How do scientists determine what questions to ask to meet their research goals? Help your class develop an inquiry mindset with a lesson based on studies in the Gorongosa National Park. Partners create their own research questions by...

Two is better than one. Scholars use shared inquiry and discuss their ideas with one another to better interpret Emma Lazerus' poem "The New Colossus." They work through pre-reading, reading, questioning, and rereading activities before...

Every great scientist knows that the process of inquiry is a very important skill. Provide your learners with visual impairments with an opportunity to explore objects scientifically. They examine several pieces of fruit and generate...

What led to the success of the Montgomery Bus Boycott, and how might historians approach this question differently? This rich series of lessons includes a short introductory video clip, analysis of six primary source documents, and...

Did the New Deal fundamentally shift the role of the American government in the economy? Your class members will examine the interpretations of various historians in answering this question, and use a variety of primary and secondary...

How does the scientific process begin? Introduce ecology scholars to scientific inquiry through an insightful, data-driven lesson. Partners examine data from an ongoing research study to determine the questions it answers. The resource...

How can evidence and perspective challenge even the most well-known of stories? Through primary and secondary source analysis, think-alouds, and discussion, young historians evaluate the historical narrative of Rosa Parks across multiple...

It's a classic case of whodunnit - with a forensic twist! Learners observe a crime scene and compile evidence, along with emergency phone calls, fingerprints, and interview statements to find the criminal and solve the crime.

Did Scopes violate the Butler Act? Why did so many Americans follow the Scopes trial? See analytical reading in action with a fantastic five-day lesson plan in which class members consider the historical context that provoked public...

Oh, no! An asteroid is on a collision course with Earth!. Class members must rise to the challenge of designing a shelter that will protect people from the impact and permit them to live in this shelter for one year. In this first lesson...

Need an a-maize-ing lesson to show your class how regulatory genes work? If you use the well-written resource, they'll be all ears! Biology scholars discover the gene responsible for the evolution of the modern-day corn plant through a...

Young geologists piece together the puzzle of plate tectonics in an earth science lesson. Given a physical map of the world, they search for land formations that indicate the location of different types of plate boundaries.

Written for Washington state students in life science, this lesson provides an opportunity to examine the residents of local freshwater habitats. You or the class collects a water sample, and learners try to examine what organisms live...

Don't leave your classes in the dark! An inquiry-based lesson has young researchers analyze the light intensity before, during, and after a solar eclipse. They use their data to make inferences about the solar energy available during...

One of water's claims to fame is as the universal solvent. Young physical scientists experiment to discover which materials dissolve in this special compound. You could never be more prepared for teaching this lesson plan than by using...

Clever! In order to compare indoor and outdoor dispersal rates for the movement of gases and particles through air, collaborators will participate in a classroom experiment. Set up a circular grid and set students on lines that are...

Curious physical scientists follow a lesson plan on the properties of water with this lesson plan on distillation. They observe a miniature water cycle model that filters dirty water into clean water. These two lessons combined are an...

Commercial advertising—we can't get away from it, but do we realize just how often we are being advertised to? With this lesson plan, scholars analyze mass media to identify how its techniques influence our daily lives. Learners browse...

With global temperatures on the rise faster than ever recorded, the effects of a heating planet could be devastating. Allow learners to discover just what the world is in store for if the warming continues through a series of videos, a...

It's cloudy with a good chance of learning! An inquiry-based lesson begins with an exploration of transparent, translucent, and opaque materials. Young scientists then connect their learning to the different cloud types as they take the...

It would be a crime not to give the lesson a chance! An inquiry-based lesson has pupils assume the role of crime scene investigators as they make observations about shoe prints. They look for patterns in the prints such as distance and...

Set the stage for a unit or lesson on the African savanna by creating a cute habitat diorama. Cheetahs, lions, zebras, and elephants are all present in a shoe-box-sized craft that requires your learners to color, cut, and paste. These...

Little learners experiment with sunlight and map out how light travels. Using a mirror and slotted card, they find out about items that can reflect or absorb the light. They experiment with a variety of materials to find out how light...

Silver: more than jewelry, it's also a natural antimicrobial agent. An inquiry-based lesson asks collaborative groups to design and implement an experiment to test this property. Using samples of silver nanoparticles and a strain of...