Do scientists really change their minds when presented with new evidence? Young scientists learn about two competing theories and must decide between them. They perform a simulation and have access to actual field data. Then, scholars...

Ideal for your electricity unit, especially with middle schoolers, this lesson plan gets engineers using multimeters in electrical circuits to explore the relationships among voltage, current, and resistance. Older learners may even plot...

Dorothea Lange’s photograph, Migrant Mother, and The Paycheck by Rick Nahimias, provide learners with an opportunity to practice their document interpretation skills. After a careful study of the images, class members develop a detailed...

The thaw depth of tundra creates a positive feedback loop with both global warming and the carbon cycle. Scholars sort photos and develop a hypothesis for ground cover and permafrost depth. Then they review the data and measurements...

Ideas take flight in an exciting activity on the NASA Gemini Program. Young scholars analyze photos from NASA's Gemini Program and place photos in the correct sequence of events. Academics also discuss the program and how the steps to...

If the Greenland ice sheet melted, sea levels would rise by about 20 ft; if the Antarctic ice sheet melted, sea levels would rise by 200 ft. Scholars explore ice melting through the analysis of different ice samples, clean and dirty ice....

The Industrial Revolution: long hours, low pay, and unsafe conditions. An eye-opening activity explores the darker side of industry and exposes the realities of child labor with photos. Scholars view four photos from the famous...

Uncle Sam wants you! During World War II, the US government and military created a propaganda campaign to gain public support. The activity uses primary documents such as photos to explain how and why the propaganda campaign was...

After several short 15-minute mini-lessons, your learners will gain an understanding of the characteristics of a non-fiction text. Using the book Map It by Elspeth Leacock, your class will become acquainted with non-fiction terms...

Amelia Earhart forever changed the idea of who could be pilots. The activity helps young academics examine a photo of Amelia Earhart to understand what it tells individuals about the past. Scholars participate in group discussions and...

An eye-opening activity uses documents and photos to help academics understand the factors that pushed or pulled immigrants to America. Young historians group photos based on a push or pull factor, then complete a worksheet. Scholars...

Tenth graders discuss collage and photomontage techniques and artists, and how the art form can convey cultural or current issues. They research a collage artist, then design a topical or personally symbolic collage. Present their...

Stress the importance of the different types of pressure our mind and body experience in a instructional activity about how certain types of stress are actually necessary and good for our bodies. As astronauts and people with injuries...

How much does the sun heat up a lake or ocean? Scholars use a cup and a strong lamp to investigate the heat transfer and thermal layers in the ocean to come up with the answer. They collect data and graph it in order to better understand...

What is it worth to you? A hands-on instructional activity asks groups to collect weights of different combinations of coins and calculate weighted averages. They use the analysis to understand the concept of an isotope to finish the...

Someone finds a time capsule 100 years from now, and it includes your family photo album. What would the photos tell that person about you and your place in history? Scholars investigate how artifacts tell stories. Using photos, maps,...

The 2016-2017 protests over the Dakota Access Pipeline (DAPL) motivated Camille Seaman to create "We Are Still Here," a photo essay featuring portraits of contemporary Native Americans who protested the pipeline. This eight-page...

Review one of the most memorable cases in the history of the United States. After reading To Kill A Mockingbird, young scholars read and select court transcripts and other primary source material from the Scottsboro Boys Trial of 1933....

Academics analyze 10 primary documents and photos to create a timeline of the LQBTQ+ movement. The activity includes an online worksheet. Scholars also participate in a group discussion to understand the long struggle the LGBTQ+...

How does gravity affect the life cycle of a butterfly? Learn first-hand what types of investigations astronauts perform in space by following along with one of NASA's experiments. Create butterfly habitats in the classroom with specific...

Excerpts from John Steinbeck's The Grapes of Wrath and from John Fante's Ask the Dust, as well as a variety of primary source documents provide the background for an examination of the migrant experience from 1920-1945.

Roll with your class into the idea of conservation of energy. Pupils use a roller coaster track to collect data to reinforce the concept of conservation of energy and the influence of friction. Class members then create a graph from...

Did you know light can decrease visibility? Light pollution absolutely makes it more difficult to see stars. Scholars build a simple magnitude reader to determine the magnitude of stars. They use these data to estimate the impact of...

Have you ever wondered how your town was placed where it is? Scholars research the impact the advancement of the railroad due to the passage of the Kansas-Nebraska Act had on the formation of civilization in the Great Plains. Map...