Scholars stretch their writing muscles with an exercise that asks them to describe the sky using similes and metaphors. 

Who needs a compass to find cardinal directions? Just place a stick in the ground and record the movement of its shadow over the course of a day. Then, measure the shadow lengths in order to determine a north-south line. A simple...

How does a hot air balloon fly? An experimental lesson has scholars build a balloon from a garbage bag and monitor the movement of air. As the temperature of the air in the balloon increases, gravity moves the denser cool air down,...

Twisting and turning through the sky, roller coasters are popular attractions at amusement parks around the world, but how exactly do they work? Explore the physics behind these thrilling rides with an engineering design activity....

Students investigate why the sky is blue and the sunset is red. They are asked why do you think that we see the sky as blue? Students write a hypothesis on their "Blue Sky Lab Sheet". They explain why they think that the sky is blue...

Looking to introduce some text-based questions into your ELA lessons? Practice the kinds of skills the Common Core demands with the seven text-based questions and the essay prompt provided here. Designed to be a three-day lesson, day one...

Drinking straws are a pretty simple device ... or, are they? Explore the possibility of sipping a beverage 30 feet away with an engaging activity that's sure to keep pupils guessing. Just place a long piece of plastic tubing in a glass,...

Lead your class toward mastery of making inferences with a straightforward worksheet. Pupils read four short passages and make inferences based on the questions asked about each passage. They explain their reasoning for each...

Round and round in circles it goes! A hands-on activity has learners recreate a model of a convection cell. They watch as the difference in density of their materials creates a current.

Help young readers find, identify, and use their voices with a set of empowering activities based on Peter H. Reynolds' trilogy of books. Sky Color, Ish, and The Dot focus on recognizing moods and treating each other...

Hats off to Barry for a great idea. He teaches Adapted PE to elementary school children, and when he is absent they often don't get to have PE. So he came up with this great plan to videotape short lessons that his pupils could follow,...

Students create a model of the solar system out of candy. They write a book about their travels through the Solar System, beginning at age ten and reaching Pluto at age seventy.

Students study drag and how it affects a parachute in the sky.  In this parachutes lesson plan students build models and compare their drag. 

Students examine environmental change of land, water, and air, discuss Clear Skies Legislation, and experiment on solid compaction and resultant water filtration.

Pupils identify and define that an orderly line means straight, one student behind the next, and facing forward. Then they practice boarding the quiet train where the teacher is the train captain and that if he/she hears anyone talking,...

First graders practice short vowel sounds. In this literacy lesson, the teacher demonstrates the short vowel sounds, then guides students through practicing the sounds and making words. Students complete a worksheet for independent...

Second graders begin the lesson by planting their own bean seed. Individually, they make predictions about how many leaves and roots their plant might grow and each day record their observations. They graph the results of the length of...

Fifth graders explain why we fly. In this space science lesson plan, 5th graders discuss Bernoulli's prinicple and its relation to flight.

Students engage in a series of loco-motor activities based on shapes. In this loco-motor lesson, students demonstrate physical skills through races, jumping, hopping, galloping in circles, squares, rectangles and triangles.

A Google Drive folder with instructional presentations, discussion questions, student activities, and assessments for the collection of stories in Pushing Up the Sky.

Fourth graders learn that storytelling is a performance art that also transmits knowledge about cultures and life. Through reading different tales from various cultures, 4th graders are able to compare and contrast similar themes,...

This site is Joseph Bruchac's homepage. It provides links to his biography, a listing of his major works, and other online resources for the author. It also provides links to several of his poems to open or download on mp3.