High schoolers participate in the Jewish holiday of Purim. They are concerned with the idea of changing an identity for one day. The focus of this study is upon leadership as the students role play different leaders and make decisions to...

Students define and examine the dynamics of domestic violence. They participate in two simulations, discuss song lyrics, define the role of the media, and complete a writing exercise.

Students explore the difference between stars and planets and take on the role of these objects to simulate the relative motions of Mars and the Earth around the Sun.

Students are introduced to the relationship between light and vision. In groups, they participate in experiments to discover how different wavelengths are divided in the visible spectrum. They record their answers and discuss their...

She had a terribly busy day converting oxygen into carbon dioxide; now she just needs a moment to breathe. In the activity, scholars review the function of the respiratory system and discuss bioengineering's role in medicine/health and...

Students perform an experiment involving reverse transcriptase-polymerized chain reaction HIV replication to better examine the biotechnology used by scientists in pharmaceutical research of infections diseases like HIV. Students examine...

Young scientists learn about DNA replication through a video and model creation. They answer analysis questions before exploring the role of mutations and then complete a summative assessment.

Build a historical perspective from four different points of view. Young historians take on the role of a slave-owning white person, non-slave owning white person, slave, or free African-American person and imagine what life would be...

Tenth graders debate a resolution about a planned waterfront community from the point of view of various interest groups. They have a "Town Meeting" in which members from each interest group debate their researched opinions for points....

Identify the unique personal attributes of your class members. Begin by viewing the Visual Thesaurus and discussing displayed attributes associated with famous American leaders. Using these identity maps as models, pupils generate nouns...

Imagine a activity that models for learners how to separate facts from opinions. How to detect bias. How to evaluate a source of information. How to identify propaganda. Although designed for middle schoolers, the activities in this...

Explore science through problem solving and learning how to solve the problem of the story "The Three Billy Goats Gruff." Young investigators will learn how to construct a model and design a solution. They will also keep records of their...

The carbon cycle is natural and has happened for millions of years, so can humans change it? Young scientists play the role of carbon as they travel through the carbon cycle. They complete two rounds, once before the industrial...

Students compare/contrast the media messages they see in two different communities in their city. They list the elements of art and the principles of design in the photographs they have taken in those two different communities. They...

Learners construct a model of the hydrologic cycle, and observe that water is an element of a cycle in the natural environment. They explain how the hydrologic cycle works and why it is important, and compare the hydrologic cycle to...

Illuminate your physics class with this examination of a photovoltaic cell. Teach the structure and operation of the device using a diagram. Then make a human-powered, larger-than-life sized model of a PV cell. Learners become electrons...

Students examine ways to protect fresh drinking water. In this clean drinking water lesson, students listen to the story of Lauren Fry  about building a springbox to collect groundwater.  Students build a springbox.

Upper elementary and middle schoolers examine the role of Chinese immigrants in America. They investigate literature, history and cultures of Chinese-Americans. This ambitious plan takes two weeks to complete, and it brings in elements...

Young historians use the SOAPS (Speaker, Occasion, Audience, Purpose, Subject) method of questioning to determine the historical value of primary source documents. The third in a series of five lessons that model for learners how...

Synthesizing information from a PBS documentary Ralph Bunche: An American Odyssey, its companion website, and several other resources (links to which are provided), high schoolers evaluate whether Bunche did all he could to advance the...

High schoolers comprehend what makes up the physical community. Read and construct scale drawings and models. Explore the history of infrastructures and how the contributions of science, math and industry have led to the development of...

Here is a six-minute video of a pair of electrical engineers that illustrate how to build a wind turbine. A list of materials is provided, along with general guidelines for your class. Use this to introduce turbine design to your...

How does memory work, and how can we recall more? Here is a five-lesson unit that covers the multi-system model of memory, as well as sensory, working, and long-term memory.

Discuss mechanical advantage and how the human body moves/works. Learners focus on bioengineering, working together to build a functioning mechanical arm. Additionally, they analyze an air muscle, discussing its appropriate use in...