The beginning of the 20th century began with a shock: the assassination of President McKinley. The man who would take his place—the youngest American to ever become president—led quite a life before stepping foot in the Oval Office. An...

Concept muraling helps learners improve their comprehension of a text by giving them a way to organize their understanding of the key concepts in that text. Introduce readers to this process with a carefully scaffolded lesson that models...

World War I was known for its gruesome battlefields and horrific injuries. Using photographs from a battlefield surgeon's scrapbook, scholars see first-hand what life was like in the trenches. After creating a timeline of the war using...

Some living things go to extreme measures to avoid the cold. A three-part activity guides learners through the migration of the monarch butterfly. After studying the life cycle of the monarch butterfly, pupils learn the process of...

Two lessons explore the possibility of living on the moon. First, scholars read various scenarios to identify which careers would best transfer to life in space. Finally, pupils examine a website to locate items made for outer space,...

Is peace simply the absence of war, or is there more to the story? Young social scientists define peace in the second installment of a 15-part series. Groups work together to explore cultural concepts of peace and the peacemaking process...

The role of the judicial branch has far reaches into American life. Learners consider its uses with a reading on the branch and a structured conversation on the topic. Together, they work to root their contributions to the discussion in...

Learning how to craft a cogent argument based on a solid claim, supported with evidence and solid reasoning, is an important life skill. Teach middle schoolers about argumentative writing with a lesson asking them to analyze the claims,...

One slide reviews the main plant parts and most of the remaining slides address seven plant processes of life. This is a different approach to introducing the life of a plant. Three tasks are assigned to viewers on the last slide, making...

Students use their Life Map to write a strong introduction for an autobiography. They apply the Life Map to a written sequence, use guided imagery to visualize the writing process and experience peer editing.

Middle schoolers have years of experience when it comes to how their bodies work. Surely they have some questions as well. Here is an opportunity for them to practice the scientific method in an attempt to answer some of those questions....

Students investigate the decomposition process. In this ecology lesson, students participate in a play, "Up the Treehouse" where the main idea focuses on a decomposing tree and how food chains are effected by decomposition. After the...

Explore the business side of careers in zoological or marine parks. Learners use the internet, field trips, and their research skills to develop an understanding of what skills are needed to work in an animal park environment.

After reading an article on the alfalfa leafcutting bee, learners chart its characteristics alongside those of the honeybee. Then they draw the leafcutter lifecycle. The article provides fascinating reading when studying the role of...

Ninth graders discuss personal habits that are effective and ineffective. They complete a Personal Study Skills and Habits Review Survey. They participate in class discussion and offer insights to their study skill habits. They review...

Make your lesson on radioactive decay pop with this lab exercise. Using popcorn kernels spread over a tabletop, participants pick up all of those that point toward the back of the room, that is, those that represent decayed atoms. As the...

Sixth graders reflect on the life experiences they have had and discover how those experiences may be classified on a resume. They begin brainstorming their life experiences and writing each one on a sticky note. At end of brainstorming...

Students observe how chickens hatch. In this life cycles lesson, students read the book Hatching Eggs: A Step by Step Guide and use an incubator to hatch the eggs. Students observe the chicks hatching and take care of the chicks by...

Third graders plant seeds. For this seed structure lesson, 3rd graders identify parts of a seed and plant a lima bean seed.  Students discuss and reflect on the process in their journals. 

What would the world be like with no insects? Ponder this question using a research-based STEM unit that encourages scholars to investigate insects from both a beneficial and hazardous perspective. They learn about insect behaviors,...

Students read "Chasing Vermeer," and then study the author's writing process. They make connections between the book and the author's real life experiences. They then write an original mystery story, following the writing process.

Students are introduced to the concept of life cycles and identify the growth order and different stages attained by various animals. They view slideshows and video of butterflies and frogs as they change through the various stages of...

Students begin their study of insect life cycles by listening to a read aloud of Eric Carle's The Very Hungry Caterpillar. They learn the vocabulary of metamorphosis including egg, larva, pupa, chrysalis, and adult. They observe actual...