What a great resource for introducing your youngsters to the world of ancient China and the earliest stages of its timeline. Included are creative ideas for organizing your room, as well as an engaging lesson, anticipatory set,...

Answering questions is the best way to hone and revise your argument. Foster receptive writers with a workshop activity that promotes peer editing and argumentative writing skills. Given lists of both friendly and skeptical...

Our elected officials are supposed to represent us, but what does it mean when they aren't like us? Budding citizens explore the demographic makeup of the US Congress, the role of money in political elections, and the Citizens United...

How much can opinion influence a news story? A standalone resource discusses the importance of John Brown's Raid through the lens of journalism. Learners analyze two different texts, one from the perspective of the North and the other of...

Fourth graders engage in a study of sound pollution at their school. After a class discussion on what noise pollution is, learners are asked if they think there are areas of their school or community where noise pollution is a problem....

Kids never think about the cost of medical expenses, because they never think they'll get hurt. To better understand personal financial planning, learners research common medical procedures and their costs. They use a worksheet and the...

While originally created to accompany The Cay, this poetry lesson could be used on it's own, especially if you are working on dialect. Class members conduct a close reading of "When Malindy Sings" by Paul Laurence Dunbar and listen to an...

Gear up for Halloween by studying the horror genre with your class and analyzing films and texts to uncover the genre's traditional conventions.

The 20th century saw many new possibilities open up to women in America, thanks to many well-known female historical figures — and some women who are not as famous but who are equally accomplished. Learn about the women who contributed...

When the sun's rays can't reach the producers in a food web, where does all the energy come from? Extreme environments call for extreme food sources. Young scientists investigate creatures that appear to get their energy from methane...

If you saw a person burning an American flag, how would you feel? Scholars analyze the concept of freedom of expression and speech with the Supreme Court case Texas v. Johnson. A short video clip creates open discussion in pairs on the...

Students use Oreo candy bars to explore how surface core samples call tell people about the history and make-up of Mars.

Even the kindest friends can become selfish and tyrannical in Hans Christian Andersen's "The Snow Queen." Class members complete story-themed exercises in language arts, social studies, and even physical science.

Has the occurrence of autism increased over the years, or do the changes in diagnostic criteria account for the difference? High schoolers read an article about autism spectrum disorders and the related epidemiological studies that have...

Environmental health students read about an outbreak of aflatoxin poisoning with the intent to examine the stages of an epidemiologic investigation. As they read the case study, they identify where the outbreak occurred, form a...

Lead toxicity is a hot topic these days, especially when it was a common component in household paint for many years. In Taiwan, there was concern that babies were being exposed to toxic levels of lead through breast milk. A study was...

High schoolers in chemistry or health courses look at the material safety data sheet (MSDS) and periodic table of elements to gather information about mercury and lead, two toxic materials that have been found in food products. They read...

Emerging epidemiologists define relative risk and read an article about the effect of particulate pollution on the cardiovascular health of women. They record the relative risk values, graph them, and answer analysis questions. This is a...

Students practice appropriate behavior during a mock job interview. In this interview skills instructional activity, students identify a career using the given websites. Students answer questions in preparation for the job interview and...

A viewing of Disney’s 1993 film of The Adventures of Huck Finn launches an examination of the events in and themes of Mark Twain’s story. Viewers respond to prompts on a film story worksheet, engage in full-class discussions, and select...

Future public health officials or agriculturists read an article and answer questions concerning the Japanese regulations for pesticide exposure. They compare the maximum residue limit for two, 4-D of Japan with other countries. This is...

Create a graphic organizer to review parts and systems of the body, then present a new topic. Special education learners grades 3-5 learn about the sense of hearing. They draw parts of the ear, sign a song, read Perk Up Your Ears, and...

Young learners sing the song "I Know an Old Who Swallowed a Fly." They learn to track the words on a pocket chart and identify rhymes in the song as they are learning. Using illustrations, a flip chart, and the song, the teacher will...

Pupils play a card game where they match the meaning of the word to the word or its prefix/suffix. They listen for the teacher to call out the definition and, with two players facing off, the first one to slap the correct card wins! Kids...