As Ken Jennings said, "There's just something hypnotic about maps." Certainly, the longer you look at them the more you can learn. In this project-based learning instructional activity, individuals study both historic and...

Even the littlest learners can become art historians if they have the right training. For the instructional activity, your preschoolers discuss the piece Long Jakes as they point out all the details they notice. They discuss what...

To understand the history of Native American education, high schoolers examine the record of young scholars who attended the Carlisle Indian School from 1879-1918. They also examine sources that contain information about indigenous...

Coming up on the Olympics? Be sure your middle schoolers understand the dynamic and ancient history of this global tradition. They begin by recalling traditions parents have passed down, considering their relevance and ways they might be...

Your young historians will compare and contrast the details of the American flag today with an an image of the nation's flag from the post-Civil War era, and identify the flag's importance as a national symbol through analysis...

First graders take a look at schools of the past and present, and try to conjure an idea of what schools of the future will look like. After taking a walk around their own school and taking note of the buildings and the things that are...

Young scholars examine inventions of the past and present and explore how inventions inspire and lead to the development of other inventions.

Students design dashboards for vehicles in 2020. After researching past and current trends in vehicle design, they sketch alternatives and select one to draw with computer-assisted design software (CAD), labeling all the components. With...

Students explore how much trash they create. In this recycling lesson, students define stewardship and conduct an experiment to see how much trash the class produces in a week. At the end of the week the students propose ways to...

Students explore the function of verbs when considering tense. They read a story that is written in past tense and discuss how to change it to future tense. Students transform a news story from past to future tense.

The big idea for this instructional activity is that the past enriches our present and future. Learners explore the origin of the Olympic Games and how one man took an event from the past and reinvented it for modern times. They compare...

"What are feelings?" and "Why are feelings important to understand?" are the essential questions of a lesson that boosts self-awareness. Scholars discuss the four basic emotions—happy, sad, scared, and mad—in preparation...

Tenth graders write an autobiography about their future.  In this career education lesson, 10th graders write about the future based on their career goals. Students troubleshoot possible obstacles to fulfilling a life...

Third graders discuss research topics and write a paragraph on one of the provided questions. They focus on including key words from charts that the class has been compiling. They underline supporting details within the text they write....

Where does all of the carbon dioxide come from that is supposedly leading to climate change? Earth science pupils test animal, plant, and fossil fuels as sources in this investigation. Using an indicator, BTB, they are able to detect the...

Students explore the evolution of toys and explore how the toy industry has adapted their products in response to advances in technology and changing customer expectations.

For many people, Barack Obama's presidency was the next step in Martin Luther King, Jr's dream of America's future. Explore the dreams of Americans past and present, as well as the young Americans in your class, with a set of activities...

How to meet the needs of people around the globe—a question many ask. The fifth in a six-part series about human population and its effects on the globe, the eye-opening lesson includes discussion, a homework activity, and an in-class...

Your mission, should you choose to accept it, is to take your class on an underwater adventure. The final installment in a seven-part series involving salt and freshwater bodies takes junior oceanographers below the surface in...

After a lecture about how the first industrial revolution triggered the path to climate change, your environmental studies class discusses what the impacts are. In a culminating activity, they get into groups and identify countries on a...

Students listen to a story about school in a one-room schoolhouse.  In this cause and effect lesson, students create a Venn diagram to find the similarities and differences in schools then and now. Students discuss how past events...

Get ready to read The Watsons Go to Birmingham - 1963 with a lesson about historical fiction. Spanning several centuries, the resource prompts learners to guess the historical era of a story based on a word or phrase...

Using the online catalog, researchers locate and record on a citation template specific sources for their research paper. A library specialist models searching strategies while the teacher introduces the research paper process. Daily...

Fourth graders analyze how Kentucky's past is different from the present. They research why Kentucky was even explored and settles. What social issues face Kentucky now. Discussion lies on how Kentucky can be improved for the 21st century.