Imagine what life might be like in a different galaxy. That's the challenge young scientists take on in a warm-up activity designed to prepare them for a close reading of Ruth Stone's poem "In the Next Galaxy." After class members share...

Go on a traveling adventure throughout Australia, Oceana, and Antarctica! This textbook excerpt offers a full unit of study that can easily be supplemented by extra projects or research materials. Learners study maps, read about...

Traveling through space is an amazing experience, but it definitely takes a toll on the body. After reading an article and watching a brief video, learners perform an experiment that simulates the effects of zero gravity on the...

Students read a current science article. They write a summary of the article, take notes, write and edit a summary, and print their work.

Middle schoolers complete a writing assessment task to demonstrate their ability to craft a narrative based on a variety of informational texts. They view West of the West's documentary Magic Isle, read three print resources about...

Students use reading strategies for Night of the Twister. In this reading strategies lesson, students name five major catastrophes and books about each. Students complete a vocabulary section, make inferences and predictions, read the...

Students examine the adaptation of plants to their environments. They analyze and observe the structure, shape, and internal structure of various leaves, and make inferences about the structures.

Analyze and make inferences from the information used by linguists to construct the evolution of languages. They research different dating techniques to explain how scientists infer age with evidence.

Get your young scientists excited about geology through the study of dinosaur tracks! They will use their power of observation to learn how tracks are made and use critical thinking strategies to suggest a scenario in which they were...

After reading a case study, pupils will explore possible diagnoses, assessment, and treatment plans. Finding the definitions to medical vocabulary and sorting through patient history, they will begin to understand the process of...

How did the environment and natural resources found on the Channel islands influence the culture of the Chumash? Archaeology meets technology in an activity designed for middle schoolers. After viewing West of The West's documentary Once...

Students examine the case of a map making expedition. In groups, they read a case study on "The Lost Gorge" in the Finger Lakes region of New York state. They examine maps and determine where the error in the map-making occured to end...

Students listen to a teacher led lecture on jaguars, their habitats, and how they became endangered. Using a specified web site, they choose an endangered animal to research. After gathering information, students participate in...

Students participate in four different activities which reinforce an understanding of they way scientists think about the world. They make careful observations of two different pennies, write the procedure for making a peanut butter and...

Students explore ocean creatures. In this crustacean lesson, students determine how Black Nerite snails and Sally Light-foot crabs have adapted to their ocean habitats. Students complete diagrams and hypothesize about the necessity...

How do scientists know what Earth's climate was like millions of years ago? Young environmental scholars discover how researchers used proxy data to determine the conditions present before written record. Grouped pupils gain experience...

Life has its ups and downs ... especially if you're an animal! Biology scholars engage in a population study through an inquiry-based lesson. Pupils work together to explore the factors that affect deer populations, then examine the...

Turn your class discussion of rock formation from ho-hum to holy hornfels! Junior geologists gain experience in identifying rock types and rock origins, with an emphasis in hypothesizing the environment needed to form certain...

What better way is there to introduce conservation of mass than a few simple experiments? Young chemists conduct two chemical reactions, take the masses of reactants and products, then compare their results to determine...

Students examine marine archaeology. In this archaeological data lesson plan, students see how archaeologists use data to make inferences about shipwrecks. Students read data and make their own inferences, write about marine life and...

Students determine sea ice thickness, concentration, and floe size by reading egg codes.  In this sea ice conditions lesson plan, students color code a map based on prescribed criteria and use the maps to identify changes in sea ice...

Students view pictures of classmates' homes, make list of different objects in picture, and discuss what they can tell about place from evidence in picture. Students then observe artifact pictures, and read and complete artifact chart.

Middle schoolers experiment with local lake water to determine the health of the lake waters. They explore the human impact on the lake water, hypothesize and share inferences in a scientific report.

Young scholars measure and analyze leaves from various environments. They discuss the environments, and make inferences about environmental variables that could have contributed to the differences in leaf size and texture.