Students are introduced to the biomechanical characteristics of helmets. They incorporate these characteristics into designs for helmets for various applications. They understand that using a bicycle helmet helps to protect the brain and...

Students explore the densities and viscosities of fluids as they create a colorful 'rainbow' using household liquids. While letting the fluids in the rainbow settle, students conduct 'The Great Viscosity Race,' another short experiment...

Middle schoolers explore how the Romans engineered and built aqueducts. They read a manual, explore the Construct a Roman Aqueduct online activity, and construct an aqueduct that will transport two liters of water across a short...

Students design and construct a Rube Goldberg machine that accomplishes a simple task in at least ten steps. They view and discuss various Rube Goldberg designs, identify types of simple machines, and in small groups produce a schematic...

Students discover fluid dynamics related to buoyancy through experimentation and optional photography. Using one set of fluids, they make light fluids rise through denser fluids. Using another set, they make dense fluids sink through a...

Students analyze graphs to determine relationships between variables and rates of change. They determine the basic concepts about static reaction forces. They determine the slope and equation of a line.

Paper Lesson Plan - Young scholars discover how paper is made. Working together, they make their own paper. This activity introduces students to recycling; what it is and its importance. Young scholars study the process of how paper is...

Middle schoolers visualize a communication system. They encode, decode, transmit, receive and store messages. Students use a code sheet and flashlight for this process. They will also maintain a storage sheet from which they can retrieve...

Sixth graders build a speaker as they investigate the roles of electricity and magnetism. They discover the properties of magnets, create an electromagnet, and determine the direction of a magnetic field. They show cause and effect...

Students participate in a simulation activity. They explore Ellis Island and experiences that immigrants in the late 1800's had on their way to the United States. The role play includes questioning by inspectors, a manifest list, and...

Students read Charlotte's Web, view variety of trading cards, discuss what they know about trading cards and their purpose, choose character from story, complete bubble map about character, and create character trading card using...

Students watch streaming video, Holiday Facts and Fun: Thanksgiving, define and discuss acrostic poetry, complete circle map using words associated with Thanksgiving, and create acrostic Thanksgiving poems to be typed in Microsoft Word...

Second graders explore the lives of actual people who make a difference in their everyday lives. They differentiate between events that happened long ago and events that happened yesterday by studying their family histories. The unit...

Young scholars identify when and why quotations are used. Using comic strips and speech bubbles, they read and discuss examples of quotation marks, and in pairs write text for a cartoon on a piece of paper using quotation marks around...

Ninth graders build an "Earthquake Machine" (a manipulative model of a fault line) and use it to explore stick-slip behavior of some faults and to develop a more accurate definition of an earthquake and its causes.

Ninth graders create a model of a city street with various sizes of buildings on it. They use the model to demonstrate the effect of building oscillation during varying degrees of seismic activity.

Students examine the concepts of geometry used by Paul Goble in his book Adopted By The Eagles. After analyzing Mr. Goble's work they create an original piece featuring symmetry, pattern, repetition, and other principles of geometry....

4th-8th graders will explore Wright Morris' photography and create their own black and white photographs. They will then use the photographs to portray a message they want communicated by writing a narrative telling a story about the...

Students view Elmer Holtzrichter's work Mystery Planet and discuss basic shapes and patterns. They create their own collage. and discuss the patterning they created. Students demonstrate how this pattern would sound with clapping and...

Learners conduct Internet research about ancient civilizations to produce a newspaper that reflecting the cultural, political, economic and religious views of the ancient civilizations of Egypt or Mexico.

Students look at Web sites containing information about soil and related subjects such as earthworms. They use Web site review sheets to focus their review of the content on the sites and to introduce evaluation concepts for the design...

Students generate, share and display ideas as a group. They break into small groups to work on hand-drawn maps made up of concentric circles. they come before the group and make a similar diagram by charting each other's characteristics.

Students review their notes, drawings, photos and writing from the field trip to share with the whole group. They make a fiction or nonfiction storybook as a group. They include writing from all students and can include artwork and...

Students gain a strong foundation for reading, writing, and using nonfiction through this lesson. They gain an awareness and general understanding what text structures are. Students also identify and interpret what clues they can use...