Students examine and analyze culturally significant objects from colonial Boston. They construct a story around the life and work of Nathaniel Hurd from a list of keywords excerpted from a passage about Nathaniel Hurd. In addition, they...

Ninth graders compare and contrast various writing styles and distinguish technical writing from other writing techniques. They assess personal knowledge regarding earthquakes and earthquake preparedness.

Work on author's purpose with this lesson, which focuses on sequence of events and audience as well.  Middle and high schoolers describe the 50 State Quarters Program for background information. After discussing the images on the...

Tenth graders explore abstract and non-representational art forms through research and artistic expression. They research a free form artist, their work, and abstract sculpture. They then work with pantyhose, chicken wire, plaster, and...

We are all immigrants to this country and the study of immigration can help students connect to history in a personal way. Students will listen to audio clips from the Ellis Island web site, discuss the treatment of immigrants in the...

By creating an energy brochure, teams of science learners inform others about the advantages of using alternative energy sources. An instructions page for your class and a grading rubric are provided. The lesson focuses on photovoltaics,...

Upper elementary schoolers examine the concept of synonyms and how using a variety of vocabulary through synonyms can expand their writing skills. They revise a paragraph using synonyms located on the Visual Thesaurus and participate in...

What's the best resource to use when looking up words? Use Visual Thesaurus to see a word's meaning. The class accesses the interactive website and then compares and contrasts the difference between using a traditional dictionary and the...

Des'ree's song "You Gotta Be" is used to model for language learners the forms that can be used to express necessity (must, have to, have got to). After examining the grammar in the song, the attention switches to a discussion of the...

Collect and graph data using Microsoft Excel with your math class. They will make predictions about the number of each colored candy in a bag of M&M's, then sort, classify, count, and record the actual data before using Excel to...

Scholars of all ages can use the various tools of technology to construct and illustrate a story. Utilizing this resource, learners work with a partner to brainstorm and draft a story based on personal experience. They use computer...

What a scam! Middle and high schoolers pose as journalists exposing consumer fraud. In this lesson, they write an article for a magazine using data collected during previous investigations (prior lessons) to defend their findings that a...

Learners demonstrate how to alphabetize animal names. In this word study lesson, students identify animals that live on the farm and conduct a favorite farm animal survey. Learners order animal pictures in alphabetical order.

Seventh graders discuss weather. In this meteorology lesson, 7th graders view a movie on weather and take a quiz. They work in groups to make weather tools for a class weather station. 

Students discuss their favorite book. In this book discussion lesson, students name the title and tell what makes the book special. Students also review the setting, plot, conflict, and resolution. Students make a book that tells all of...

Put economics and currency exchange rates into a real-world application kids can understand. They'll compare bus fares from various cities around the world. Each child selects three international cities to research. They determine the...

Students use data to determine if the climate in Portland has changed over the years.  For this weather lesson students complete line graphs and study long wave radiation. 

Take a closer look at the impact of war in this language arts and social studies lesson. Middle schoolers use primary sources to conduct research as they relate to the effects of war on children. They compare and contrast the effects of...

Can colors help to convey a mood in writing? Explore this question with your class using the songs "Grey Street" by the Dave Matthews Band and "Blu is a Mood" by Blu Cantrell. After analyzing the effect of the color words in these songs...

With the songs "My Hometown" by Bruce Springsteen and "Allentown" by Billy Joel, learners examine external versus internal conflict. When they have finished the first part of the lesson, they create their own poem (or song) about the...

Research various types of bridge designs. Your class will be asked to consider what it would be like without bridges while learning about how they work. They will construct a model bridge based on given parameters. They then calculate...

Does Facebook actually have any value? Find out what the New York Times thinks by reading this informational article. Learners use the 10 guiding questions to aid them as the read the provided article regarding the value of Facebook. Two...

Explore soil, genetic traits, natural resources, and pollution in a series of lessons that focus on biodiversity. Kids complete experiments to learn more about the importance of varied genes and organisms in an ecosystem.

Biodiversity is essential for every habitat, but many species are at risk due to pollution and other factors. Explore several different species native to Illinois in a gallery walk with posters that learners have created after research...