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...

An in-class and at-home assignment, young math stars find and list items from home and school that they think are one foot in length. Once the list is made, provide everyone with rulers to measure and find the actual lengths of their items.

Investigate nonlinear motion through an analysis using the Pythagorean Theorem. Pupils combine their algebraic and geometric skills in the 24th instructional activity of this 25-part module. Using the Pythagorean Theorem, scholars...

Using geoboards, computer programs, and hands-on manipulative materials, elementary schoolers engage in a study of two and three-dimensional geometric shapes. This instructional activity is chock full of good teaching ideas on the...

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...

Learners consider the rate of filling a cone in the 23rd installment of this lesson plan series. They analyze the volume of the cone at various heights and discover the rate of filling is not constant. The lesson plan ends with a...

While this lesson focuses on a study of the Hudson River, it could be used as a template for a discussion of map skills, converting measurements, and plotting a route. The lesson includes vocabulary and other resources to make it a...

Create three dimensional objects in an applied science lesson. The goal is for your class to recognize, compare, and model shapes. Using cookie cutters and clay or play dough, they create models for three-dimensional shapes.

Introduce the background of design and designers and their role in communicating their thoughts to others. In groups, you can assign participation in a writing cluster on various designers and write paragraphs to submit to magazines. To...

Get an interdisciplinary edge. Scholars study air contamination and slope. They record the time it takes for air fresheners to reach them at variable distances. They document their times, classify them by distance, and draw a scatter...

The use of box scores from baseball games is the foundation of this math lesson. Organize your class into groups of four, and give identical box scores from a baseball game that was just played. Have them create word problems from the...

A three-part assessment promotes reading comprehension skills. Class members read literary texts and take notes to discuss their findings, answer comprehension questions, write summaries, and complete charts. 

Instill the positive study habit of reflecting on learning by reading this passage with your class. The passage describes how reflection can be a powerful learning tool, and how learners can start reflecting. After reading, class...

Everybody loves to contribute to the conversation, but it needs to be done politely so as not to interrupt. Help your little ones learn how to add to a conversation appropriately with a few activities that complement the book, My Mouth...

Combine math and vocabulary in a fun activity based on Lois Lowry's The Giver. Before kids begin the book, they look up the definitions of 16 vocabulary words and complete a puzzle that will give them the same number.

Ribbit ribbit! Hop through a series of activities based on A Tale of Two Frogs. Kids read the Russian folktale and answer reading comprehension questions before working on phonics exercises, tracing dotting lines to make a path...

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...

Imagine a learning community committed to using Costa and Kallick's Habits of Mind as the basis of curriculum design. The resource book is packed with lessons that are designed for and identify the standards and...

Positioned inside the framework of linear and exponential functions, this lesson is more of an investigation into the effects of changing variables and constants inside an expression. The author takes familiar formulas, those for...

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...

Third graders take a set of data and turn it into a pie graph with an independent worksheet. Containing 10 sets of data, the resource reinforced data analysis skills that pupils can use throughout a graphing unit. 

Mathematicians can be famous, too! Introduce your class to Eratosthenes with a reading passage. After they complete the passage, learners respond to five questions, some of which require opinions and others reading comprehension skills.