Two lessons examine the importance of safety while playing sports. After thoughtful discussion, partners complete a graphic organizer that details their favorite sport and safe ways to play it. Scholars examine winter sports and identify...

Highlight a unique solar cell with a report and a poster. Scholars complete the ongoing solar cells project by writing an engineering report in the last of 14 lessons in the Cost Effective Solar Cells unit. They also create research...

Peer pressure is the focus of a lesson that challenges scholars to respond to several scenarios using responsible-decision making skills. Lesson one begins with a live-action example set by class members, followed by a discussion that...

Keep one's dream of becoming an engineer afloat. Learners apply the engineering design process to build a boat out of aluminum foil. They start with a square boat, then consider whether boats of different shapes would be able to hold...

Provide the spark to foster a love of science. Instructors perform a demonstration that uses a camping stove to generate electricity to charge a phone. Pupils use data from the experiment to the calculate the efficiency of the stove....

Follow the light—not with one's eyes—but with a special solar tracker. Future engineers design and build a device that tracks light. They must build circuits in which solar cells rotate to receive equal amounts of light.

Young scientists begin a field journal by following four steps. A real-world example of an entry showcases the different parts, including location, date, drawings, and more. 

Boost social awareness with two activities focusing on getting along. In the first activity, scholars brainstorm ways to get along with their classmates and create four rules for the classroom. The second activity asks pupils to track...

Make a Winogradsky Column to discover how microbes live within the digestive tract. First, participants take a tour of the stomach. Then, gather supplies and start building using a variety of materials. Over eight to 10 weeks,...

Fifteen detailed pictures and informative captions delve deep into the exploration of stars—their life cycle and importance in the universe. 

Nine activities boost social-emotional competencies. Read through the list and choose what best fits the needs of your class. Activities include thoughtful discussions, creating posters, listening to a read-aloud, and more! 

Learn to forecast the weather using cloud types. Budding meteorologists identify cloud types and learn to use a dichotomous key. As scholars develop observation and identification skills, they discover how different cloud types cause...

Put empty milk jugs to good use. Scholars consider the characteristics they might change about a milk jug to improve light absorption. They design a passive solar water heater using the milk jug and then measure the temperature change in...

Challenge small groups to build a structure that catches a raw egg without breaking—working collaboratively and applying mathematical and engineering principles. Pretending the frame was made by a business, scholars create a marketing...

Two lessons encourage class members to go screen-free. The first lesson plan challenges two teams to create a list of screen-free games. The team with the most ideas wins. Individuals then draw a picture of themselves doing one of...

What kind of wind works best to make things move? After watching a short video from Curious George, super scientists answer the question by testing various wind-making tools. Learners observe, record, and share their findings.

Two sensory tables—wet and dry—allow scholars to use their sense of sight, touch, and smell to observe the changes when the dirt mixes with water. A short video relates the STEM learning experience to a fun video clip where Curious...

A short video features Curious George playing with pots filled with colored water. Scholars then take to colored water with eye droppers and observation skills. They examine what happens to water drops when dropped from different...

Keeping readers focused during literature discussion circles can sometimes be a challenge. Check out this worksheet that ensures accountability by establishing six very specific, very different roles for group members: facilitator,...

Two lessons take a close look at drug prevention. The first lesson, split into two sessions, challenges learners to gather information from an article, answer questions, then create a poster that encourages others to stay away from...

Timshel! Thou mayest! is the big idea in a lesson that reminds learners that they have choices about how they present themselves to others. To begin, individuals rate the degree to which the choices they make each morning are influenced...

The first of eight lessons introduces learners to Breath Awareness—an exercise that brings focus and thoughtfulness through breathing before engaging in other activities.

Encourage scholars to complement themselves. An activity challenges pupils to think of their strengths and complete a positive statement. 

When people look in a mirror, they rarely see themselves as others see them. Tweens and teens can consider the significance of these disparities in a lesson that asks them to reflect on the kind of person they are and how they think...