Which animal is best for you—a dog or cat? Why? Engage third graders in an opinion writing assessment that prompts them to read facts about both pets, and then write and decide which pet is best for them.

Even if you've never picked up a musical instrument, chances are that music has directly impacted your mental and emotional development. Sixth graders engage in a reading activity in which they read two articles on the impact of music on...

Of particular interest to a group of business and finance pupils, this lesson explores depreciation of automobile values by comparing the double declining balance to the straight line method. Mostly this is done through a slide...

Help your kindergarteners discover new number-sense concepts and to compose and decompose numbers. Though the resource contains no procedural details, the assessment tool (which you can find in the "printer friendly version") has...

Students make choices regarding money management. In this personal finance lesson, students explore budgets, incomes, and expenses as they learn vocabulary regarding personal finance and consider how to create personal budgets.

Students learn that maintaining financial security takes a good math understanding. In this instructional activity, students apply mathematical formulas to make important financial decisions like getting the right loan to buy a house,...

Students use family names to gather and analyze data. For this counting lesson, students use graph paper to help organize their data and then, in a staircase fashion, organize the names from longest to shortest so they can answer...

Technology has undoubtedly improved the lives of people around the world—but has it improved communication? Seventh graders read two informative passages about the rise of texting and emailing versus in-person conversations before...

Demonstrate the use of scientific notation within word problems. The lesson plan presents problems with large numbers best represented with scientific notation. Pupils use these numbers to solve the problems in the 11th installment in a...

Pupils design a fence for a backyard pool. Scholars develop a fence design based on given constraints, determine the amount of material they need, and calculate the cost of the project. 

Keep your pets slim, trim, and healthy using mathematics! Pupils use a linear programming model to optimize the amount and type of food to provide to a pet rabbit. They model constraints by graphing inequalities and use them to analyze a...

Explore the basic PowerPoint commands and options. They research information (including the WWW) related to an approved topic for presentation development. They create a presentation defined by specific criteria. They document research...

First graders examine measurement. In this measurement lesson, 1st graders practice using nonstandard units to help in measuring objects. Students listen to How Big is a Foot and complete an activity using unifix cubes to measure line...

This lesson focuses on unit conversion, proportions, ratios, exponents, and the metric system. Discuss measurement with your math class and demonstrate how to solve several health-science word problems. Give learners a chance to visit an...

Students explore perimeter. In this geometry and measurement instructional activity, students create squares and rectangles using given perimeters. Students construct four sided shapes with given perimeters using the computer program...

Accounting is a vital skill for personal finance management and when running a business. As part of a larger lesson plan, learners fill out the adjustments column of an accounting worksheet. They practice keeping records on a real...

High schoolers don't think they need to know about mortgages, but with college and renting soon approaching, fiscal responsibility is necessary. Pupils learn the vocabulary of a mortgage and calculate different home values to determine...

Are American young people prepared to become tomorrow's leaders in technological innovation, or does an obsession with being cool sidetrack essential skills? That is the question freshmen and sophomores must address in a performance...

Students prepare a healthy snack. In this nutrition and literacy instructional activity, students listen to the book Fred the Fish and the Squash that Goes Squish, then follow a vegetable snack recipe.

Imagine a tool that magically engages readers in the classroom. A handbook for Indiana educators doesn't guarantee success, but it does offer a variety of strategies for teachers to try. The handbook opens with research-based theory...

Is it crazy to fall in love with your own work, or is that the purest love of all? Compare two renditions of the classic Greek myth Pygmalion and Galatea with a literary analysis exercise. After students compare the similarities and...

The Oscar for the Best Adapted Screenplay acknowledges a writer's excellence in adapting material found in another source. What do your class members know about adapted resources? Find out with an assessment that asks readers to...

Looking for a performance assessment that asks individuals to demonstrate their competency in writing about informational text? Use Frederick Douglass' essay "On the Dred Scott Decision," and an excerpt from Abraham Lincoln's 1857 speech...

Collaborative groups examine the importance of energy resources on quality of life by researching different energy sources and alternative energy sources through data analysis. They make a comparison of different countries and cultures,...