Build an appreciation of engineering. Pupils in grades 6-8 learn about science and engineering in a set of three engaging activities. They build spinning tops, construct wind structures, and create recycled paper as part of an engaging...

Investigate the future of the presidency in the wake of the House of Representatives' vote to impeach President Clinton. The class brainstorms both sides of the argument, reads and discusses an article, then analyzes and writes a journal...

Artists of all ages construct a three-dimensional form and fill it with rice to make gentle, percussive sounds. They discover that Native South American tribesmen would harvest dead branches from cactus plants, fill them with small...

Here is an inventive plan that should get your young scientists excited! In it, groups of pupils test out the work done by six different simple machines. The machines are: the wedge, the lever, the inclined plane, the pulley, the screw,...

Students examine the arguments for and against suffrage for women in the 19th and early 20th centuries. They explore various websites, read and discuss primary source documents, develop a document from two points of view, and analyze...

Scientists define and discuss decomposition, and watch pumpkins decompose and return to soil in classroom experiment. They record the date the experiment began, chart changes in pumpkins on a calendar, count how many days it takes...

In this biology worksheet, young scholars review the procedures used to complete the lab activity and then examine the purpose and add the information while answering the questions.

Discover the Virtual Thesaurus with your class. They use the Virtual Thesaurus to assist them in an inquiry-based approach to discovering the meanings of some common Latin and Greek roots. Each child then teaches a particular root and...

Students create an insect out of food.  In this insect characteristics lesson, students review the 3 body parts of an insect and use various foods to create a sample insect.  Students learn a song about insect body parts.

Learn about the study of paleoecology with a resource about Dr. Grace Bush and her contributions to the field. After reading a one-page passage, learners answer comprehension questions and explore their personal interests in different...

Explore plagiarism in-depth with this resource. Start by reading the short passage provided on Krumping, a new dance style. Then, study the examples provided to determine which ones plagiarise and which ones don't. 

Very simply, pairs of learners construct a model of the tetrahedral silica structure using raisins and toothpicks. They dip it into a soapy solution and then blow a bubble "atom" into its center. The lesson plan gives instructions that...

A thorough investigation of magnetic levitation; this activity has four parts. First, physical scientists play with a wooden dowel and three disc magnets to review polarity and repelling action. Then they experiment with...

While the Progressives never formed a political party they did develop an ideology. Provide viewers with an interesting, yet challenging presentation on the Progressive Movement that introduces key individuals and highlights key events...

An extremely thorough presentation walks new chemists through the basics of matter. There really isn't a unifying theme, however So many topics are covered: forces, elements, atomic structure, chemical properties, compounds, quarks,...

Plant life cycles are the focus of a life science worksheet that is designed as a reading comprehension exercise. Readers respond to five questions based on the passage.

This cross-curricular reading comprehension worksheet asks kids to read a passage of the rock cycle and then to use information in the article to respond to a series of questions.

An article about the vascular tissues inside plants provides an opportunity to assess reading comprehension. After reading the passage, kids respond to a series of comprehension questions.

Develop reading skills in your middle school classroom with this short reading passage. Consider assigning your class a reading strategy to practice as they read the selection. Ten reading comprehension and vocabulary-in-context...

Interpret data and learn about the human heart in one activity! After learning about the way blood flows in the body, fifth graders answer two questions about a graph displaying pulse rate. They then take their own pulses to find the...

What kinds of questions could be asked with different pieces of literature? Use QAR questions to help your middle schoolers develop the skills to find information in a text. Thorough directions, a text excerpt, and a set of reading...

Hoopsters! Looking for something to use to teach your hoopsters a bit about the game of basketball? Use this very comprehensive PowerPoint to teach everything from the history of the sport, to skill techniques, to game plays. Included...

The dance elements of body, energy, space, and time are the focus of a lesson on movement and theme. The class follows along as the teacher shows them a new dance that has a theme. They practice the dance, and then change one element in...