What motivated Europeans to explore the New World, and what effects did their exploration have on Native American populations? The second installment of a 16-part American Passages series prompts pupils to watch a video and read several...

Social media and United States history combine as your young historians design a Facebook page for two major defendants of landmark Supreme Court cases. The resource includes a detailed rubric for research and page design, as well as a...

What's the difference between a diary and a memoir? Young historians explore the ramifications of this question as they learn how to use primary source materials to gain an understanding of life on the Texas frontier.

Using or considering using Zora Neale Hurston's Their Eyes Were Watching God? Then this packet is a must for your curriculum library. The examination of how Hurston combines folklore and folk language to create the voice of her...

Few topics engage young mathematicians as much as learning about money. Through a series of shared readings and hands-on activities, children explore the US currency system, learning how to count money and calculate change as they create...

The United States is the world's largest producer of biofuel. During an in-class investigation, young scientists produce their own biodiesel. They burn a sample of it to determine the heat of combustion. Then they discuss the...

See the underwater world through a different pair of eyes! Middle school marine biologists identify deep-sea organisms by examining images taken by an ROV from the Okeanos Explorer. After determining what creatures lie beneath the...

Discover how writers express identity in their writing. Learners explore how issues of identity surface in the literature of minority writers. Scholars watch a video, read and discuss biographies, conduct research, engage in creative...

Young scholars write a descriptive paragraph, in the style of Virginia Hamilton, describing the landscape around their house.

Eighth graders write descriptively by using various adjectives in describing a friend to an English speaking pen-pal.

Students rely on their senses to write descriptions of an object within their view. They incorporate different parts of speech in their descriptions. They write a descriptive paragraph about their object.

Fourth graders choose a shoe and write a description. They listen to each others descriptions and try to identify the shoe.

Students review letter writing skills and the use of descriptive language, and practice writing persuasive letters, with help from teacher and peers. Letters are then written to nominate friend for Friend of the Year.

First graders write a brief informational description of a real life object, person, place or event using information gained from observations. They create their own fossil imprints and write a brief description about the fossil that...

Students observe a mystery photo and use descriptive language to solve the mystery. In this descriptive language activity, students use scientific observation to figure out a mystery photo. Students rationalize their thoughts with...

Fourth graders construct a miniature robot using recyclable materials. They write a descriptive explanation from the robot's point of view explaining how it aid in protecting the environment.

Learners write an imagist prairie poem. They explore various websites, view images of prairies, read examples of poems, and write an original poem that creates a mental image in the mind of the listener through the use of descriptive...

Students examine and sort objects by specific attributes and apply prior knowledge. In this properties everywhere activity, students work in groups to arrange objects in categories then discuss various sorting options while...

Students write animal riddles. They write three or more sentences describing a selected animal, and draw a picture to go with their descriptive sentences. Students then create a three slide slideshow using Kid Pix 3 computer software.

Students discover how to express their feeling poetically. For this poetry lesson, students discuss their feelings, descriptive language to describe these feelings, and create poems.

Fifth graders describe environments using position words. In this description lesson, 5th graders practice using adjective, comparatives and superlatives in partners and on worksheets. 

Fifth graders write descriptive imagery and identify facts about various components of the universe. They listen to the book "The Magic School Bus, Lost in the Solar System," develop a list of descriptive words from the story, compose a...

Students research elements on interactive Internet periodic tables, take notes using Inspiration software, and write descriptive paragraphs with graphics. They create presentations.

Ninth graders explore civil rights by reading several biographies. In this Nelson Mandela instructional activity, 9th graders discuss the trials and tribulations Nelson Mandela had to face in South Africa and how they were similar to the...