To generate interest in reading Neal Shusterman's young adult science fiction novel Unwind, class members engage in a Directed Reading-Thinking Activity (DRTA) that asks them to examine the front and back covers, the blurbs, and "The...

To understand how biased data is misleading, learners analyze survey data and graphical representations. They use that information to design their own plans to collect information on consumer thoughts about Chocolicious cereal. 

Elementary schoolers sharpen their listening skills as they use sound maps, tallies, and line plots to organize and interpret data. Everyone takes a "sound walk," and focuses on the sounds around them. They chart and tabulate the sounds...

Analyze the constitutions of five different countries and see how they relate to each country's culture and traditions. Pupils read the preambles to the constitutions of India, Ireland, Russia, Suriname, and the United States. After...

Excerpts from John Steinbeck's The Grapes of Wrath and from John Fante's Ask the Dust, as well as a variety of primary source documents provide the background for an examination of the migrant experience from 1920-1945.

What better way to study survey design than to design your own survey! Bring a versatile data analysis project to your AP Statistics class, and encourage them to apply the practices from their instructions to a real-world survey...

Will this water source support life? Small groups test the chemistry of the water drawn from two different sources. They then compare the collected data to acceptable levels to draw conclusions about the health of the source. The...

Is the golf course causing issues in the stream? Find out with a resource that has groups perform chemical water tests to analyze the effects of a golf course on a stream. Pupils collect water above and below the course and analyze the...

At over 450 pages, John Steinbeck's Pulitzer Prize winning novel The Grapes of Wrath can be a challenging choice for full-class, book circle, or independent reading. The activities in a 10-page sample The Grapes of Wrath...

Evaluate global temperature anomalies using real-world data from NASA! Climatologists analyze a data set using a literacy cube and differentiated question sheets. Team members evaluate global temperature anomaly data with basic...

What can one learn about a planet based on a small surface sample? Learners will explore artifacts from a mystery planet and see what they can determine about the planet based on the evidence in front of them. 

Continue working through Esperanza Rising, by Pam Munoz Ryan, by looking into language choices and discussing text-dependent questions. Pupils converse in small groups and as a class about plot, setting, and figurative language. Using...

Determining a theme or central idea is greatly emphasized in the Common Core standards. Target that skill though big metaphors and central symbols in Pam Muñoz Ryan's Esperanza Rising. Help your class reach the standard through...

Now that your class has read all of Esperanza Rising, take the time to tackle big metaphors and themes. Pupils will participate in an activity called Chalk Talk, in which they circulate around the room in small groups and add...

Eyes on the finish line. Serving as the first part of the end of unit assessment, learners answer questions based on a text about how to write a graphic novel. Using what they've learned, they then create a storyboard about the invention...

Learners organize items in a "doohickey kit" distributed by the teachers, creating categories using classification schemes. In this classification lesson plan, learners compare systems within groups and write questions that could be...

Students investigate the properties of air by capturing it, squeezing it, and feeling its weight. In this forces lesson, students capture bags of air and examine its properties. The weight and pressure of air is emphasized.

Students examine the case of a map making expedition. In groups, they read a case study on "The Lost Gorge" in the Finger Lakes region of New York state. They examine maps and determine where the error in the map-making occured to end...

Eighth graders implement plot summary organizers to identify essential elements such as conflict and resolution in literature. In pairs, they retell fairy tales to each other and complete plot summaries about them. As students read new...

Seventh graders learn about John Kellerman, a youngster who was born with Fetal Alcohol Syndrome. They learn how alcohol and pregnancy doesn't mix.

Investigate letters to the editor and their persuasive qualities. Break your class into reading groups and give each one a different article. As they read, they complete a graphic organizer to record their thoughts and opinions. There is...

Acquaint mathematicians to the concept of probability with a discussion about the results of a game. Then have them play a dice, card, spinner, or coin game and recording the number of wins vs. the number of tries on an interactive web...

Middle and high schoolers explore the concept of probability. In this probability instructional activity, learners conduct an experiment with a bag of marbles. Pupils draw marbles from a bag and determine the probability of drawing a...

Ninth graders design and conduct an experiment. They evaluate other's experiments. Students describe relationships between biological systems and the environmental contaminants. They work as a team to solve a problem.