Can your biology class crack the Case of the Crown Jewels? Junior forensics experts try their hands at DNA restriction analysis in an exciting lab activity. The instructional activity introduces the concept of restriction analysis,...

Why is lactase important? Biology scholars explore enzyme function in a structured inquiry lab. The activity tasks lab groups with observing how temperature and pH affect enzyme activity, as well as determining which milk products...

Can science put an end to the poaching of endangered species? Show your young forensic experts how biotechnology can help save wildlife through an exciting electrophoresis lab. Grouped pupils analyze shark DNA to determine if it came...

So much science in one tiny fish! Introduce young biologists to the zebrafish, a common aquarium inhabitant. The small, unassuming organism presents an opportunity for learners to study habituation using an easy-to-care-for species. Lab...

Ready to take your chemistry class on its first big lab adventure? Dive in to differentiation between chemical and physical changes with a thoughtfully designed set of experiments! Partners conduct a series of reactions, describe their...

No matter how you shuffle the elements, their electron configurations keep them in the same order. How can that be? Introduce the concept of periodicity through a lesson that combines inquiry, discussion, and comparison. Partners...

Enzymes have a need for speed! What happens when they are forced to slow down? A well-rounded lesson plan from the K20 Center examines enzyme activity through role playing and a lab. Biology scholars work in teams and pairs to understand...

From crime to paternity, DNA fingerprinting has revolutionized how the world views inherited traits. Science sleuths investigate the facts about DNA profiling through a variety of activities. The Teacher's Guide includes printable...

Life has its ups and downs ... especially if you're an animal! Biology scholars engage in a population study through an inquiry-based lesson. Pupils work together to explore the factors that affect deer populations, then examine the...

Things are really getting heated in the lab! Science scholars scope out the facts about heat energy transfer using a simple lab from the K20 Center. Groups collaborate to observe temperature changes between hot metal and water, then use...

"X" is for exaggeration, and "F" is for fact. To encourage close reading and to improve literary analysis skills, class members annotate fables and tall tales, like Paul Bunyan, with symbols that identify key features of this genre.

Jump at the chance to use this resource. A kinesthetic activity has classmates jumping in several different ways (standing, single-step, and multiple-step jumps) to create handprints on poster paper taped to the wall. They measure the...

Article 1, Section 8 of the United States Constitution expressly lists powers given to Congress. Over the years, lawmakers have expanded the enumerated powers to include powers implied by the list. To better understand the significance...

Photographs from the freedom movement in Selma, Alabama serve as the basis of two Socratic Seminars. Class members prepare for the seminars by closely observing the images, form a hypothesis, and use evidence from photo to support a...

Consider the preponderance of evidence when making a verdict. The third of five lessons in Unit 1: The Big Climate Change Experiment focuses on the evidence for climate change. Learners study graphs, diagrams, and pictures regarding...

Shirley Jackson's short story, "Charles," provides middle schoolers with an opportunity to practice their close reading skills. Using the provided list of prompts, scholars read and reread the story, then create a multimodal response to...

We carry memories of where we're from; tweens and teens can capture these memories by first listening to several memory poems and then crafting their own. They analyze literary devices other poets use, brainstorm a list of images they...

Willy Wonka takes center stage in a lesson plan about direct and indirect characterization. Scholars read a passage from the story about Wonka's Grand Entrance and watch a film clip of the same, noting examples of direct and indirect...

Middle schoolers get hip to the jive with a lesson about slang. They closely examine examples of slang and use context clues to infer the meaning of the terms. Groups read and summarize an article about a teacher who created a Gen Z...

The second lesson in the series asks groups to analyze an exchange of love letters between Abigail and John Adams. Scholars identify the many allusions and references in the letters and consider what they can infer about the writers.

How do scientists know they're right? Truth be told, they don't always know. Explore the scientific process using mystery tubes in an insightful activity. Young scientists discover how to approach and solve problems in science, how ideas...

Delve into Esperanza Rising by Pam Munoz Ryan with close reading and evidence-based, text-dependent questions. Part of a unit series, this well-sequenced, Common Core-designed activity draws on material from the previous day and homework...

Readers of "The Palace Thief" focus on how the author's descriptions and word choices reveal the characters of the narrator, Sedgewick, and the senator.

The fourth activity in a unit on crafting a research paper focuses on cohesion within and between paragraphs. Class members examine models that lack cohesion and ones that are cohesive and logically developed before using what they have...