How important are sound effects in films? In stage plays? In radio programs? To gain an understanding of the impact of these special effects, class members watch a short video spoof of the sound in a scene from Star...

Fourth graders examine the artifacts obtained from an excavated Siouan village site. They make inferences about the people who once lived there based on the artifacts and complete a Research Team Report.

Students make observations. In this sensory skills instructional activity, students use their senses as well as tools that sharpen their senses to make observations regarding foods and other items.

Students practice trends forecasting to predict the weather. In this forecasting lesson plan, students learn how meteorologists predict the weather by looking at weather trends. They then predict their own forecast, analyze the results,...

Science, engineering, and United States history? Pupils research collections of artifacts from the Smithsonian to learn about historical scientific innovations. At the end of the lesson, they write an essay to discuss technology's...

Character analysis becomes easy with a 24-page packet packed with mini-lessons, graphic organizers, and activities. A must-have for your curriculum library.

Students read The Tell Tale Heart and practice critical analysis while reflecting on its underlying meanings. In this reading instructional activity, students make predictions, monitor their own comprehension and adjust their reading...

Fifth graders investigate coral reefs and the dangers they face by labeling and drawing.  In this oceanography instructional activity, 5th graders view a PowerPoint presentation of photographs of coral reefs in Belize....

Eighth graders read the Diary of Anne Frank. In this novel reading lesson, 8th graders read and analyze the story. Students do online activities and create a newspaper giving a summary of three major events in the story. Students answer...

Students identify different types of functions and units of measurements. In this statistics lesson, students will collect data, graph their data and make predictions about their data. They plot a linear regression graph.

Fourth graders see how to define and then recognize a variety of propaganda techniques at work in their everyday world. Choosing one technique, they creatively demonstrate a thorough understanding from real world experiences. A very rich...

Students examine the grid in terms of a method of organization in our society as well as graphic design. In this "Making and Breaking the Grid" instructional activity, students design solutions to common problems and draw conclusions...

Your young environmentalists can calculate their carbon footprint and discuss ways to reduce it with a worksheet about climate change. After reading a handout about what impact one's carbon footprint can have on the environment, kids...

Examine the characters in Willa Cather's My Antonia with a group project. Small groups illustrate their chosen character on a large piece of paper and choose quotes from the text that tell about the character. Where learners choose...

It's that time of year to consider how Shakespeare selects his images and structures his Sonnet 73 to develop the meaning of the poem. Class members examine the rhyme scheme, the indented lines, the conceit, and the images used in each...

Here's a lab that may make you rethink that morning cup of coffee. Biology scholars test the effects of caffeine, alcohol, and nicotine on the behavior of zebrafish through an intriguing experiment. Learners observe fish...

Middle schoolers analyze given data on density and diameter of objects in space by graphing the data and then discussing their findings. This ninth installment of a 22-part series emphasizes the Galilean moons as compared to other...

How can you predict the weather without any technology? Young scientists learn to forecast the weather using traditional Native American techniques. Based on their observations of the weather, as well as talking to their classmates, they...

Introduce your class members to allegory and propaganda with a series of activities designed to accompany a study of George Orwell's Animal Farm. Readers examine the text as an allegory, consider the parallels to collective farms...

Practice reading strategies using Elizabeti's Doll by Stephanie Stuve-Bodeen. Readers utilize decoding and comprehension strategies before, during, and after reading the story. A detailed list of text features, high frequency words,...

Why do athletes load up on carbohydrates the evening before a competition? The lesson helps answer this question as it relates the type of food to the amount of energy it contains. After a discussion, scholars perform an experiment...

Student observe two cups, one slightly smaller and skinnier than the other, with one put inside the other. The cups are turned upside-down and the smaller one is caught as it falls out of the larger cup. The larger cup is filled up about...

Students compare the movie Miracle on 34th Street to the book. In this holiday lesson, students read the book and view the 1995 version of the movie, Miracle on 34th Street. Students use a Venn diagram to analyze the similarities and...

Young scholars read and analyze the story. In this language arts lesson, students read Come on, Rain! and examine how mood and tone are created, the use of figurative language and the characteristics of the genre. Young scholars...