Skyscrapers are amazing feats of architectural design that create the iconic skylines of the world's biggest cities. Young architects explore the defining characteristics of these monstrous towers with the first lesson in this four-part...

"We've got the whole world in our hands," is what your students will be singing after completing this fun geography activity. Using the included templates for the seven continents and a balloon, they create their very own globes.

Young scholars relive history as they examine primary sources that document everyday life in the California missions. During a class viewing of the included slideshow presentation, children analyze documents, paintings, and...

Have fun with fractions in a math card game activity! Cut out the fraction cards and use them to reinforce fraction concepts, including common denominators, parts of a whole, and equivalent fractions. 

Can Dan make a conjecture about dividing fractions with the same denominators? That is what your scholars are to determine. They must show that if the statement is true, they understand how the quantities were determined, and how...

How many boys are in the class? Here is an introductory exercise describing ratios. The commentary shows different ways learners can approach the problem, using a tape diagram of boys to girls and using a table. The activity includes...

This discussion guide accompanies the fiction book Midnight Magic written by Avi, enforces story elements, inferences, and theme/plot. Have the class work on it over time, it will engage even your reluctant readers. 

What influences the way you dress, or celebrate holidays, or connect with your friends? Explore the cultural traits that are not easily seen with an engaging discussion. Using the model of an iceberg, learners place features of culture...

Japan is one of only a handful of countries that constructs buildings that are almost earthquake proof. The 13th lesson in the 20-part series challenges scholars to build structures to test against earthquakes. With limited materials and...

Find the percent of the population that meets the criteria. The 17th segment of a 20-part unit presents problems that involve percents of a population. Pupils use tape diagrams to create equations to find the percents of subgroups...

Have your class demonstrate their ability to compare fractions with this short multiple-choice assessment. Using the fractions 9/8 and 9/4, the young scholars first make comparisons using both words and the greater than/less than signs....

Give young geologists an up close and personal look at volcanoes with a series of hands-on earth science lessons. Whether they are investigating the properties of igneous rocks, building their own volcanoes, or making...

Considering including Juliet Marillier's young adult novel, Wildwood Dancing as part of your language arts curriculum? Check out an overview that examines some of the themes and issues presented by the novel. 

Round and round we go. Learners first complete a task on writing equations of circles. They then take part in a collaborative activity categorizing a set of equations for circles based on the radius and center.

Scholars determine how two quantities vary with respect to each other. They complete a fill-in-the-blank activity by stating whether the entities vary directly, inversely, or jointly, create equations that match different variations, and...

Create a neuron frenzy as your pupils play the part of the neurons. An engaging instructional activity creates a human chain of neurons that pass cotton balls posing as neurotransmitters. Scholars learn about pre- and post-synapses...

Get your hands dirty with an interactive lesson that showcases the process of decomposing and returning nutrients back into the soil. After building a compost pile, pupils regularly observe the...

Do you separate your trail mix before eating it? Then you've been separating mixtures your whole life! Scholars model a contaminated soil sample using trail mix and estimate the percentage of each component. They consider how to clean up...

"Be the change you wish to see in the world!" The 15th and final instructional activity in a peacebuilding series uses this quote from Gandhi to prepare pupils for their own action projects. Individuals research a global issue, then...

Schools in the 1950s and 60s looked very different from the schools we know today. An educator's guide explores the civil rights movement and, specifically, the process of integrating schools. Questions cover key themes in the novel and...

Communication is key. Eight sample items show how important communication and reasoning is for sixth grade mathematics. Part of the Claim 2-4 slide show series, the presentation uses concepts from fifth and sixth grade to illicit...

Engage in a shady activity to practice measurement techniques. Classes venture outside to collect measurements of various trees, using different strategies to measure the height, trunk circumference, width, and crown size. Then they...

Examine the usefulness of matrices when solving linear systems of higher dimensions. The lesson plan asks learners to write and solve systems of linear equations in four and five variables. Using matrices, pupils solve the systems and...

Compare the volume of an orange to the volume of liquid that can be extracted out of it. Also compare the mass of an apple before and after it has been dried out. In both of these activities, children find that there is an appreciable...