Before Google, before Sillicon Valley, before the Gold Rush, the San Francisco landscape was a biome filled with grizzly bears, mule deer, tule elk, coyotes, gray fox, gophers, and moles. To explore the early days of yesteryear, kids...

Although the lesson is specifically about the San Francisco Bay area, it's good enough to be adapted to any local region. Children research what the landscape in San Francisco was like prior to settlement, they consider the types of...

Students investigate scale models while attending a field trip within the San Francisco Bay Area.  In this oceanography lesson, students identify the currents of the Bay Area and discuss how they are created by different tides....

Students write from an animal's perspective. In this writing lesson students explore the landscape of San Francisco prior to the arrival of the explorers. Students research animals indigenous to the area.

Students investigate water pollution prevention. In this ecology wastewater lesson, students activate prior knowledge about sewage, then view a video explaining the waste water sewage system used in the San Francisco Bay area. Students...

Students discover the ocean life of the San Francisco Bay. In this ocean lesson, students take a Discovery Voyage of the Bay ecosystem through the Marine Science Institute. Also available are inland voyages, ocean labs, and tidepool...

Students investigate the history of San Francisco, California and then create recipes from the area, including a Monte Cristo Sandwich, Sourdough Bread, and a Golden Gate Burger.

Students examine the role that racism played in the growth of the Bay Area. They discover how turn-of-the-century boosters promoted a vision of the Bay Area. They study the American Indian Movement's takeover of Alcatraz Island in 1969,...

Students create a mental map of San Francisco. They compare it with actual topographical maps of the city. Then they label various locations on the San Francisco Hillshade map and locate watershed boundaries.

Third graders examine the San Francisco oil spill and the effects it has had.  In this investigative instructional activity students view a demonstration on oil clean up and how it works.  They see how wildlife is...

Thirsty plants soak up every bit of a rainfall, but what happens to the rain that hits the roof? Calculate the amount of rainwater from your school's roof with an Earth science activity, which brings measurement skills, observation...

Not all technology is digital. Teach learners about the low-tech maker movement with a photo essay about six artisans from California and two articles about the local creator movement. After tackling the photo essay in small...

Students explore the impact of the 1906 earthquake on the population of San Jose. They explore two different perspectives of earthquakes. Students write a news bulletin as if they were reporting on the earthquake. They are then...

Learners use documents from California As I Saw It: First Person Narratives, 1849-1900 , in American Memory to create a script depicting the motivations, expectations, fears, and realizations of immigrants who settled California between...

A great way to incorporate math into life science, this lesson has learners measure migratory routes on a map and calculate the actual distance that shorebirds on the routes would cover. Learners compute the distance covered in both...

Students examine the destruction caused by earthquakes. In this community safety lesson, students examine the risk involved in living in an earthquake zone and how to prepare for future earthquakes.

Students study the causes of electricity shortage in California in 2000-2001. In this social studies lesson, students evaluate the effect of the deregulation process. They discuss the actions taken by the government to solve the crisis.

Young scholars find city temperatures and analyze their means to find the standard deviation. They calculate the standard deviation of monthly temperature means.

Students create scripts about California settlers. The document reflects the settlers' fears, expectations, and realizations.

Third graders explore animal characteristics by participating in a bat environment game. In this natural habitat lesson, 3rd graders identify the physical anatomy of a bat and discuss their eating and sleeping habits. Students conduct a...

Examine the role of social media in social and political uprisings. Pupils listen to NPR audio clips about social media and the Arab Spring and read an article that proposes the idea that revolution will not happen through social media....

Students explore the use of lasers. In this "lasers" science and career education lesson, students search the Internet to find uses for lasers and make a list of companies that use or produce lasers. Students complete a lasers and making...

Students use the Internet to research Minoan and Mycenaean trade. In groups, they develop a chart showing the goods that were exported and imported. Using primary source documents, they examine the materials found in the wreckage of the...

Second graders complete a recycling project to clean-up their school. In this service project activity, 2nd graders assess their campus for litter, set up a recycling project, clean up their campus, and recycle the trash. Students also...