A day in the life of a wasp queen is not as royal as it may sound. Pupils assume the role of the wasp queen to complete an interactive activity that simulates building a colony. They make decisions along the way and note the changes from...

Need topics that are sure to engage your debaters? This list of public policy questions includes such topics as school mascots, regulation of major league baseball, physician-assisted suicide, and violence in video games. A great...

A cross-curricular resource teaches and reinforces mathematical concepts with several activities that use parts of a newspaper. Scholars use scavenger hunts to find the different ways math is used in the paper along with using data...

Thomas Alva Edison may be one of the most well-known scientists to elementary or middle schoolers. Use his story to show that he invented more than just the light bulb and to inspire youngsters to work hard! You could use this on the...

Introduce the scientific method with a reading comprehension activity. Have kids read a few paragraphs that describe the process of making a hypothesis, gathering evidence, and taking notes that will support the experiment.

Mr. Indent will help your class learn how to indent paragraphs! He flies across the screen and punches the top line over, just to make sure it's clear when a new idea begins. An entertaining presentation with some practice for youngsters.

How much does your class know about the setting of Pride and Prejudice? Explore Jane Austen's romantic world with a KWHL chart that helps kids note what they already know about 18th century England, what they want to know, how they...

Let the resource quench your thirst for knowledge, like a vending machine that dispenses drinks. Future computer scientists develop an algorithm to identify the fewest number of coins that a vending machine could use in creating change....

Pupils create multimedia speeches of introduction which focus on women and Hispanics. They introduce their famous person and, using a video camera, video tape their speeches. 

Introduce the background of design and designers and their role in communicating their thoughts to others. In groups, you can assign participation in a writing cluster on various designers and write paragraphs to submit to magazines. To...

Examine the science behind computer communication. After defining the properties of magnets, learners simulate how a computer hard drive works by sending each other binary codes using the magnets. They use these communications to...

Students use children's literature in order to think about the concept of creating a garden. This is done through conducting simple research about types of plants that could be grown in the area and how to care for them. Then the garden...

With this New York Times "Learning Network" exercise, high schoolers read an article about the death of Maurice Sendak, author of Where the Wild Things Are and then respond to several prompts that require them to shape their own opinions...

Close up your study of Phineas Gage: A Gruesome but True Story About Brain Science with a letter-writing assignment. Pupils prepare by journaling and sharing with a partner. They then compose letters that focus on a big idea from the...

Do polar opposites attract? After an introduction on the polarity of molecules, pupils are asked to design a self-assembling model using materials with different polarity. The challenge should motivate learners to develop a workable...

Some sports teams consider their fans the "12th man" on the field. What does that mean? Are fans that important to their teams? Does fan support really help teams win? How can you let your team know you are rooting for them? Apparently,...

Responding to blog posts can increase written communication skills, critical thinking skills, and the use of social media as a means for discussion. Kids will compose a blog post in response to the provided article related to famous...

Readers of Neal Shusterman's young adult science fiction novel, Unwind, record what they know, what they want to know, how the will find answers to the questions, on a KWHL chart.

Multiple factors affect the survival of endangered species. A hands-on activity has learners explore those factors. They play a board game that highlights factors such as human influence, habitat availability, and new species introduction.

Students describe the characteristics of wetlands and identify their ecological functions. They inspect items and use them to create metaphors about wetlands.

Students participate in a series of activities to explore the types of food Americans eat, how food choices differ in various parts of the country, and how the availability of various foods has changed over time.

Fifth graders, in groups, list the physical characteristics of a biome and think of ways in which animals might have to adapt to live there and make a biome mobile ball that show the different types of habitats that shape the praire biome.

Ah, the City of Brotherly Love! Do you know which city I'm talking about? It's Philadelphia. Read this short passage on the city, and have your class complete the questions that follow. Use this to prepare for state-wide testing.