In lab groups, young scientists place aluminum cans with a bubble-solution cap into different temperatures of water to see what size of bubble dome forms. As part of an atmosphere unit in preparation for learning about convection...

Blue-tinted water is added to unknown liquids that have been tinted yellow to find out how they interact. This is a memorable activity that is part of an investigation on the properties of liquids, which is part of a unit on the...

Crystals are more than meets the eye! Can learners tell them apart simply by observation? As they examine five samples with a magnifier, they find that appearance alone is not enough. This serves as an introduction to a mini unit on...

Dare your class to drive dissolved carbon dioxide out of carbonated liquid at different temperatures to discover if there is a difference in rate. To make this experiment more sound, have explorers use equally measured amounts of soda...

Make sure to consult the teacher's handbook, Inquiry in Action - Investigating Matter Through Inquiry, for two demonstrations that can be done to introduce solubility and measuring crystal mass before having the class conduct this...

Continuing with the concept of volume and its effect on density, learners now work with a piece of clay to see if they can get it to float in water. This is a memorable end to a seven-part investigation of density. Make sure to check out...

Young historians will learn not to fear primary source materials (or fear itself, for that matter) thanks to this resource that uses Franklin D. Roosevelt's March 4, 1933 Inaugural Address to model how to conduct a close reading of such...

It doesn't matter if you're a new teacher trying to set up your classroom for the first time or a veteran teacher looking for new ideas to freshen up your teaching, this resource has something to offer everyone. After...

Third graders read analog clocks and tell time to the nearest minute. AM and PM do not matter in this exercise.

How does heat move from one item to another, even when the items are in different states of matter? Pupils experiment with adding washers to hot water and adding hot washers to room temperature water to observe the heat transfer. 

When measuring the circumference of a tree, does it matter how high you place the measuring tape? Most scholars have never considered this question, but scientists know that measurement techniques must be standardized. The 13th...

The issues of voter fraud and voter suppression are relevant in every election, local as well as national. Soon-to-be voters learn about a recent bill proposed in North Carolina, the Voter Information and Verification Act, and...

How important is water quality where you live? The first module in a six-unit series includes four lessons on water quality. By applying the concept directly to the lives of pupils, they engage in meaningful learning. They read about...

Musicals have been adapted from stage plays, novels, and movies. With The Lion King, Disney transforms its animated film into show-stopping, live-action musical theatre. The guide Disney provides to accompany a study...

Betsy Ross, Toni Morrison, Sacajawea, Amelia Earhart, Maya Lin, Sally Ride, Judy Baca. No matter the subject area or the grade level you teach you will find much to value in a manual that focuses on the contributions U.S. women have...

It doesn't matter if you look on land, in the air, underground, or in water—evolution is everywhere. Scholars complete worksheets with multiple question types as they progress through six online missions creating phylogenic trees. 

Even though readers investigate matters of the heart, this activity promotes the inner workings of learners' brains. The fifth lesson of six has the teacher first model the strategy to the class before having small groups practice. To...

Identifying the tone of a piece of writing or the author's attitude toward the subject matter can be difficult for learners. Simplify the process with a lesson that begins with skits, moves to songs and their lyrics, and then to passages...

Representation matters! A lesson examines the looks of dolls and discusses whether the design is inclusive or not. Scholars create a paper doll representing a characteristic about themselves or highlights another diverse quality....

Second graders identify the three states of matter by examining fishbowls with various contents. They discuss their observations and the characteristics of matter in each state. Pupils read the story The Rainbow Fish and look for...

Building off young chemists' knowledge of the states of matter, kinetic molecular theory is the focus of the unit. Eight days of lessons including multiple demonstrations, one lab experiment, directed instruction, and worksheets,...

Junior ecologists relate how food chains and food webs route matter and energy through an ecosystem. They trace feeding levels of a food chain or food web through a pyramid of energy. As a reinforcement activity, learners construct three...

Students create a scrapbook of college student life during the 1960's using digital archives and Internet research. They read and discuss the article "What's the Matter With College?" and then compare college experience of today with...

This comprehension worksheet provides readers with an article about basic matter and then asks them to use this information to respond to a series of comprehension questions.