Students explore plant life by creating their own gardens in class. In this food growing lesson plan, students discuss the types of gardening methods Native Americans used in order to keep healthy. Students plant corn seeds in their...

Third graders plan for a garden. In this garden planning lesson, 3rd graders investigate the use of a grid to accurately map out and plan for a vegetable garden. Students predict the space requirements for different vegetables.

Middle schoolers create electricity. In this solar energy lesson, students role play how photovoltaic cells change sunlight into electricity.  Middle schoolers discuss the experiment and create their own diagram of the...

Students study water conservation. In this water conservation lesson, students investigate the scarcity of water and determine reasons for conserving water.  Students estimate how much water they use in one day and identify ways to...

Teamwork and critical thinking combine to for a creative instructional activity on reducing greenhouse gas emissions. Ebullient environmental studies learners play a game in which they strategize how to place colorful energy wedges...

Pupils conduct a mock trial focusing on environmental accountability of industrialized nations. As an example, they evaluate evidence provided on carbon dioxide emissions. They participate in a mock trial of industrialized nations by the...

Lead your class to construct a solar still on campus to demonstrate how water can be extracted from the soil. The power of solar energy is emphasized, as is the concept of how capillary water can be recovered and purified by using a...

Students collect pennies and sort them in ascending order of dates. For the year on each penny, students research key events in history and pick a single event, explaining its historical significance. Then students use these events to...

Second through eighth graders use the software "HyperStudio" to create a presentation of their choice on Native American lifestyles. One thing I like a lot about this lesson, is that the students are the ones who get to choose and...

Learners study the characteristics of wetlands. They are introduced to terms and different examples of wetlands. The hands-on activity reinforces the different parts of the wetlands, and provides a working model of a wetland.

How do a person's musical preferences influence the way they compose music of their own? Learners analyze the sound and lyrics of Alicia Keys in relation to musicians that came before. Jazz, blues, and soul music from the past are shown...

Upper graders take a critical look at art criticism, music, and politics. They watch one segment of "True Spin," produced by VH1 music television and then discuss myths that relate to art and music. Several modern songs are analyzed...

Kids become mini-experts on the Mannerist movement and the art of El Greco. They identify common elements of El Greco paintings and compare them to a work by Thomas Hart Benton. They use  four ways to examine art taken from the...

Explore Autism by watching the CNN presentation: Autism is a World. Upper graders view and discuss the documentary  identify the symptoms and characteristics of autism, research treatment options, and create an...

Develop an online newspaper covering the Lewis and Clark Expedition. The class publishes their newspaper on the school's Web site and analyze both primary and secondary sources.

Examine Erikson's chart on the various stages one goes through growing up. Individually, they write a paper on whether or not they fit into those categories and how they are different today. In groups, for each stage they role play the...

Are you working on an autobiographical or narrative writing unit? Bring this instructional activity to your class, as it takes young writers through the process of drafting and sequencing an autobiography. After observing and...

Scholars are introduced to the characteristics of a legend. They read and discuss Old Father Story Teller by Pablita Velarde. Then, in groups, they write and illustrate a poem based on one of the legends from the book. This lesson plan...

Mark Twain, the famous American author, is often studied in the school system. Use "The Prince and the Pauper" to analyze the differences between the text and its video version.  This lesson includes several culminating project...

How authors address issues of their societies is addressed in this very detailed lesson. After researching Toni Morrison and her work, groups create a dramatization based on a scene from one of Morrison’s novels and act it out. Class...

Students investigate how fruits and vegetables change and grow.  In this life cycle of fruits and vegetables lesson, students observe the changes in fruits and vegetables as they grow and record the colors on a worksheet.

Students explore healthy eating habits by conducting a physical food challenge. In this food pyramid lesson, students identify the main concepts behind the food pyramid and what choices they should be making with their food intake....

Students measure the direction of the wind. In this Science lesson, students make their own wind vane. Students discuss the importance of wind direction and speed.

Students explore environmental care by participating in a litter identification activity. In this food trash lesson, students discuss the destruction litter causes in our environment and ways we can avoid littering ourselves. Students...