram expressing percent increases and...

Scholars first complete an individual assignment using a quadratic equation to model the movement of a bus around a corner. Learners then discuss their solutions with classmates and analyze the provided sample responses.

After determining the volume of various drinking glasses , class members evaluate sample responses to the same task to identify errors in reasoning.

Solving problems about pen and paper with systems of equations ... or is it the other way around? In the lesson, learners first interpret expressions and use equations in two variables to solve problems about notebooks and pens. They...

Having problems with proportions? Then solve these proportion problems with an exercise that asks learners to first individually solve a set of problems involving ratios and proportional reasoning. Groups then discuss provided...

Test probability concepts with an activity that asks pupils to first complete a task investigating false positive in medical testing and then to evaluate sample responses to the same task.

Math: The only subject where the solution to a problem is seven million matches. Young scholars first complete an assessment task estimating the number of matches they can make from a tree of given dimensions. They then evaluate provided...

As part of a study of geometric patterns, scholars complete an assessment task determining the number of tiles needed to cover a tabletop. They then evaluate provided sample responses to see different ways to solve the same...

Identify the identity. Learners first solve equations to find the number of solutions. Scholars then determine if given equations are always, sometimes, or never true, leading to the concept of identities.