The American Revolution is the theme of a five-week unit that focuses on reading, grammar, morphology, and writing. Scholars read and respond to texts, practice spelling and word work, and write paragraphs. Assessments gauge comprehension.

They Call Me Güero: A Border Kid's Poems by David Bowles is the focus of a five-week language arts unit unit. Fifth graders listen to various poems and participate in thoughtful discussions, examining vocabulary and learning new words in...

Students create a polymer out of glue, water, and borax. They discuss the resulting substance and perform several experiments with it.

An educational presentation includes atoms, molecules, the four major elements, as well as neutrons and protons. Additionally, slides focus on atomic number, mass number, atomic weight, polar and nonpolar covalent bonding, ionic...

Challenge the class with inscribed circles in triangles. The assessment task requests class members use their knowledge of circles and right triangles to prove two triangles are congruent. They go on to utilize their knowledge of...

Are viruses living or non-living? According to the presentation, they are both and neither. Clearly, this requires clarification and an in-depth look at viruses, viroids, and prions. Young scientists learn about the history, structure,...

Stretch your teaching repertoire with an experiment on the elongation (stretching) and failure (break) of several materials. The point of the experiment is to design a composite material for chair webbing.

Steel is an example of homogeneous mixture, also called an alloy, which is made of iron and carbon. The presentation introduces learners to elements, compounds, and mixtures. They explore their similarities and differences, and then take...

Teach cube roots by building on an understanding of square roots. The third installment of a 25-part series asks learners to solve simple quadratic and cubic equations using roots. Scholars compare square roots and cube roots throughout...

Many problems in life have more than one possible solution, and the same is true for advanced mathematics. Scholars solve seven problems that all have at least two solutions. Then three higher-level thinking questions challenge them to...

Challenge the class to utilize their knowledge of linear and quadratic functions to determine the intersection of the parent quadratic graph and linear proportional graphs. Using the pattern for the solutions, individuals develop a...

Graph A goes with equation C, but table B. The short assessment task requires class members to match graphs with their corresponding tables, equations, and verbalized rules. Pupils then provide explanations on the process they used to...

Having a hard time defining bullying with your seventh graders? Discuss the different types of behavior one would see in a bullying situation with a series of lessons, worksheets, and group activities.

Middle schoolers are likely very familiar with the concept of bullying and cliques. Discuss their experiences and brainstorm ways to handle peer conflict and feelings of exclusion with a poem that focuses on bullying, and a second lesson...

A woman accuses her husband of multiple instances of domestic violence in the mock trial case, Karmia Kahn v. Keith Kahn

Whatever floats your boat. Young engineers learn about density by measuring the masses and volumes of boxes filled with different materials. Using their knowledge of densities, they hypothesize whether objects with given densities will...

Students examine the discipline of biomedical engineering or bioengineering. They complete worksheets by participating in reading background information and completing a hands on activity. They design a prototype of a cast to set a...

The Holocaust is the focus of this world history PowerPoint. Viewers are presented with important facts regarding the Holocaust, and the rise of Nazi Germany. They must answer questions such as: "Describe Nazi anti-Semitism in the...

Can you build a better mousetrap? Broken into two sessions, this plan introduces learners to the design process. The first session has pupils look at the world through a design perspective by redesigning everyday objects. In the second...

Introduce your class to nanotechnology applications with three demonstrations that showcase scientific principles related to ferrofluids, quantum dots, and gold nanoparticles. Groups will work more closely with these applications in the...

Teams work as material engineers to create ferrofluids, whose shape is influenced by magnetic fields. The activity, which is the fourth in the six-part series, has the teams create magnetic ink and use it to write, testing it with a...

Engage your class by showing them how silly putty and human tissues are alike. Pupils learn more about tissue mechanics by reflecting upon their experiences with silly putty. The lesson covers   collagen, elastin, and...

Mass and density — aren't they the same thing? This activity has groups use balance beams and water displacement to measure several objects. The pupils use the measurements to calculate the density of the objects. 

Can you beat the odds of cancer? In the first installment of a seven-part series, future biomedical engineers consider how to detect and diagnose cancer. An article on biosensors provides useful information toward this goal.