If you're reading Jan Brett's The Umbrella, a presentation featuring the animals from the story is an excellent way to augment your lesson. Featuring gorgeous photographs of rainforest animals, as well as Spanish phrases and English...

Bugs are creepy, crawly, and beautiful! Explore the world of colorful bugs with a presentation about bugs that are different colors. With red ladybugs, yellow caterpillars, and purple dragonflies, the presentation is sure to delight and...

Take your class on an out-of-this-world adventure with this fun engineering design activity. Working in small groups, young scientists design, build, and test crew exploration vehicles using some creativity, teamwork, and...

When astronauts get hungry in outer space, they can't just call and have a pizza delivered. In order to gain an appreciation for the challenges associated with space travel, young learners are given the task of selecting,...

Do words change or add meaning or interest to a work of art? The final instructional activity in a four-part series on the beautiful brain as a work of art focuses on art analysis. Scholars write a story about exploring art from the...

Is losing cultural traditions the cost of social progress, or should people make stronger efforts to preserve these traditions? High schoolers watch a short film about the native Yup'ik people in Alaska and how they handle the shifts in...

With a partner, youngsters measure their pulse and breathing rates, both at rest and after running in place for a minute. While this activity is not novel, the lesson plan includes a large-scale classroom graphing activity and other...

Small groups place sand and ice in a covered box, place the box in the sunlight, then observe as evaporation, condensation, and precipitation occur. These models serve as miniature water cycles and demonstrations of the three phases of...

It's time to roll up those sleeves and get a little dirty in the second lesson of this series on the science of food. Investigate where plants and animals get the minerals they need to live in this two-part exploration of soil. First,...

What was the most significant tool used by the Chumash? How did the environment make the tool possible? What group behaviors allowed the Chumash be be successful for thousands of years? After watching West of the West's documentary Once...

You may not be able to take a field trip to the moon, but that doesn't mean your class can't study moon rocks. Using graham crackers as the moon's bedrock and powdered donuts as micrometeorites, young scientists simulate...

Traveling through space is an amazing experience, but it definitely takes a toll on the body. After reading an article and watching a brief video, learners perform an experiment that simulates the effects of zero gravity on the...

Barrio de Paz is the story of Nelsa Libertad Curbelo, a nun, who works with the gang youth of Guayaquil, Ecuador. The 17-minute documentary focuses on her explanations for the rise of gangs and for how gang culture reflects...

Take your science class on a hypothetical field trip to Mars with an engaging astronomy lesson. After first learning about NASA's Mars rover missions, young scientists plan their own scientific investigations of Earth's...

Fourth graders examine the history of the tortilla and extend the study across the curriculum. In this history of the tortilla lesson, 4th graders research the background of the tortilla, determine the ingredients, and work with the...

"Neuroscientists consider Cajal as important to their discipline as Einstein is to physics." The first of four lessons has scholars view Santiago Ramon y Cajal's drawings of neurons. They reflect and respond to the art through writing...

Learners are introduced to the terms related to the water cycle in their native language. In groups, they describe the steps of the cycle using different materials found in their art classroom. They describe how energy helps water...

Learners read, write about, and cook with rice in this home economics lesson. They reflect on the experience eating rice at home or in other ethnic foods.

Learners discuss the meaning of "hogging" something, and speculate on the origin of this phrase. They attempt to guess the contents of a shoe box (without looking inside). Students view feed grains and discuss animals that eat these...

What is the cost of change? Roberto Guerra's photo essay "La Carretera: Life and Change Along Peru's Interoceanic Highway" asks viewers to consider the impacts of the 1,600 mile-long highway through Peru and Brazil that connects Pacific...

The health effects of mercury exposure if the focus of the first of three activities about the properties of metals. Pairs research mercury to write, prepare, and share posters, articles, or PSAs with the class. 

Students engage in a literature study in order to address the concept of exploring the culture of Puerto Rico. The lesson looks at the culture through the eyes of two children. This helps students to connect to the content of the lesson....

In this general knowledge worksheet, students attempt to answer 30 trivia questions on subjects ranging from art, geography, films, books and popular culture. The directions say to listen and answer. It is unclear how this is to be used;...

Third graders study butterflies and their migration habits. They track butterfly migration and communicate via e-mail with students in Mexico where the butterflies migrate. They write letters to the students in Mexico, as well.